This division between the grand but passive divine and the accessible and active divine is a common theme in many theistic schools around the world. In Christianity, even Zoroastrianism, there are archangels who carry out the will of God. In medieval India, the common folk rarely saw the king. They saw bureaucrats and soldiers fulfil the king’s will. This is why worshippers of Shiva invoked Nandi, devotees of Vishnu invoked Garuda, and devotees of Ram invoked Hanuman.
