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Lord Brahma, Hindu God of Creation
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the
Trimurti, the
others two Hindu Gods in the Trimurti are
Vishnu and
Shiva. Brahmas consort is
Saraswati, the goddess of learning.
According to the Puranas, Brahma is
a self-born from a
lotus flower which grew from the navel of
Vishnu
at the beginning of the universe. Thus comes one of his names Nabhija
(born from the navel). Another legend says that Brahma was born in
water. In this he deposited a seed that later became the golden egg.
From the golden egg, Brahma, the creator was born, as
Hiranyagarbha. The remaining materials of this golden egg
expanded into the Brahm-anda or Universe. Being born in water, Brahma is
also called Kanja (born in water). Brahma is said also to be the
son of the Supreme Being, Brahman and the female energy known as Prakrti
or
Maya.
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The
Great Hindu Trinity; The Trimurti-Shiva, Brahma & Vishnu
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The
Birth of Brahma from the Naval of Vishnu |
Brahma is traditionally depicted with four heads, four faces and
four arms. With each head he continually recites one of the four Vedas. He
is often depicted with a white beard,
indicating the near eternal nature of his existence. He is shown as
having four arms, with none holding a weapon, unlike most other
Hindu Gods.
One of his hands is shown holding a scepter in the form of a spoon,
which is associated with the pouring of holy ghee or oil into a
sacrificial pyre - indicating the fact that Brahma is the lord of
sacrifices. Another of his hands holds a water-pot (sometimes depicted
as a coconut shell containing water). The significance of the water is
that it is the initial, all-encompassing ether in which the first
element of creation evolved. Brahma also holds a string of malas
that he uses to keep track of the Universe's time. He also is shown
holding the Vedas, and sometimes, a lotus flower. |
| Another story in connection with Brahma's four heads is that when
Brahma was creating the universe, he made a female deity known as
Shatarupā (one with a hundred beautiful forms). Brahma became
immediately infatuated. Shatarupā moved in various directions to avoid
the gaze of Brahma. But wherever she went, Brahma developed a head.
Thus, Brahma developed five heads, one on each side and one above the
others. In order to control Brahma,
Shiva cut off the top head. Also,
Shiva felt that Shatarupā was
Brahma's daughter/son, being created by
him. Therefore,
Shiva determined, it was wrong for
Brahma to become
obsessed with her. He directed that there be no proper worship in India
for the "unholy" Brahma. Thus, only
Vishnu and
Shiva continue to be
worshipped, while Brahma is almost totally ignored. Ever since the
incident, Brahma has been reciting the four Vedas in his attempt at
repentance. |
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The
Bhagavata Purana includes a story wherein the Brahma of our universe
is called by
Krishna
to meet with the Brahmas of other worlds, some of which have many more
than four heads, counting into the many thousands in some instances for
Brahma's in control of universes much larger than our own.
Brahma's vehicle is a divine
Swan. This
divine bird is bestowed with a virtue called Neera-Ksheera Viveka
or the ability to separate milk and water from a mixture of the two. The
significance of this is that justice should be dispensed to all
creatures, however entwined it might be in a situation. Also, this
virtue indicates that one should learn to separate the good from the
evil and then accept that which is valuable and discard that which is
worthless or evil.
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