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File:Brahma on hamsa.jpg
Brahma is a god found in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा) (/ˈbrəhmɑː/; Brahmā) is the creator god in the Trimurti of Hinduism. He has four faces.[1] Brahma is also known as Svayambhu (self-born),[2] Vāgīśa (Lord of Speech), and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths.[1][3] Brahma is identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Kama and Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic egg),[4][5] he is more prominently mentioned in the post-Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is conflated with Purusha.[1] Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of a Hindu Trimurti; however, ancient Hindu texts mention other trinities of gods or goddesses which do not include Brahma.[6][7][note 1]

While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, several Puranas describe him being born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu. Other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects,[9] or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology.[4] Brahma, along with all deities, is sometimes viewed as a form (sarguna) of the otherwise formless (nirguna) Brahman, the ultimate metaphysical reality and cosmic soul in Advaita philosophy.[7][5]

Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the other members of the Trimurti, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India.[10] Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India; the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan.[11] Brahma temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.[12]


File:12th century Chennakesava temple at Somanathapura, Karnataka, India Lord Brahma.jpg

The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in part because several related words such as one for Ultimate Reality (Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature. The existence of a distinct deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic text.[13] A distinction between spiritual concept of Brahman, and deity Brahma, is that the former is gender neutral abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism,[14] while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu mythology.[15] The spiritual concept of Brahman is far older, and some scholars suggest deity Brahma may have emerged as a personal conception and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle called Brahman.[13]




Vedic literature[edit]

One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed in late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is discussed in verse 5,1 also called the Kutsayana Hymn first, and expounded in verse 5,2.[17][18]


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.[19][20] This chapter of the Maitri Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged from darkness (Tamas), first as passion characterized by action qua action (Rajas), which then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness (Sattva).[17][19] Of these three qualities, Rajas is then mapped to Brahma, as follows:[21]

<poem> 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 ! </poem>


Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranas[edit]

File:Sheshashayi Vishnu.jpg
In Vaishnava Puranic mythology, Brahma emerges from a lotus risen from Vishnu's navel while he rests on the serpent Shesha.[23]


Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and among the most studied and described.[26][27][28] Born from a lotus emerging from the navel of Vishnu, Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.[23] In contrast, the Shiva-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by Ardhanarishvara, that is 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).[9] Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.[29]

In the Bhagavata Purana, Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the "Ocean of Causes".[30] Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe is born, inside a lotus rooted in the navel of Hari (deity Vishnu, whose praise is the primary focus in the Purana). The myth asserts that Brahma is drowsy, errs and is temporarily incompetent as he puts together the universe.[30] He then becomes aware of his confusion and drowsiness, meditates as an ascetic, then realizes Hari in his heart, sees the beginning and end of universe, and then his creative powers are revived. Brahma, states Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combines Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and tempest of causal nexus.[30] The Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma, wherein he creates for the sake of creation, imbuing everything with both the good and the evil, the material and the spiritual, a beginning and an end.[31]





File:A roundel of Brahma.jpg


Chapter 51 of Manasara-Silpasastra, an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making Murti and temples, states that Brahma statue should be golden in color.[38] The text recommends that the statue have four faces and four arms, have jata-mukuta-mandita (matted hair of an ascetic), and wear a diadem (crown).[38] Two of his hands should be in refuge granting and gift giving mudra, while he should be shown with kundika (water pot), akshamala (rosary), a small and a large sruk-sruva (laddles used in yajna ceremonies).[38] The text details the different proportions of the murti, describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddesses Sarasvati on his right and Savitri on his left.[38]

Brahma's wife is the goddess Saraswati.[39][40] She is considered to be "the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions".[41]



Very few temples are primarily dedicated to Brahma and his worship in India.[10] One of the few and the most prominent Hindu temple for Brahma is the Brahma Temple, Pushkar.[11] Other temples include a temple in Asotra village in Balotra taluka of Rajasthan's Barmer district, which is known as Kheteshwar Brahmadham Tirtha.




Other temples dedicated to Brahma[edit]


Southeast Asia[edit]

File:Thai 4 Buddies.jpg


A statue of Brahma is present at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, and continues to be revered in modern times.[12] The golden dome of the Government House of Thailand also contains a statue of Phra Phrom (Thai representation of Brahma). An early 18th-century painting at Wat Yai Suwannaram in Phetchaburi city of Thailand shows Brahma.[43]


East Asia[edit]


Difference between Brahma, Brahman, Brahmin and Brahmanas[edit]

Brahman (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मन्, brahman)[47] is a metaphysical concept of Hinduism referring to the ultimate reality,[48] that, states Doniger, is uncreated, eternal, infinite, transcendent, the cause, the foundation, the source and the goal of all existence.[49] It is envisioned as either the cause or that which transforms itself into everything that exists in the universe as well as all beings, that which existed before the present universe and time, which exists as current universe and time, and that which will absorb and exist after the present universe and time ends.[49] It is a gender neutral abstract concept.[49][50][51]

Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा, brahmā)[47] is distinct from Brahman.[48] Brahma is a male deity, in the post-Vedic Puranic literature,[52] who 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 gods, goddesses, matter and other beings.[49] In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all gods and goddesses, and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts again.[52][53] The deity Brahma is mentioned in the Vedas and the Upanishads but is uncommon,[54] while the abstract Brahman concept is predominant in these texts, particularly the Upanishads.[55] In the Puranic and the Epics literature, deity Brahma appears more often, but inconsistently. Some text suggest that god Vishnu created Brahma,[56] others suggest god Shiva created Brahma,[57] yet others suggest goddess Devi created Brahma,[58] and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.[58][59] Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the saguna (representation with face and attributes)[60] Brahman is Vishnu,[61] Shiva,[62] or Devi[63] respectively, and that the Atman (soul, self) within every living being is same or part of this ultimate, eternal Brahman.[64]

Brahmin (Sanskrit: ब्राह्मण, Brahmin)[65] is a varna in Hinduism specialising in theory as priests, preservers and transmitters of sacred literature across generations.[66][67]

The Brahmanas, or Brahmana Granthas, (Sanskrit: ब्राह्मणग्रंथ, brāhmaṇa)[68] are one of the four ancient layers of texts within the Vedas. They are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends, the explanation of Vedic rituals and in some cases philosophy.[69][70] They are embedded within each of the four Vedas, and form a part of the Hindu śruti literature.[71]

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]




  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bruce Sullivan (1999), Seer of the Fifth Veda: Kr̥ṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816763, pages 85-86
  5. 5.0 5.1 David Leeming (2009), Creation Myths of the World, 2nd Edition, ISBN 978-1598841749, page 146;
  6. 6.0 6.1 David White (2006), Kiss of the Yogini, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226894843, pages 4, 29
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jan Gonda (1969), The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 212-226
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Stella Kramrisch (1994), The Presence of Siva, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691019307, pages 205-206
  10. 10.0 10.1 Brian Morris (2005), Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521852418, page 123
  11. 11.0 11.1 SS Charkravarti (2001), Hinduism, a Way of Life, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120808997, page 15
  12. 12.0 12.1 Ellen London (2008), Thailand Condensed: 2,000 Years of History & Culture, Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 978-9812615206, page 74
  13. 13.0 13.1 Bruce Sullivan (1999), Seer of the Fifth Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816763, pages 82-83
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Hume, Robert Ernest (1921), The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pp. 422–424 
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, Maitrayana-Brahmana Upanishad, Oxford University Press, pages 303-304
  20. Jan Gonda (1968), The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Vol. 63, pages 215-219
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791421123, pages 122-138
  28. Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46
  30. 30.0 30.1 30.2 Richard Anderson (1967), Hindu Myths in Mallarmé: Un Coup de Dés, Comparative Literature, Vol. 19, No. 1, pages 28-35
  35. Joseph Alter (2004), Yoga in modern India, Princeton University Press, page 55
  36. 36.0 36.1 Kenneth Morgan (1996), The Religion of the Hindus, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803879, page 74
  37. Philip Wilkinson and Neil Philip (2009), Mythology, Penguin, ISBN 978-0756642211, page 156
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 PK Acharya, A summary of the Mānsāra, a treatise on architecture and cognate subjects, PhD Thesis awarded by Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, published by BRILL, OCLC 898773783, page 50
  46. Robert E. Buswell Jr.; Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8. 
  49. 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 Wendy Denier (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0. 
  69. Brahmana Encyclopædia Britannica (2013)
  71. "Brahmana". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

External links[edit]
