Brahma

Brahma Temple in Púshkar.

In Hinduism, Brahmā (from Sanskrit: ब्रह्म 'evolution or development') is the creator Deity who gave rise to the universe, being one of the member deities of the Trimurti ('three forms'), the triad made up of Brahma (creator God), Vishnu (preserver God) and Shiva (destroyer God).

Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic God Prajapati. During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century, it had lost its importance. He too was overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi, and demoted to the role of a secondary creator, who was created by the major deities.

Brahma is commonly depicted as a red or gold bearded man, with four heads and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and point to the four cardinal points. 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 hence they are known as Manasaputra.

In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and is of substantially less importance than the other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, but is rarely worshiped as a principal deity in India, due to the absence of a significant sect dedicated to his veneration. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan. Some Brahma temples are located outside of India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.

Origin and characteristics

In Hindu cosmology, after the myth of Púrusha, a Hindu myth arose in India that is currently not very widespread, in which Prayapati would be born through the Hiranyagarbha (cosmic egg or golden womb) laid by the goddess Ammavaru; which a few centuries later —in the Puranic era— would be identified as Brahmá and then with the Trimurti.

Another later myth of Shivaism, (of the worshipers of the god Shiva), says that in the process of manifestation of the universe, Shiva is the primitive consciousness and creates the other members of the Trimurti (Brahmâ and Vishnu) to generate the cosmic cycle.

However, according to the best-known myth, of Vishnuist origin (from the worshipers of the god Vishnu), Our material universe was created by Brahma; who arose from a lotus flower that floated in the ocean from the navel of the sleeping Vishnu lying in the ocean of conception (which generates the origin of the existence of our universe in his dreams). Because of this, a particular and different god Bramhá would exist in each universe created from the pores of the sleeping Vishnu lying in the causal ocean.

For the Advaita doctrine, on the other hand, it assumes Brahmá as the first being created by the absolute Brahman; and even as the first personification of it, through which Brahman creates everything, whereby Brahma is considered an agent of the absolute Brahman.

In this way, Brahmá with his mind creates the entire material universe from Prakriti, whose creation in this existence emerges as Maya (an illusion); thus creating: the flat world (Earth) and all the lokas (''locals'' or ''places'', planets and stars visible and invisible in the sky, where gods and other beings live).

Brahmá is the husband of Sáraswati (the goddess of knowledge) and Savitrī (the daughter of the sun god, Vivasuán or Savitrá), also called Gáiatri ('the sung'; one of the most important mantras of Hinduism). However, being the Creator, all of his children are mana-putra or children of mind, indicating their birth from Brahma's mind and not from his body. He is considered the father of Dharma (the god of religion) and Atri. Brahmá lives in Brahmapura, a city located on top of the mythological Mount Meru (located in the middle of the world).

Brahma occasionally interferes in the affairs of other Hindu deities, and even more rarely in those of mortals. Among her interventions, he forced the god Soma (the god of the Moon) to return Tara to her husband Brijaspati (the guru of the gods).

He would also have been the one who requested Vishvákarma, who is considered the deva shilpi (architect of the gods), to fabricate and design the sacred geometry and divine architecture.

Despite his importance as a god of creation in Hindu cosmology, he never became an object of popular worship: there are only two temples dedicated to him in India.

In the framework of Buddhist cosmology, Brahmâ, known as Great Brahmâ is considered a superior type of deities (devas) associated with goodness (being benign); he being the antagonist of Marâ (the evil one), and the highest Buddhist deva of samsara in terms of power. He is regarded as the protector of faith in Buddhism (Dharmapala) and according to Buddhist legends and sutras, he considers himself the creator of the universe, but like the other devas in Buddhism, he is not omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, nor immutable (because as every being in creation is subject to equally to change).

Representation

Brahmá is traditionally represented with four heads with white beards (symbol of wisdom), four arms and a red skin (or yellow, in the most modern iconographies). Each mouth recites one of the four Vedas. The hands hold a water container used to create life, a yapa-mala (string of beads) used to keep track of the time of the universe, the text of the Vedas written on paper (an anachronism, since books did not exist at the time of composition of the Vedic texts), and a padma (lotus flower). He rides on a swan, Jansa, with which he flies through the universe. This Jansa should not be confused with the swan incarnation of Vishnu, also called Jansa.

Creations

At the beginning of the creation process, Brahma creates the four Kumaras. However, they refused his order to procreate and become celibate (they are called Chatursana: 'the four bachelors').

He then proceeded to create from his mind ten sons or Prayápatis and one daughter (named Shatarupa, who can take hundreds of forms), who are believed to be the parents of the human race. But since these sons were born from his mind and not from his body, they are called mana putra, (mental sons). The Laws of Manu and the Brahma-anda-purana list them thus:

1. Marichi
2. Atri
3. Angirasa
4. Pulaha
5. Pulasthya
6. Krathu
7. Vashist
8. Prachethasa
9. Bhrigu
10. Narada