Short answer
The Hindu scriptures give both answers, so they cannot settle it. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says there is nothing higher than himself. Yet the Mahabharata, the epic that holds the Gita, says Krishna spent a thousand years in penance to please Shiva. It adds that no one is superior to Shiva. The Vishnu Purana, a Hindu sacred book, has Rudra, a name of Shiva, appear as Brahma's son. The Linga Purana has Brahma and Vishnu spring from Shiva. A third tradition says the Goddess made all three take bodies. Even the passages that call Shiva and Vishnu one rank them on opposite terms. The Qur'an's answer is the One God, who is not born and has no rival. The Qur'an says of itself that, had it come from other than God (﷾), it would contain much discrepancy. It teaches one God (﷾) who needs nothing.
Full explanation
The Vaishnava answer: Vishnu is supreme
Vaishnavas worship Vishnu and his forms, such as Krishna and Rama, and hold that Vishnu is the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scripture in which Krishna speaks, Krishna says he makes and destroys the whole universe. He says there is nothing higher than himself. Among the Rudras, a group of gods, he says he is Sankara, a name of Shiva. The Vishnu Purana, an old Hindu book of sacred history, tells how Rudra came to be. Brahma wanted a son like himself. A youth appeared, and Brahma named him Rudra. Later in the same book, Shiva calls Krishna the supreme lord, beyond all things, and asks for his favour. The Bhagavata Purana calls the other divine beings parts of God, but calls Krishna the Lord himself. The school of Madhva, a teacher of the thirteenth century, quotes verses saying that Brahma and Shiva decay with their bodies. Hari, that is Vishnu, is greater than them, the verses say, and all the gods obey him. It quotes the Narayana Upanishad for the teaching that no one is freed from rebirth without Vishnu's grace.
“Know that all things have these (for their) source. I am the producer and the destroyer of the whole universe. There is nothing else, O Dhanañgaya! higher than myself; all this is woven upon me, like numbers of pearls upon a thread.”
“And I am Saṅkara among the Rudras, the lord of wealth among Yakshas and Rakshases. And I am fire among the Vasus, and Meru among the high-topped (mountains).”
“In the beginning of the Kalpa, as Brahmá purposed to create a son, who should be like himself, a youth of a purple complexion appeared, crying with a low cry, and running about. Brahmá, when he beheld him thus afflicted, said to him, "Why dost thou weep?" "Give me a name," replied the boy. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined the great father of all creatures: "be composed; desist from tears."”
“Krishńa, Krishńa, lord of the world, I know thee, first of spirits, the supreme lord, infinite felicity, without beginning or end, and beyond all things. This sport of universal being, in which thou takest the persons of god, animals, and men, is a subordinate attribute of thy energy. Be propitious therefore, O lord, unto me.”
“The incarnations, O Brāhmanas, of Hari—the spring of purity, are numberless; even as a thousand streams issue from one lake—whose waters withal remain unexhausted. The sages, the Manus, the gods, the sons of the Manus—all these mighty beings with the Prajāpatis are parts of God. All these are either portions or emanations of the Person; but Krishna is the Lord Himself. From cycle to cycle do they ease the world, panting under the oppression of demons.”
“Brahmá, Śiva, and the greatest of the gods decay with the decay of their bodies; Greater than these is Hari, undecaying, because his body is for the sustentation of Lakshmí. By reason of all his attributes, independence, power, knowledge, pleasure, and the rest, All they, all the deities, are in unlimited obedience to him.”
“And emancipation is not won without the grace of Vishṇu, according to the text of the Náráyaṇa Upanishad: Through whose grace is the highest state, through whose essence he is liberated from transmigration, while inferior men propitiating the divinities are not emancipated; the supreme object of discernment to those who desire to be liberated from this snare of works.”
The Shaiva answer: Shiva is supreme
Shaivas, who worship Shiva, hold that Shiva is the Supreme Lord. They find him in the shruti itself, meaning the Vedas and Upanishads, which Hindus hold to be revealed. The Svetasvatara Upanishad says there is one Rudra only, with no second, who rules all the worlds. It calls him the highest great lord of lords. In the Anusasana Parva, a book of teaching in the Mahabharata, Bhishma says Mahadeva (Shiva) is the creator and master of Brahma, Vishnu and Indra. All the deities, he says, worship him. Bhishma adds that it was through devotion to Rudra that Krishna succeeded in overwhelming the entire universe. For a thousand years Krishna underwent penances to gratify Shiva, and he has done so in every age. Bhishma's conclusion is that he sees no one superior to Mahadeva. The Linga Purana goes further. In it Vishnu praises Shiva in a hymn, and Shiva tells Brahma and Vishnu that both sprang from him. He calls himself the undivided supreme lord, divided in three ways under the names of Brahma, Vishnu and Bhava (a name of Shiva).
“For there is one Rudra only, they do not allow a second, who rules all the worlds by his powers. He stands behind all persons, and after having created all worlds he, the protector, rolls it up at the end of time.”
“Let us know that highest great lord of lords, the highest deity of deities, the master of masters, the highest above, as god, the lord of the world, the adorable.”
“I am quite incompetent to recite the virtues of Mahādeva of great intelligence. He pervades all things in the universe and yet is not seen anywhere. He is the creator of Brahman, Vishnu, and Indra, and he is their master. All the deities, from Brahman to the Piçāchas, adore and worship him.”
“It is in consequence of his devotion to the illustrious Rudra whom he gratified, O Bhārata, in the retreat of Vadari, by penances, that the high-souled Krishna has succeeded in overwhelming the entire universe.”
“For a full thousand years this Mādhava underwent the austerest penances and at last succeeded in gratifying the illustrious and boon-giving Civa, that Master of all the mobile and the immobile universe. In every new Yuga has Krishna (by such penances) gratified Mahādeva. In every Yuga has Mahādeva been gratified with the great devotion of the high-souled Krishna. What the puissance is of the high-souled Mahādeva,—that original cause of the universe,—has been seen with his own eyes by Hari who himself transcends all deterioration, on the occasion of his penances in the retreat of Vadari undergone for obtaining a son. I do not, O Bhārata, behold any one that is superior to Mahādeva.”
“The eighteenth section of the same Purāṇa contains a hymn addressed by Vishṇu to Rudra, which recites a list of the attributes of the latter deity. Mahādeva is gratified with this hymn, and tells Brahmā and Vishṇu that they had both sprung from him, offers them a boon, and touches them with his auspicious hands.”
“my child, my child, Hari, Vishṇu, preserve all this moving and stationary world. I, the undivided supreme lord, am divided in a three-fold manner under the names of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Bhava, possessing the attributes of creating, preserving, and destroying.”
A third answer, and the answer that they are one
Shaktas, who worship the Goddess (Devi or Shakti), give a third answer. The Devi-mahatmya, the Glory of the Goddess, is widely recited as the Durga Saptashati. In it Brahma praises the Goddess: she made Vishnu, Brahma himself and Shiva take bodies. Many Hindus answer instead that the question is mistaken, because Shiva and Vishnu are one. They point to Harihara, the image that is half Vishnu (Hari) and half Shiva (Hara). The Vishnu Purana seems to agree: Krishna tells Shiva that the two of them are not distinct, and that men see distinctions because of ignorance. Others hold the Trimurti: one God (﷾) who creates as Brahma, preserves as Vishnu and destroys as Shiva. The Linga Purana speaks of one supreme lord divided in three ways. The Vishnu Purana says the one only god, Janardana, takes all three names as he creates, preserves or destroys. In the shruti, the Maitri Upanishad says the one being becomes three: Rudra, Brahma and Vishnu. Smartas follow the teacher Shankara, of about the eighth century. They worship Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Ganesha and Surya side by side, as forms of the one Brahman. And the Rig Veda says the sages give many names to what is One.
“Since Vishṇu, I and S'iva have been made by thee to assume bodies, who then may be powerful enough to extol thee?”
“You are fit to apprehend that you are not distinct from me. That which I am, thou art; and that also is this world, with its gods, demons, and mankind. Men contemplate distinctions, because they are stupified by ignorance.”
“my child, my child, Hari, Vishṇu, preserve all this moving and stationary world. I, the undivided supreme lord, am divided in a three-fold manner under the names of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Bhava, possessing the attributes of creating, preserving, and destroying.”
“Thus the one only god, Janárddana, takes the designation of Brahmá, Vishńu, and Śiva, accordingly as he creates, preserves, or destroys.”
“Now that part of him which belongs to darkness, that, O students, is he who is called Rudra. That part of him which belongs to obscurity, that, O students, is he who is called Brahmâ. That part of him which belongs to goodness, that, O students, is he who is called Vishnu. He being one, becomes three, becomes eight, becomes eleven, becomes twelve, becomes infinite.”
“They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmân. To what is One, sages give many a title: they call it Agni, Yama, Mâtariṣvan.”
One epic, two supreme gods
The sharpest conflict is inside one book. The Gita is part of the Mahabharata, and there Krishna says there is nothing higher than himself. In another book of the same epic, Bhishma says Krishna spent a thousand years in penance to gratify Shiva. He did the same, Bhishma says, in every age. He says it was through that devotion that Krishna succeeded in overwhelming the entire universe. And he sees no one superior to Mahadeva. Both cannot be the plain truth. If Krishna is the Supreme, the epic has the Supreme worship another being for a boon, a son. If Shiva is the Supreme, then Krishna's words in the Gita are not true as they stand. A reader may keep one passage and explain away the other. But the epic itself does not say which one to keep.
“Know that all things have these (for their) source. I am the producer and the destroyer of the whole universe. There is nothing else, O Dhanañgaya! higher than myself; all this is woven upon me, like numbers of pearls upon a thread.”
“For a full thousand years this Mādhava underwent the austerest penances and at last succeeded in gratifying the illustrious and boon-giving Civa, that Master of all the mobile and the immobile universe. In every new Yuga has Krishna (by such penances) gratified Mahādeva. In every Yuga has Mahādeva been gratified with the great devotion of the high-souled Krishna. What the puissance is of the high-souled Mahādeva,—that original cause of the universe,—has been seen with his own eyes by Hari who himself transcends all deterioration, on the occasion of his penances in the retreat of Vadari undergone for obtaining a son. I do not, O Bhārata, behold any one that is superior to Mahādeva.”
“It is in consequence of his devotion to the illustrious Rudra whom he gratified, O Bhārata, in the retreat of Vadari, by penances, that the high-souled Krishna has succeeded in overwhelming the entire universe.”
The books disagree on who was born from whom
These texts do not only praise different gods. They disagree about plain events. In the Vishnu Purana, Rudra appears when Brahma wishes for a son, and Brahma names him. In the Mahabharata, Mahadeva is the creator of Brahma and Vishnu. In the Linga Purana, Shiva tells Brahma and Vishnu that both sprang from him. In the Devi-mahatmya, the Goddess made all three take bodies. These accounts cannot all be true. The books also judged one another. The Padma Purana, as H. H. Wilson (a British scholar who translated the Vishnu Purana in 1840) reports it, sorts the Puranas by quality. The Vaishnava Puranas, such as the Vishnu and the Bhagavata, are pure. The Shaiva ones, such as the Linga, the Shiva and the Skanda, are Puranas of darkness. So one Hindu scripture calls a whole group of other Hindu scriptures darkness.
“In the beginning of the Kalpa, as Brahmá purposed to create a son, who should be like himself, a youth of a purple complexion appeared, crying with a low cry, and running about. Brahmá, when he beheld him thus afflicted, said to him, "Why dost thou weep?" "Give me a name," replied the boy. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined the great father of all creatures: "be composed; desist from tears."”
“I am quite incompetent to recite the virtues of Mahādeva of great intelligence. He pervades all things in the universe and yet is not seen anywhere. He is the creator of Brahman, Vishnu, and Indra, and he is their master. All the deities, from Brahman to the Piçāchas, adore and worship him.”
“The eighteenth section of the same Purāṇa contains a hymn addressed by Vishṇu to Rudra, which recites a list of the attributes of the latter deity. Mahādeva is gratified with this hymn, and tells Brahmā and Vishṇu that they had both sprung from him, offers them a boon, and touches them with his auspicious hands.”
“Since Vishṇu, I and S'iva have been made by thee to assume bodies, who then may be powerful enough to extol thee?”
“Thus it is said in the Uttara Khańd́a of the Padma, that the Puráńas, as well as other works, are divided into three classes, according to the qualities which prevail in them. Thus the Vishńu, Náradíya, Bhágavata, Gárud́a, Padma, and Váráha Puráńas, are Sátwika, or pure, from the predominance in them of the Satwa quality, or that of goodness and purity. They are, in fact, Vaishńava Puráńas. The Matsya, Kúrma, Linga, Śiva, Skanda, and Agni Puráńas, are Támasa, or Puráńas of darkness, from the prevalence of the quality of Tamas, 'ignorance,' 'gloom.' They are indisputably Śaiva Puráńas.”
Even "they are one" is told on opposite terms
The passages that make Shiva and Vishnu one do not make them equal. In the Vishnu Purana, Shiva speaks first. He calls Krishna the supreme lord, beyond all things, and asks for his favour; only then does Krishna say they are not distinct. In the Linga Purana, Vishnu praises Shiva in a hymn. Then Shiva calls himself the undivided supreme lord and addresses Vishnu as "my child". Each book makes the two one on its own god's terms, with the other god below. Shankara's followers, the Smartas, do accept the oneness; their reading is answered below. Other schools rejected it outright. Madhva's school cites verses that Brahma and Shiva decay with their bodies, while Hari does not, and that all the deities obey him.
“Krishńa, Krishńa, lord of the world, I know thee, first of spirits, the supreme lord, infinite felicity, without beginning or end, and beyond all things. This sport of universal being, in which thou takest the persons of god, animals, and men, is a subordinate attribute of thy energy. Be propitious therefore, O lord, unto me.”
“You are fit to apprehend that you are not distinct from me. That which I am, thou art; and that also is this world, with its gods, demons, and mankind. Men contemplate distinctions, because they are stupified by ignorance.”
“The eighteenth section of the same Purāṇa contains a hymn addressed by Vishṇu to Rudra, which recites a list of the attributes of the latter deity. Mahādeva is gratified with this hymn, and tells Brahmā and Vishṇu that they had both sprung from him, offers them a boon, and touches them with his auspicious hands.”
“my child, my child, Hari, Vishṇu, preserve all this moving and stationary world. I, the undivided supreme lord, am divided in a three-fold manner under the names of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Bhava, possessing the attributes of creating, preserving, and destroying.”
“Brahmá, Śiva, and the greatest of the gods decay with the decay of their bodies; Greater than these is Hari, undecaying, because his body is for the sustentation of Lakshmí. By reason of all his attributes, independence, power, knowledge, pleasure, and the rest, All they, all the deities, are in unlimited obedience to him.”
The shruti does not settle it either
Some Hindus set the Puranas aside and turn to the shruti, the Vedas and Upanishads, which every orthodox Hindu school counts as revealed. But Shaivas and Vaishnavas both claim the shruti. The Svetasvatara Upanishad names the one Lord Rudra, a name of Shiva, and Shaivas read it so. The Katha Upanishad calls the goal "the highest place of Vishnu", and Vaishnavas read it so. Madhva's school cites the Narayana Upanishad for the teaching that liberation comes only by Vishnu's grace. The Rig Veda says the sages give many names to what is One, but it does not say which name belongs to the highest. So the answer does not come from the scripture itself. It comes from the teacher a Hindu follows, and the teachers disagree.
“For there is one Rudra only, they do not allow a second, who rules all the worlds by his powers. He stands behind all persons, and after having created all worlds he, the protector, rolls it up at the end of time.”
“The man who has a discriminative intellect for the driver, and a controlled mind for the reins, reaches the end of the journey, the highest place of Vishnu (the All-pervading and Unchangeable One).”
“And emancipation is not won without the grace of Vishṇu, according to the text of the Náráyaṇa Upanishad: Through whose grace is the highest state, through whose essence he is liberated from transmigration, while inferior men propitiating the divinities are not emancipated; the supreme object of discernment to those who desire to be liberated from this snare of works.”
“They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmân. To what is One, sages give many a title: they call it Agni, Yama, Mâtariṣvan.”
Why the books cannot all be from God (﷾)
No Shaiva or Vaishnava believes in two rival supreme gods. Each school holds that there is one Supreme, and the question is which books to believe about Him. The Qur'an offers itself to a test: had it been from other than Allah (﷾), "they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy". The site's page on whether the Qur'an contains contradictions answers the examples critics give. A book from God (﷾) does not contradict itself about God (﷾). The Hindu books disagree on the first question of all. Their gods are born of one another and ranked over one another, and one scripture calls a whole group of others darkness. The Qur'an also argues from the nature of God (﷾). If there were other gods beside Allah (﷾), it says, each would have taken away what he had created. And some would have lorded it over others. The Hindu books do give more than one being the work of God (﷾). In them Mahadeva creates Brahma and Vishnu and is their master, while the Vishnu Purana makes Rudra the son of Brahma. The Prophet Joseph asked his fellow prisoners whether many lords differing among themselves are better, or the One God (﷾), Supreme and Irresistible. The Qur'an's parable makes the same point. A man owned by quarrelling partners is not equal to a man who belongs to one master.
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“If there were, in the heavens and the earth, other gods besides Allah, there would have been confusion in both! but glory to Allah, the Lord of the Throne: (High is He) above what they attribute to Him!”
“No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah! (He is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to Him!”
“I am quite incompetent to recite the virtues of Mahādeva of great intelligence. He pervades all things in the universe and yet is not seen anywhere. He is the creator of Brahman, Vishnu, and Indra, and he is their master. All the deities, from Brahman to the Piçāchas, adore and worship him.”
“In the beginning of the Kalpa, as Brahmá purposed to create a son, who should be like himself, a youth of a purple complexion appeared, crying with a low cry, and running about. Brahmá, when he beheld him thus afflicted, said to him, "Why dost thou weep?" "Give me a name," replied the boy. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined the great father of all creatures: "be composed; desist from tears."”
“"O my two companions of the prison! (I ask you): are many lords differing among themselves better, or the One Allah, Supreme and Irresistible?”
“Allah puts forth a Parable a man belonging to many partners at variance with each other, and a man belonging entirely to one master: are those two equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah! but most of them have no knowledge.”
The One who needs nothing
The God (﷾) of the Qur'an has no rival to please, and no one above Him to grant Him favours. It is people who need Him, while He needs nothing. He is One and Eternal. He has no children and no parents, and nothing is like Him. His names do not compete with each other. He may be called Allah (﷾) or the Most Merciful: whatever name He is called by, to Him belong the most beautiful names. None of His names was born of another, worships another, or rules over another. All of them name the same Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner, whom everything in the heavens and the earth praises.
“O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.”
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
“Say: "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between."”
“Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god;- the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
The replies, answered
Vishnu Purana 5.33 — book 5, chapter 33 (Krishna to Shiva)
“You are fit to apprehend that you are not distinct from me. That which I am, thou art; and that also is this world, with its gods, demons, and mankind. Men contemplate distinctions, because they are stupified by ignorance.”
Cited for
Shiva and Vishnu are one: Harihara, half Hari and half Hara. The Vishnu Purana says so itself. Krishna tells Shiva, "That which I am, thou art", and says men see distinctions because of ignorance. To ask which is supreme is that very ignorance.
The response
Read the passage whole. Shiva speaks first: he calls Krishna "the supreme lord", "beyond all things", and asks him to be propitious. Krishna answers by granting the request. So the oneness is told with Krishna above. The Linga Purana tells it the other way round. There Shiva is "the undivided supreme lord", divided into Brahma, Vishnu and Bhava, and he calls Vishnu "my child". Suppose Shiva and Krishna are one Being. Then the Mahabharata has that Being spend a thousand years in penance to gratify Himself. It also has Him do penance to Himself for the boon of a son. Some schools rejected oneness outright: Madhva's school cites verses that Shiva decays with his body while Hari does not. The God (﷾) of the Qur'an asks no one for a boon, because He is free of all wants.
Where it lands — Even the passages that call the two one rank them, and they rank them on opposite terms. That leaves the question open, not answered.
Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, section 14 — Bhishma on Krishna's penance to Shiva (Ganguli's numbering)
“For a full thousand years this Mādhava underwent the austerest penances and at last succeeded in gratifying the illustrious and boon-giving Civa, that Master of all the mobile and the immobile universe. In every new Yuga has Krishna (by such penances) gratified Mahādeva. In every Yuga has Mahādeva been gratified with the great devotion of the high-souled Krishna. What the puissance is of the high-souled Mahādeva,—that original cause of the universe,—has been seen with his own eyes by Hari who himself transcends all deterioration, on the occasion of his penances in the retreat of Vadari undergone for obtaining a son. I do not, O Bhārata, behold any one that is superior to Mahādeva.”
Cited for
Krishna's penance was an example. As a man, he showed how a devotee should honour Shiva, just as the Supreme may honour his own devotee. It does not make Shiva higher than Krishna.
The response
Bhishma does not present it as an example. He says it was through devotion to Rudra that Krishna "succeeded in overwhelming the entire universe". He says Krishna gratified Mahadeva in every age, and did penance at Vadari (a holy place in the Himalayas) to obtain a son. His conclusion is that he sees no one superior to Mahadeva. A Shaiva can use the same move on the Vishnu Purana: Shiva praised Krishna only as an example. When Vaishnavas and Shaivas each explain away the other's texts in the same way, the texts themselves decide nothing. The Qur'an leaves no room for this. God (﷾) worships no one and needs no one: "Allah is the One Free of all wants".
Where it lands — The epic states the penance, what it achieved, and the verdict that no one is superior to Mahadeva. Calling it an example is a reading brought to the text, and Shaivas can bring the same reading to the Vishnu Purana.
Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, section 14 — Bhishma on Krishna's penance to Shiva (Ganguli's numbering)
“For a full thousand years this Mādhava underwent the austerest penances and at last succeeded in gratifying the illustrious and boon-giving Civa, that Master of all the mobile and the immobile universe. In every new Yuga has Krishna (by such penances) gratified Mahādeva. In every Yuga has Mahādeva been gratified with the great devotion of the high-souled Krishna. What the puissance is of the high-souled Mahādeva,—that original cause of the universe,—has been seen with his own eyes by Hari who himself transcends all deterioration, on the occasion of his penances in the retreat of Vadari undergone for obtaining a son. I do not, O Bhārata, behold any one that is superior to Mahādeva.”
Cited for
The Anusasana Parva's praise of Shiva is a later Shaiva addition to the epic. The Gita is the original teaching, so its word stands: nothing is higher than Krishna.
The response
On that claim, one sect enlarged the epic that carries the Gita to raise its own god. The book itself does not mark which passages are original. So a Shaiva may just as well call the Gita's line the addition. Either way, the reader cannot learn who God (﷾) is from the book as it stands. He must first decide which parts to trust, and that decision comes from his sect. The Qur'an asks to be tested as a whole: "Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy."
Where it lands — If the Shiva passages were added later, the epic was changed to raise one god, and the text alone cannot tell which words to trust.
H. H. Wilson, The Vishnu Purana, 1840, Preface, p. xii — the Padma Purana's classes of Puranas
“Thus it is said in the Uttara Khańd́a of the Padma, that the Puráńas, as well as other works, are divided into three classes, according to the qualities which prevail in them. Thus the Vishńu, Náradíya, Bhágavata, Gárud́a, Padma, and Váráha Puráńas, are Sátwika, or pure, from the predominance in them of the Satwa quality, or that of goodness and purity. They are, in fact, Vaishńava Puráńas. The Matsya, Kúrma, Linga, Śiva, Skanda, and Agni Puráńas, are Támasa, or Puráńas of darkness, from the prevalence of the quality of Tamas, 'ignorance,' 'gloom.' They are indisputably Śaiva Puráńas.”
Cited for
The praise each Purana gives its own god is arthavada: praise meant to inspire devotion, not a literal ranking. The Puranas are smriti (remembered tradition), below the Vedas, and should not be read as statements of fact about who is highest.
The response
Then the Puranas and the epics are unreliable on the most important question they discuss, who God (﷾) is. And the stories told in temples and at festivals come largely from these books. The sectarian traditions did not read them as mere praise either. The Padma Purana, as Wilson reports it, grades the Shaiva Puranas as Puranas of darkness and the Vaishnava ones as pure. That is a judgement, not praise. Madhva's school states as doctrine that Brahma and Shiva decay and that all the deities obey Hari. The reply also cuts both ways. Suppose Bhishma's verdict that no one is superior to Mahadeva is only praise. Then Krishna's words in the Gita, in the same epic, that nothing is higher than himself may be only praise too. The Qur'an's statements about God (﷾) are not praise that may be discounted: "there is none like unto Him".
Where it lands — Calling the rankings arthavada does not remove them. It makes the books silent on who God (﷾) is, and the sectarian traditions themselves treated the rankings as real.
Vishnu Purana 1.8 — book 1, chapter 8
“In the beginning of the Kalpa, as Brahmá purposed to create a son, who should be like himself, a youth of a purple complexion appeared, crying with a low cry, and running about. Brahmá, when he beheld him thus afflicted, said to him, "Why dost thou weep?" "Give me a name," replied the boy. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined the great father of all creatures: "be composed; desist from tears."”
Cited for
The accounts differ because they tell of different ages. The Vishnu Purana itself says Rudra appeared "In the beginning of the Kalpa" (a great age of the world). In one age of the world Rudra comes from Brahma; in another, Brahma and Vishnu come from Shiva. The stories belong to different cycles, so they do not contradict each other.
The response
Different ages could explain different events. They cannot explain different answers to who is God. The Supreme is not supreme in one age and a servant in the next. The Linga Purana's Shiva is "the undivided supreme lord", and Brahma and Vishnu sprang from him. The Vishnu Purana's Shiva calls Krishna "the supreme lord", "beyond all things". Both cannot be the lasting truth. The Padma Purana's grading has nothing to do with ages either. It calls one set of Puranas pure and the other Puranas of darkness. An appeal to other ages can reconcile any two stories, so it cannot show that either one is true. The Qur'an needs no such appeal: "Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy".
Where it lands — Different ages may change events, not who God (﷾) is. The texts still name different gods as the Supreme.
Linga Purana 1.19 — part 1, chapter 19 (Shiva to Vishnu)
“my child, my child, Hari, Vishṇu, preserve all this moving and stationary world. I, the undivided supreme lord, am divided in a three-fold manner under the names of Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Bhava, possessing the attributes of creating, preserving, and destroying.”
Cited for
There is no rivalry, because of the Trimurti. One God creates as Brahma, preserves as Vishnu and destroys as Shiva. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are three roles, and none is above the others.
The response
The texts that teach three roles do not leave the three equal, and they do not agree on who is above. In the Linga Purana, the one who is divided into Brahma, Vishnu and Bhava is Shiva himself, "the undivided supreme lord". The Vishnu Purana says the opposite. There "the one only god" is Janardana, a name of Vishnu. He takes the names of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as he creates, preserves or destroys. H. H. Wilson, its translator, noted that all the Puranas teach this. They differ only in which god they make the Supreme: Vishnu in the Vishnu Purana, Shiva in the Linga, Krishna in the Brahma-vaivarta. In the Devi-mahatmya, the Goddess made all three take bodies. Even the Maitri Upanishad's passage that makes all three parts of one being does not treat them alike. Rudra is the part "which belongs to darkness", and Vishnu the part "which belongs to goodness". So the Trimurti is not a neutral meeting point. The texts that teach it do not treat the three alike, and they differ on who stands above. The Qur'an knows no division of the One into roles or persons: He is One and Eternal, and there is none like Him.
Where it lands — Each of these texts sets one god above the three roles or treats the three unequally. They disagree on which god is highest. The Trimurti moves the question; it does not answer it.
Maitri Upanishad 5.2 — chapter 5, verse 2
“Now that part of him which belongs to darkness, that, O students, is he who is called Rudra. That part of him which belongs to obscurity, that, O students, is he who is called Brahmâ. That part of him which belongs to goodness, that, O students, is he who is called Vishnu. He being one, becomes three, becomes eight, becomes eleven, becomes twelve, becomes infinite.”
Cited for
Smartas, who follow Shankara, worship Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Ganesha and Surya side by side, as forms of the one Brahman. Each worshipper may choose the form he loves. The shruti itself says the one being "becomes three": Rudra, Brahma and Vishnu. No form is higher than another. The passages that exalt one god are there to deepen devotion to that form.
The response
Then the Smarta must set aside what the books say about rank, because the books do rank. The Gita's Krishna says nothing is higher than himself. The epic's Bhishma says no one is superior to Mahadeva. Neither speaks of equal forms. So the equality does not come from the scripture; it comes from the Smarta's school. Even the passage he cites does not treat the three alike. Rudra is the part "which belongs to darkness", and Vishnu the part "which belongs to goodness". A Shaiva cannot accept that, since his Linga Purana calls Shiva "the undivided supreme lord". So the Smarta answer is one more reading among rival readings, and the books do not decide between them. The Qur'an gives God's (﷾) own names for Himself, and every one of them names the One God (﷾). "Call upon Allah, or call upon Rahman", it says. By whatever name He is called, "to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names".
Where it lands — Equal forms is one school's reading, which the texts themselves do not keep. Even the Upanishad's passage that unites the three does not treat them alike.
Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.2 — chapter 3, verse 2
“For there is one Rudra only, they do not allow a second, who rules all the worlds by his powers. He stands behind all persons, and after having created all worlds he, the protector, rolls it up at the end of time.”
Cited for
The shruti, which outranks the Puranas, names the one Lord by both names: Rudra in the Svetasvatara Upanishad, and Narayana in the Narayana Upanishad. Both are names of the one Brahman, so the dispute belongs only to the later books.
The response
Then the dispute is inside the shruti too. The Svetasvatara says there is one Rudra only, and "they do not allow a second". The Katha Upanishad names the end of the journey "the highest place of Vishnu". Madhva's school also cites the Narayana Upanishad for the teaching that no one is freed without Vishnu's grace. It adds that those who propitiate the divinities are not freed. Shaivas read the first as naming Shiva, and Vaishnavas read the others as naming Vishnu. The scripture does not decide between them; the teachers do, and they disagree. The Qur'an names the One it means, and says there is none like unto Him.
Where it lands — Both names are in the shruti, and each is claimed by a different tradition as the name of the Supreme. So the shruti does not settle who is supreme either.
Rig Veda 1.164.46 — Mandala 1, Hymn 164, verse 46
“They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutmân. To what is One, sages give many a title: they call it Agni, Yama, Mâtariṣvan.”
Cited for
"To what is One, sages give many a title." Shiva and Vishnu are two names of one God, just as Muslims call God by ninety-nine names. No Muslim asks whether al-Rahman or al-Rahim is supreme. Your God is also merciful and also severe in punishment: two aspects of one God, as Vishnu preserves and Shiva destroys.
The response
The Qur'an's names never compete. Whether He is called Allah (﷾) or al-Rahman, it says, to Him belong the most beautiful names. The Qur'an does speak of His mercy and His punishment together. "Tell My servants that I am indeed the Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful; And that My Penalty will be indeed the most grievous Penalty." Both belong to the One God (﷾), who acts by both. His mercy has no birth of its own, no body, no sect and no scripture. No name of His is born from another, worships another, or is ranked below another. No book of one name calls the books of another name darkness. The Hindu texts do all of these with Shiva and Vishnu. One book has Rudra appear as Brahma's son, and another has Shiva create Brahma. One god does penance to the other for a boon. One Purana calls the other sect's Puranas darkness. Many names for one God (﷾) is Islam's teaching. Many gods with their own births, deeds and ranks is something else.
Where it lands — The Qur'an's many names and attributes describe one God (﷾) with no rival. The Hindu texts give Shiva and Vishnu separate births, deeds and ranks, which the names or aspects of one God (﷾) do not have.
Bhagavad Gita 7:20-23 — chapter 7, verses 20-23
“Those who are deprived of knowledge by various desires approach other divinities, observing various regulations, and controlled by their own natures. Whichever form (of deity) any worshipper wishes to worship with faith, to that form I render his faith steady. Possessed of that faith, he seeks to propitiate (the deity in) that (form), and obtains from it those beneficial things which he desires, (though they are) really given by me. But the fruit thus (obtained) by them, who have little judgment, is perishable. Those who worship the divinities go to the divinities, and my worshippers, too, go to me.”
Cited for
Each person takes the path that suits his nature and capacity. For a Shaiva, Shiva is right; for a devotee of Krishna, Krishna. Krishna himself says that he makes steady the faith of each worshipper, whatever form he worships. It is for each to decide.
The response
The texts do not say that each god is right for his own worshipper. Each names its own god as supreme over the others. In the Gita, Krishna says there is nothing "higher than myself". In the Mahabharata, Bhishma calls Mahadeva "the creator of Brahman, Vishnu, and Indra". In the Linga Purana, Shiva calls himself "the undivided supreme lord". If Shiva is above Vishnu, Vishnu is not above Shiva. Both cannot be true, whatever suits the worshipper. The very verses quoted for choice also rank the choices. They say such worshippers are "deprived of knowledge by various desires", and that their fruit "is perishable". The Qur'an asks the question plainly: "are many lords differing among themselves better, or the One Allah, Supreme and Irresistible?"
Where it lands — Who is supreme is a question of what is true, not of what suits. The scriptures give rival answers, and the One God (﷾) has said who He is.
Qur'an 4:82 — Surat al-Nisa (The Women), verse 82
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
Cited for
Muslims are divided too. They understand the Qur'an in different ways and disagree on belief and law. So disagreement among Hindus proves nothing against the Hindu scriptures.
The response
This page does not argue from disagreement alone. It shows that the Hindu books themselves name different gods as supreme. Muslims do differ in understanding, but over one shared text. Every Muslim holds the same book of 114 suras. Its verses name one God (﷾), with no rival: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only". A difference of understanding is not a difference of scripture. The Qur'an even invites the test: "Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy."
Where it lands — Muslims differ over how to read one book, which names one God (﷾). The Hindu books themselves name rival gods as supreme.
Perspectives
Vishnu is supreme (Vaishnava)
Vishnu, known as Narayana and as Krishna, is the Supreme Lord. Nothing is higher than he. Brahma, Shiva and the other gods depend on him and obey him, and Shiva himself honours Krishna as the supreme lord.
Vaishnava traditions: the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas, and the schools of Ramanuja and Madhva
In the Gita, Krishna says he makes and destroys the whole universe, and that there is nothing higher than himself.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Gita says this. But Bhishma, in the same epic, says Krishna spent a thousand years in penance to please Shiva. He adds that he sees no one superior to Mahadeva. The books do not agree. The Qur'an teaches the One who is free of all wants and has no one above Him to ask a boon of.
Krishna says that among the Rudras he is Sankara, a name of Shiva.
Rebuttal
Grant that Krishna says this. But Bhishma, in the same epic, says Krishna's power came through devotion to Rudra. One line cannot outweigh the other, and the epic does not say which to keep. The Qur'an names the One of whom it says "there is none like unto Him".
The Vishnu Purana tells that Rudra appeared when Brahma wished for a son, and that Brahma named him.
Rebuttal
The Vishnu Purana does tell this. But the Mahabharata says Mahadeva is the creator of Brahma and Vishnu, and the Linga Purana says Brahma and Vishnu both sprang from Shiva. These accounts of who was born from whom cannot all be true. In the Qur'an, God (﷾) "begetteth not, nor is He begotten".
The Vishnu Purana speaks of the one and only god, Janardana (Vishnu). He takes the names Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva as he creates, keeps or destroys.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Vishnu Purana says this. Its translator, H. H. Wilson, noted that every Purana teaches one god in three roles, but each names a different god as that one. It is Vishnu here, Shiva in the Linga Purana and Krishna in the Brahma-vaivarta. So the claim cannot decide the question. The Qur'an knows no division of the One: He is One and Eternal.
In the Vishnu Purana, Shiva calls Krishna the supreme lord, beyond all things, and asks his favour.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Vishnu Purana has Shiva say this. The Linga Purana tells it the other way. There Vishnu praises Shiva, and Shiva calls himself the undivided supreme lord and Vishnu "my child". Each book puts its own god on top. The God (﷾) of the Qur'an asks no one for a boon, because He is free of all wants.
The Bhagavata Purana calls the other divine beings parts of God, but Krishna the Lord himself.
Rebuttal
Yes, the Bhagavata Purana says this. But the Mahabharata, the Linga Purana and the Devi-mahatmya each name a different Supreme God (﷾). A claim made in one book cannot outweigh the same claim made in another. The Qur'an puts itself to the test of having no contradictions. It says: "Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy".
Madhva's school cites verses that Brahma and Shiva decay with their bodies and that all the deities obey Hari.
Rebuttal
Madhva's school does hold this as doctrine. Shaivas hold the opposite, that no one is superior to Mahadeva, and both claim the scriptures. So the scriptures do not decide between them. The Qur'an teaches the One who is Eternal and free of all wants.
Madhva's school cites the Narayana Upanishad for the teaching that liberation comes only by Vishnu's grace.
Rebuttal
Madhva's school does cite this. But the Svetasvatara Upanishad speaks of one Rudra only, and Shaivas read it as naming Shiva. Each side finds its own god in the shruti, so the shruti does not decide. The Qur'an names the One it means, and says there is none like unto Him.
The Katha Upanishad names the goal "the highest place of Vishnu".
Rebuttal
Grant that the Katha names the goal "the highest place of Vishnu". But the Svetasvatara speaks of one Rudra only, with no second, and Shaivas read it as naming Shiva. The scripture does not choose between them; the teacher a Hindu follows does. The Qur'an says plainly that there is none like unto Him.
Shiva is supreme (Shaiva)
Shiva, Mahadeva, the great God, is the Supreme Lord. He is the one Rudra of the Upanishad, with no second. He creates all worlds, protects them and rolls them up at the end of time. He is not only the destroyer of the Trimurti. Brahma and Vishnu sprang from him, and Krishna himself worshipped him.
Shaiva traditions: the Svetasvatara Upanishad, the Linga Purana, and the Anusasana Parva of the Mahabharata
The Svetasvatara Upanishad says there is one Rudra only, with no second, who rules all the worlds.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that the Supreme has no second. But Vaishnavas read the shruti for Vishnu, and their Vishnu Purana has Rudra appear as Brahma's son. The scripture does not settle whose "one" is meant. In the Qur'an, God (﷾) "begetteth not, nor is He begotten".
The same Upanishad calls him the highest great lord of lords and the highest deity of deities.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that the Supreme is the highest Lord, with no one above Him. But the Qur'an knows no lesser gods beneath Him: had there been other gods besides Allah (﷾), there would have been confusion (21:22). And the books name different gods as the Supreme.
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma says Mahadeva (Shiva) is the creator and master of Brahma, Vishnu and Indra. All the gods, he says, worship him.
Rebuttal
Grant that Bhishma says this. But the Vishnu Purana tells it the other way, and the Gita in the same epic has Krishna say that nothing is higher than himself. The books rank their gods differently. The Qur'an says that had there been other gods, each would have taken away what he had created.
Bhishma says Krishna spent a thousand years doing penance to please Shiva. Through his devotion to Rudra, he says, Krishna came to overpower the whole universe.
Rebuttal
Grant that the epic says this. But the Gita in the same epic has Krishna say that nothing is higher than himself. A Vaishnava can explain the penance as an example, and a Shaiva can explain the Gita line as praise. When each side explains away the other's text, the text decides nothing. The Qur'an's God (﷾) worships no one and is free of all wants.
Bhishma says he sees no one superior to Mahadeva.
Rebuttal
Grant that Bhishma says this. But in the Vishnu Purana, Shiva himself calls Krishna "the supreme lord", and in the Gita Krishna says nothing is higher than himself. Each tradition gives its own verdict, and the verdicts are opposite. The Qur'an teaches the One of whom it says "there is none like unto Him".
In the Linga Purana, Shiva tells Brahma and Vishnu that both sprang from him. He calls himself the undivided supreme lord, divided into Brahma, Vishnu and Bhava.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Linga Purana says this. The Vishnu Purana says instead that the one only god is Janardana, a name of Vishnu, who takes the three names. Wilson noted that each Purana makes a different god the one. The Qur'an knows no division of the One into roles: He is One and Eternal.
The Goddess is supreme (Shakta)
The Goddess, Devi or Shakti, is the supreme power behind all things. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva themselves took bodies by her power.
Shakta traditions: the Devi-mahatmya (Durga Saptashati)
In the Devi-mahatmya, Brahma says the Goddess made Vishnu, himself and Shiva take bodies.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Devi-mahatmya says this. The Vaishnava and Shaiva books say that Vishnu or Shiva is supreme, so the books give three different answers. The Qur'an teaches that if there had been other gods besides Allah (﷾), each would have taken away what he had created. Some would have lorded it over others.
They are one (Harihara, the Trimurti and the Smartas)
Shiva and Vishnu are not rivals but one God. The sages give many names to what is One. The one God works as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in creating, preserving and destroying. Smartas worship Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Ganesha and Surya side by side as forms of the one Brahman. To ask which is supreme is to see distinctions that come from ignorance.
Smartas, who follow Shankara; many Hindus today; and the reconciling passages of the Puranas
In the Vishnu Purana, Krishna tells Shiva that the two of them are not separate. People see differences, he says, only because they do not know.
Rebuttal
Grant that Krishna says this to Shiva. But Shiva speaks first and calls Krishna "the supreme lord", and in the Linga Purana the oneness is told with Shiva above. Told on opposite terms, the oneness does not end the ranking. The Qur'an's God (﷾) asks no one for a boon, because He is free of all wants.
The Linga Purana speaks of one supreme lord divided in three ways, as Brahma, Vishnu and Bhava.
Rebuttal
Grant that the Linga Purana says this. But the one who is divided is Shiva himself, "the undivided supreme lord". The Vishnu Purana makes it Janardana, a name of Vishnu. Both teach one God in three roles, and they do not agree who He is. The Qur'an teaches that He is One and Eternal, and none is like Him.
The Maitri Upanishad says the one being becomes three: Rudra, Brahma and Vishnu.
Rebuttal
The Maitri Upanishad does say this. But it names a different quality for each: darkness (tamas, the quality of dullness) for Rudra, obscurity for Brahma and goodness for Vishnu. So it does not treat the three alike, and the Linga Purana makes Shiva the supreme lord. The Qur'an knows no division of the One into parts: He is One and Eternal.
The Rig Veda says the sages give many names to what is One.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that the One God (﷾) has many names. But the Qur'an's names never compete, and no name is born of another. In the books, Shiva and Vishnu have separate births, deeds and ranks, and names of one God (﷾) do not have these. The Qur'an says that by whatever name He is called, to Him belong the most beautiful names.
The Islamic perspective
There is one God, with no rival, no equal and none above Him. Scriptures that make gods born of one another, worship one another and rank one another cannot all be describing Him. The Qur'an teaches the One who needs nothing, whose many names never compete.
The Hindu scriptures give opposite answers to who is supreme, even within one epic. And their passages about oneness rank the gods in opposite ways.
The translator of the Vishnu Purana noted that every Purana teaches one god in three roles. But the Puranas disagree about which god that one is.
The Qur'an says something about itself. If it were from anyone other than Allah (﷾), there would be many contradictions in it.
The Qur'an argues that rival gods would bring confusion and that each would take away what he had created.
The Qur'an asks whether many lords differing among themselves are better, or the One God (﷾).
God (﷾) is free of all wants, begets not and is not begotten, and has none like Him.
God's (﷾) many names all belong to Him and never compete.