This is the second of a series of short articles on various deities. As I am not a Hindu myself, I would appreciate any feedback from Hindus.
Brahma and Brahman
Brahma, an aspect of the Hindu Trimurti, is the personification of Brahman, the mysterious essence that permeates all living things yet both precedes and transcends them. He is described as being unborn or born of himself and as the original egg or original waters. His many appellations include Prajapati or Purusha (primordial being), Dhatar (organiser of the world), Vicvakarman (divine creative power of the world), Brihaspati (chaplain of the gods) and Hiranya Garbha (primordial egg at the root of creation). He is depicted astride a goose and has four arms, symbolic of his great power.
Brahma creates his beloved
Brahma divided himself into two, creating Sarasvati (Saraswati/Savitri) – feminine energy. He fell in love with her and desired to marry her. So intense was his passion that he grew four extra heads so that he could constantly see her as she circled around him in devotion. Marici, Brahma’s son, helped with creation while grandson Kashyapa became the father of the gods, men and other beings.
The travelling grandfather
Brahma was sometimes referred to as Pitamaha, a grandfather, as he travelled around bestowing offices to his favoured deities. Among the recipients was Indra who was given kingship over the other gods. He was not given to rewarding his adherents and as a result there were few devotees to him. Rather, his role was seen as that of an impartial judge, administering death and inflexible punishment where necessary. He could also see the future and gave mankind the sacred Vedas, our entire history being just one day in his life.
Sarasvati
This is just a brief introduction to the character and stories of Brahma and I may add more detail at a later stage.
Do you have any personal experience of or interest in Brahma or Hinduism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.
References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):
Comte, F. (1991) ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology’, Wordsworth, Kent
Image attributions
Shiva image licensed under Creative Commons Sharealike 2.5 Generic license by Tongjar322 (no active link at time of writing)
Sarusvati image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0 license by Durga
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Coming next: The Hindu Deities: Vishnu
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