Brahma

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This article is about the Hindu creation god. For the genderless metaphysical concept of
Ultimate Reality in Hindu philosophy, see Brahman.
For other uses, see Brahma (disambiguation).
Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा, IAST: Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within
the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.[2][3][4] He is
associated with creation, knowledge, and the Vedas.[5][6][7][8] Brahma is prominently
mentioned in creation legends. In some Puranas, he created himself in a golden embryo
known as the Hiranyagarbha.

Brahma

God of Creation

Creator of the Universe

Epitome of knowledge and the Vedas[1]

Member of Trimurti
 A 17th century painting of Brahma on a Hamsa

Other Svayambhu, Virinchi, Prajapati

name
s

Deva ब्रह्मा
nagar
i

Sansk Brahmā
rit tra
nslite
ratio
n

Sinha බ්‍රහ්ම
la

Affili Trideva, Deva

ation

Abod Satyaloka or Brahmaloka, Pushkara

e

Mant ॐ वेदात्मनाय विद्महे हिरण्यगर्भाय धीमही

ra तन्नो ब्रह्मा प्रचोदयात्:
Oṃ vedātmanāya vidmahe hiraṇyagarbhāya dhīmahī
tan no brahmā pracodayāt'ॐ ब्रह्मणे नम:
Om Brahmane Namah
 Weap Brahmastra, Brahmashirsha astra
on

Symb Lotus, the Vedas, japamalaand kamandalu

ol

Moun Hamsa
t

Festiv Kartik Purnima

als

Personal information

Cons Saraswati
ort

Child Mind-born
ren childrenincluding Angiras, Atri, Bhrigu, Chitragupta,
Daksha, Himavan, Jambavan, Kama, Kratu, Kumaras,
Marichi, Narada, Pulaha, Pulastya, Shatarupa, Sindura
, Svayambhuva Manu, Vashishtha
Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic godPrajapati.[9] During the post-Vedic period,
Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century, he had lost
his significance. He was also overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu, Shiva,
and Mahadevi[10] and demoted to the role of a secondary creator, who was created by the
major deities.[11][12][13]
Brahma is commonly depicted as a red or golden-complexioned bearded man with four heads
and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and are pointed to the four cardinal
directions.[14] He is seated on a lotus and his vahana (mount) is a hamsa(swan, goose or
crane). According to the scriptures, Brahma created his children from his mind and thus, they
are referred to as Manasaputra.[15][16]
In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and has substantially
less importance than the other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in the ancient
texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India, owing to the absence of any
significant sect dedicated to his reverence.[17] Few temples dedicated to him exist in India,
the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan.[18] Some Brahma temples
are found outside India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, which in turn has found
immense popularity within the Chinese folk religious community.[19]
Origin and meaning
Literature and legends
Iconography
Worship
See also
References
External links
One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the
fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed around
the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed in verse 5,1, also called
the Kutsayana Hymn, and then expounded in verse 5,2.[27]

Sculpture of Brahma in Prambanan,

Java Indonesia
In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn,[27] the Upanishad asserts that one's Soul is
Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living
being. It equates the atman (Soul, Self) within to be Brahma and various alternate
manifestations of Brahman, as follows, "Thou art Brahma, thou art Vishnu, thou art
Rudra (Shiva), thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Indra, thou art All."[27]
In verse (5,2), Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇa, that is
qualities, psyche and innate tendencies the text describes can be found in all living
beings.[28][29] This chapter of the Maitri Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged
from darkness (tamas), first as passion characterized by innate quality (rajas), which
then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness (sattva).[27][28]Of these three
qualities, rajas are then mapped to Brahma, as follows:[30]
Now then, that part of him which belongs to tamas, that, O students of sacred
knowledge (Brahmacharins), is this Rudra.
That part of him which belongs to rajas, that O students of sacred knowledge, is
this Brahma.
That part of him which belongs to sattva, that O students of sacred knowledge, is this
Vishnu.
Verily, that One became threefold, became eightfold, elevenfold, twelvefold, into
infinite fold.
This Being (neuter) entered all beings, he became the overlord of all beings.
That is the Atman (Soul, Self) within and without – yea, within and without!
— Maitri Upanishad 5.2, [27][28]
While the Maitri Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇa theory
of Hinduism, the text does not depict him as one of the trifunctional elements of the
Hindu Trimurti idea found in later Puranic literature. [31]
Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranasedit
During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed
during the 2nd to 6th century CE. Early texts like Brahmananda Puranadescribe that
there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha,
emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came
into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the
earth and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.
[32][33][10]
However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that
some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and
Vaishnavism, their replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the
frequent attacks by Buddhists, Jains and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and
Shaivites.[10][33]
Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two
prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to
the Shiva Purana, where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest
among them. While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through
the sky. They decided to locate the source and extent of this column. Vishnu
assumed the form of a boar and journeyed towards the netherworld and Brahma
mounted a goose and travelled towards the heavens. Vishnu accepted his defeat,
declaring that he had been unable to locate the source. However, Brahma recruited
the ketaki flower as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the source.
Shiva emerged from the fire in his bodily form and cut off one of Brahma's heads for
his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive worship. Pleased with
Vishnu, Shiva offered him a high status and an active following dedicated to his
worship.[34]
The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many
involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the universe)
and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are
two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging (metaphysical) and other
secondary that is always changing (empirical), and that all observed reality of the
latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we
experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created. [35] The
primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies
with Brahman or Purusha or Devi among the terms used for the primary creator, [35]
[36] In contrast the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as
secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different
god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle (kalpa,
aeon).[12][35]
Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and
among the most studied and described.[37][38][39] Some texts suggest that Brahma
was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and from Brahma's
wrath, Shiva was born.[40][41] In contrast, the Shiva-focused Puranas describe Brahma
and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, half Shiva and half Parvati; or
alternatively, Brahma was born from Rudra, or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating
each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpa).[12][42] Yet others suggest the goddess
Devi created Brahma,[43] and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary
creator of the world working respectively on their behalf. [43][44] Brahma creates all the
forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. [45]Thus in most Puranic
texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.
[46] Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism
assert that the saguna(representation with face and attributes) [47] Brahma is Vishnu,
[48] Shiva,[49] or Devi,[50] respectively.
In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,[51] Brahma creates but neither preserves nor
destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the
metaphysical Brahman along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other
deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where the deity
Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and
dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, A new cosmic
cycle (kalpa) restarts.[51][52]