Brahma

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Brahma - the creator

Brahma (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मा, IAST: Brahmā) is a creator god in Hinduism. He has four faces. Brahma is also known as Svayambhu (self-born), Vāgīśa (Lord of Speech), and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths.

Brahma is sometimes identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic egg). 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. Although, Brahma is part of the "Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva" in Trimurti, ancient Hindu scriptures mention multiple trinities of gods or goddesses which do not include Brahma.

Several puranas describe him emerging from a lotus, connected to the navel of Lord Vishnu. Other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology. Brahma, along with all deities, is sometimes viewed as a form (saguna) of the otherwise formless (nirguna) Brahman, the ultimate metaphysical reality in Vedantic Hinduism.

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. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India; the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan.

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. A distinction between spiritual concept of Brahman, and deity Brahma, is that the former is gender neutral abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism, while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu mythology. 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.

In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem brahman forms two distinct nouns; one is a neuter noun bráhman, whose nominative singular form is brahma; this noun has a generalized and abstract meaning.

Contrasted to the neuter noun is the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is Brahma. This singular form is used as the proper name of the deity, Brahma.

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 first discussed in verse 5,1 also called the Kutsayana Hymn, and then expounded in verse 5,2.

In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn, 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."

In the 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. 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).^[18]^[20] Of these three qualities, Rajas is then mapped to Brahma, as follows:

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

While the Maitri Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of 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.

The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of 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 endless repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created. The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Devi among the terms used for the primary creator, while 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).

Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and among the most studied and described. Born from a lotus emerging from the navel of Vishnu, Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. 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). Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.

In the Bhagavata Purana, Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the "Ocean of Causes". 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. 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. 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.

The Puranas describe Brahma as the deity creating time. They correlate human time to Brahma's time, such as a mahākalpa being a large cosmic period, correlating to one day and one night in Brahma's existence.

The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana, for example, goddess Parvati is called the "mother of the universe", and she is credited with creating Brahma, gods and the three worlds. She is the one, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - into matter (Prakrti) to create the empirically observed world.

The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas-quality god expands in the Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Saraswati has Sattva (quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, holistic, constructive, creative, positive, peaceful, virtuous), thus complementing Brahma's Rajas (quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, action qua action, individualizing, driven, dynamic).

Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms. Each face of his points to a cardinal direction. His hands hold no weapons, rather symbols of knowledge and creation. In one hand he holds the sacred texts of Vedas, in second he holds mala (rosary beads) symbolizing time, in third he holds a sruva or shruk — ladle types symbolizing means to feed sacrificial fire, and in fourth a kamandalu – utensil with water symbolizing the means where all creation emanates from. His four mouths are credited with creating the four Vedas. He is often depicted with a white beard, implying his sage-like experience. He sits on lotus, dressed in white (or red, pink), with his vehicle (vahana) – hamsa, a swan or goose – nearby.

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

Brahma in Mahabharata

Brahma sabha

Brahma sabha was described by Narada to Yudhishthira when the former visited the Maya Sabha at Indraprastha.

“Listen now to the Sabha I describe unto you, belonging to Brahma the Grandsire, that house which none can describe. In the Krita age of old, the exalted deity Aditya came down from heaven into the world of men. Having seen before the assembly-house of Brahma the Self-created, Aditya was cheerfully wandering over the Earth in human form, desirous of beholding what could be seen here. It was on that occasion that the god of day spoke unto me of that celestial Sabha of the Grandsire, immeasurable and immaterial and indescribable, as regards form and shape, and capable of delighting the heart of every creature by its splendour. Hearing of the merits of that Sabha, I became desirous of beholding it. I then asked Aditya, saying, “I desire to behold the sacred Sabha of the Grandsire. O lord of light, tell me, by what ascetic penances, or by what acts, or by what charms or by what rites, I may be enabled to behold that excellent sin-cleaning Sabha?” Hearing these words of mine, Aditya answered me thus: “Observe you, with mind rapt in meditation, the Brahma vow extending for a thousand years.” Repairing then to the breast of the Himavat, I commenced that great vow, and after I had completed it the exalted and sinless deity Surya endued with great energy, and knowing no fatigue, took me with him to the Sabha of the Grandsire. It is impossible to describe that Sabha, saying it is such, for within a moment it assumes a different form that language fails to paint. It is impossible to indicate its dimensions or shape. I never saw anything like it before. Ever contributing to the happiness of those within it, its atmosphere is neither cold nor warm. Hunger and thirst or any kind of uneasiness disappear as soon as one goes there. It seems to be made up of brilliant gems of many kinds. It does not seem to be supported on columns, it knows no deterioration, being eternal. That self effulgent mansion, by its numerous blazing, celestial indications of unrivalled splendour, seems to surpass the moon, the sun and the fire in splendour. Stationed in heaven, it blazes forth, censuring as it were the maker of the day. In that mansion, the Supreme Deity, the Grand-sire of all created things, having himself created everything by virtue of his creative illusion, stays ever.

Daksha, Prachetas, Pulaha, Marichi, Kashyapa, Bhrigu, Atri, and Vasishtha and Gautama, and also Angiras, and Pulastya, Kratu, Prahlada, and Kardama, these Prajapatis, and Angirasa of the Atharvan Veda, the Valakhilyas, the Marichipas; Intelligence, Space, Knowledge, Air, Heat, Water, Earth, Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, Scent; Nature, and the Modes, and the elemental and prime causes of the world, all stay in that mansion beside the lord Brahma. Agastya and Markandeya, Jamadagni and Bharadwaja, Samvarta, Chyavana, and Durvasa, and Rishyashringa, Sanatkumara; Asita and Devala, and Jaigishavya acquainted with truth; Rishaba, Ajitashatru, and Mani of great energy; and the Science of healing with its eight branches, all in their personified forms; the moon with all the stars and the stellar conjunctions; Aditya with all his rays; the winds; the Sacrifices, the Declarations of purpose, the Vital principles, these illustrious and vow-observing beings in their personified forms, and many others too numerous to mention, attend all upon Brahma in that mansion; Wealth and Dharma and Desire, and Joy, and Aversion, and Asceticism and Tranquility, all wait together upon the Supreme Deity in that palace.

The twenty tribes of the Gandharvas and Apsaras, as also their seven other tribes, and all the Lokapalas, and Shukra, and Brihaspati, and Budha, and Angaraka, Shani, Rahu, and the other planets; the Mantras, the special Mantras; Harimat and Vasumat, the Adityas with Indra, the two Agnis mentioned by name (viz. Agnisoma and Indragni), the Marutas, Vishwakarman, and the Vasus; the Pitris, and all kinds of sacrificial libations, the four Vedas. viz., Rig, Sama, Yajuh, and Atharva; all Sciences and branches of learning; Histories and all minor branches of learning; the several branches of the Vedas; the planets, the Sacrifices, the Soma, all the deities; Savitri, the seven kinds of rhyme; Understanding, Patience, Memory, Wisdom, Intelligence, Fame, Forgiveness; the Hymns of the Sama Veda; the Science of hymns in general, and various kinds of Verses and Songs; various Commentaries with arguments; all in their personified forms, and various Dramas and Poems and Stories and abridged Glosses, these also, and many others wait upon the Supreme Deity in that Sabha.

Kshanas, Lavas, Muhurtas, Day, Night, Fortnights, Months, the six Seasons, Years, Yugas, the four kinds of Days and Nights (viz., appearing to man, to the Pitris, to the gods, and to Brahma) and that eternal, indestructible, un-deteriorating, excellent Wheel of Time and also the Wheel of Virtue, these always wait there; and Aditi, Diti, Danu, Surasa, Vinata, Ira, Kalika, Surabi, Devi, Sarama, Gautami and the goddesses Pradha, and Kadru; these mothers of the celestials, and Rudrani, Shree, Lakshmi, Bhadra, Shashthi, the Earth, Ganga, Hri, Swaha, Kriti, the goddess Sura, Sachi Pushti, Arundhati, Samvritti, Asa, Niyati, Srishti, Rati, these and many other goddesses wait upon the Creator of all.

The Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Marutas, Ashwins, the Vishwedevas, Sadhyas, and the Pitris gifted with the speed of the mind; these all wait there upon the Grandsire. There are seven classes of Pitris, of which four classes have embodied forms and the remaining three without embodied forms. It is well known that the illustrious Vairajas and Agniswattas and Garhapattyas (three classes of Pitris) range in heaven. Those amongst the Pitris that are called the Somapas, the Ekashringras, the Chaturvedas, and the Kalas, are ever worshipped amongst the four orders of men. Gratified with the Soma, first, these gratify Soma afterwards. All these tribes of Pitris wait upon the Lord of the creation and cheerfully worship the Supreme Deity of immeasurable energy. Rakshasas, Pishachas, the Danavas and Guhyakas; Nagas, Birds, and various animals; and all mobile and immobile great beings; all worship the Grandsire. Purandara the chief of the celestials, and Varuna and Kubera and Yama, and Mahadeva accompanied by Uma, always repair there. Mahasena Kartikeya also adores there the Grandsire. Narayana himself, and the celestial Rishi, and those Rishis called Valakhillyas, and all beings born of females and all those not born of females, and whatever else is seen in the three worlds, both mobile and immobile, were all seen by me there. Eighty thousand Rishis with vital seed drawn up, and fifty thousand Rishis having sons, were all seen by me there. All the dwellers in heaven repairing there behold the Supreme Deity when they please, and worshipping him with a bow of their head return whence they came. The Grandsire of all created beings, the Soul of the universe, the Self create Brahma of immeasurable intelligence and glory, equally kind unto all creatures, honours as they deserve, and gratifies with sweet speech and gift of wealth and other enjoyable articles, the gods, the Daityas, the Nagas, the Brahmanas, the Yakshas, the Birds, the Kaleyas, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, and all other exalted beings that came to him as his guests. That delicious Sabha, is always crowded with persons coming and going. Filled with every kind of energy, and worshipped by Brahmarshis, that celestial Sabha blazes forth with the graceful possessions of Brahma and looks extremely handsome, as this Sabha of yours is unrivalled in the world of men, so is that Sabha of Brahma, seen by me unrivalled in all the worlds. I have seen these Sabhas, O Bharata, in regions of the celestials. This your Sabha is unquestionably the foremost in the world of men!"

Brahma - the weapon

The Brahma weapon, also known as Brahmashira was used in Mahabharata war.

Arjuna uses Brahma weapon on the 12th day of war, against the Samshaptakas

The son of Pandu allowed his heart to waver this side and that, but, at last, resolving to slay those foremost of warriors, viz., the Samshaptakas, he baffled the purpose of his enemies. Then mighty Samshaptaka car-warriors shot at Arjuna thousands of straight arrows. Covered with those arrows, neither Kunti's son Partha, nor Krishna, otherwise called Janardana, nor the steeds, nor the car, could be seen. Then Janardana became deprived of his senses and perspired greatly. Thereupon, Partha shot the Brahma weapon and nearly exterminated them all.

Hundreds upon hundreds of arms with bows and arrows and bowstrings in grasp, cut off from trunks, and hundreds upon hundreds of standards and steeds and charioteers and car-warriors, fell down on the ground. Huge elephants, well-equipped and resembling foremost hills over-grown with woods or masses of clouds, afflicted with Partha's shafts and deprived of riders, fell down on the earth. Many elephants again, with riders on their backs, crushed by means of Arjuna's shafts, fell down, deprived of life, shorn of the embroidered cloths on their backs, and with their housings torn. Cut off by Kiritin with his broad-headed arrows, countless arms having swords and lances and rapiers for their nails or having clubs and battle-axes in grasp, fell down on the earth. Heads also, beautiful, as the morning sun or the lotus or the moon, cut off by Arjuna with his arrows, dropped down on the ground. While Phalguni in rage was thus engaged in slaying the foe with diverse kinds of well-adorned and fatal shafts, that host seemed to be ablaze. Beholding Dhanunjaya crushing that host like an elephant crushing lotus-stalks, all creatures applauded him, saying, “Excellent, Excellent!” Seeing that feat of Partha resembling that of Vasava himself, Madhava wondered much and, addressing him with joined hands, said,

“Verily, O Partha, I think that this feat which you have achieved, could not be performed by Shakra, or Yama, or the Lord of treasures himself. I see that you have today felled in battle hundreds and thousands of mighty Samshaptaka warriors an together.”