The union of three Hindu gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) and three Hindu goddesses (Saraswati, Lakshmi, Durga) is a later Puranic invention to create symmetry and to highlight the importance of marriage in the divine realm. Historically speaking, the goddesses had independent origins. Earliest images of Lakshmi come from Buddhist art, and earliest images of Saraswati come from Jain art. Durga appears in Kushan art for the first time, killing the buffalo.
