Brahma

in

Download PDF: PCT-301

  • Brahma is one of the trimurti, He presides over raja-guna (the quality of passion) and is in charge of universal creation.
  • He was born atop the lotus emanating from the navel of Vishnu. He is also called Svayambhu, the ‘self-born’, and is the first living being within the universe.
  • Brahma is also called Vishvakarma, the ‘architect of the world’. Another name is Hiranyagarbha, referring to the golden egg from which he created the world.
  • Brahma’s main consort, Sarasvati, manifest from his own self. From their union came all creatures of the world.
  • Brahma is also called Pitamaha, the grandfather, and Prajapati, the original progenitor. Amongst his many direct offspring are the ten Prajapatis (progenitors), headed by Daksha, the seven great sages, and the four Kumaras (child-saints).
  • Brahma is no longer directly worshipped, except once a year at Pushkar, a famous pilgrimage spot in Rajastan. Others claim there is a second place at Khedabrahma in Kerala.
  • He is rarely worshipped due to a curse, according to one story by Shiva.
  • Another story tells of how Sarasvati was late in getting dressed and decorated for a sacrificial function. Impatient for the ceremony to begin at the auspicious time, Brahma commissioned the demigods to create for him a second wife, Gayatri (the personification of the mantra by the same name.). Sarasvati arrived late and beholding her husband with another woman, subsequently cursed him.
  • Brahma’s carrier is the swan, the emblem of discrimination (since it is reputed to separate milk from a mixture of milk and water)
  • Brahma has four heads and sits on a lotus. In each of his four hands, he holds the following symbols:
    • mala (prayer beads)
    • the Vedas
    • a kamandalu (water pot)
    • a spoon used in offering sacrifice
  • Legend states that Brahma originally had five heads, but that Shiva lopped one of them off when Brahma became enamoured by his own daughter, Sarasvati. His four heads face the four directions.
  • Further references: