Brahma#Temples

The origins of the term {{IAST|brahmā}} are uncertain, partly because several related words are found in the Vedic literature, such as Brahman for the 'Ultimate Reality' and Brāhmaṇa for 'priest'. A distinction between the spiritual concept of brahman and the god Brahmā is that the former is a genderless abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism,James Lochtefeld, Brahman, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, page 122 while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu tradition.James Lochtefeld, Brahma, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0823931798}}, page 119 The spiritual concept of brahman is quite old and some scholars suggest that the god Brahma may have emerged as a god and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle of brahman.Bruce Sullivan (1999), Seer of the Fifth Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120816763}}, pages 82-83 The existence of a distinct god named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic texts.

Grammatically, the nominal stem Brahma- has two distinct forms: the neuter noun bráhman, whose nominative singular form is {{IAST|brahma}} ({{lang|sa|ब्रह्म}}); and the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is {{IAST|brahmā}} ({{lang|sa|ब्रह्मा}}). The former, the neuter form, has a generalized and abstract meaning{{cite book|last=Gopal|first=Madan|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|title=India through the ages|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India|year=1990|editor=K.S. Gautam|page=[https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/79 79]}} while the latter, the masculine form, is used as the proper name of the deity Brahma.

However, Brahman was sometimes used as a synonym for Brahma's name during the time the Mahabharata was written.{{Cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Karen |title=A History of God: The 4000-year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Inc |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-679-42600-4 |location=New York |pages=85–86 |author-link=Karen Armstrong}}

File:Brahma Bimaran casket.jpg, early 1st century CE. British Museum."The Bimaran Reliquary, a Gandharan work, which is now housed in the British Museum, London, is of great historical and iconographic significance. It shows Buddha in the centre, attended by Brahma to his right and Indra to the left." in {{cite book |last1=Banerjee |first1=Priyatosh |title=Central Asian art: new revelations from Xinjiang |date=2001 |publisher=Abha Prakashan |page=48 |isbn=9788185704241 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iazpAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}"Standing Buddha in the arched compartment, flanked by figures of Brahma and Indra standing in similar compartments, detail of the side of Bimaran gold casket" in {{cite book |last1=Agrawala |first1=Prithvi Kumar |title=Early Indian Bronzes |date=1977 |publisher=Prithvi Prakashan |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZUrAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}]]

One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, probably composed around the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed in verse 5,1, also called the Kutsayana Hymn, and then expounded in verse 5,2.{{citation|first=Robert Ernest|last=Hume|author-link=Robert Ernest Hume|title=The Thirteen Principal Upanishads |url=https://archive.org/stream/thirteenprincipa028442mbp#page/n443/mode/2up|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1921|pages=422–424}}

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 Shiva, thou art Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Indra, thou art All."

In verse (5,2), Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇas, that is qualities, psyche and innate tendencies the text describes can be found in all living beings.Max Muller, The Upanishads, Part 2, [https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/302/mode/2up Maitrayana-Brahmana Upanishad], Oxford University Press, pages 303-304Jan Gonda (1968), The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Vol. 63, pages 215-219 This chapter of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged from darkness (tamas), first as passion characterized by innate quality (rajas), which then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness (sattva). Of these three qualities, rajas are then mapped to Brahma, as follows:Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120814684}}, pages 344-346

{{Blockquote|

Now then, that part of him which belongs to tamas, that, O students of sacred knowledge (Brahmacharins), is this Shiva.

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!

|Maitrayaniya Upanishad, 5.2||source=Maitrayaniya Upanishad}}

While the Maitrayaniya Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇas 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.GM Bailey (1979), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269716 Trifunctional Elements in the theology of the Hindu Trimūrti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709145622/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269716 |date=9 July 2022 }}, Numen, Vol. 26, Fasc. 2, pages 152-163

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During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent god and his sect existed during the 2nd century CE to 6th century CE. Early texts like the Brahmanda Purana describe that there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha, emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth, and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.{{Cite book|last=Srinivasan|first=Shalini|title=Stories of Creation|date=April 1971|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha private limited|isbn=8184826478}}{{Cite book|last=Achuthananda|first=Swami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FqDwAAQBAJ&q=Brahma|title=The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma|date=27 August 2018|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd|isbn=978-0-9757883-3-2|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Brahma|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|date=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|language=en|pages=78–79}}

However, by the 7th century CE, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, their replacement of him with Tridevi in the Smarta tradition, and the frequent attacks by Buddhists, Jains, Hindus who worship Indra and all the other Hindu gods.File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Beeld van Brahma op de Candi Lara Jonggrang oftewel het Prambanan tempelcomplex TMnr 10016204.jpg, Java Indonesia|left]]Various Puranic legends mention various reasons for his decline in worship now. There are primarily two prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground in worship popularly. The first version refers to the Shiva Purana, where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest among them. While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through the sky which was Shiva as Lingodbhava. They decided to locate the beginning and end of this column of fire which is Shiva. Vishnu assumed the form of a boar as Varaha and journeyed towards the earth and Brahma assumed the form of a swan as Hamsa and journeyed towards the sky. Vishnu found about his defeat, revealing that he had been unable to locate the end, which was at the end of the universe and he got tired before he reached that so he was defeated in it there. However, Brahma had recruited the ketaki flower which fell from Shiva's head by his powers to end the debate here now, which was at the beginning of the universe with his beginning at there now and he got tired before he reached that so he was defeated in it there and this came to him and he took him as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the beginning. Shiva then took his true form and cut off one of Brahma's five heads for his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive an active following to his worship and would get a low status of popularity. Pleased with Vishnu's honesty, he offered him a high status of popularity and an active following dedicated to his worship and took the ketaki flower as an ornament on his head then and fused that head into him then. The second version refers to the Vishnu Purana, where Vishnu created Brahma and Shiva from his navel and forehead respectively, thus making Brahma along with Shiva both as inferior to Vishnu, who created them both as the supreme god above them in all aspects of power in this universe and after that, when the creation of the universe was completed, Brahma lost all of his importance after his role as creator of the universe ended and was removed from worship by everyone in the world, while Shiva was always worshipped as the destroyer of the universe after his role of the destruction of the universe was always happening and Vishnu was always worshipped as he was the preserver of the universe and his preserving role in the universe was always happening and he was the supreme god of this universe.{{Cite book |last=Eck |first=Diana L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LgO6TJhFDwC&pg=PT146 |title=Banaras: CITY OF LIGHT |date=2013-06-05 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-83295-5 |pages=146 |language=en |access-date=29 October 2023 |archive-date=2 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102104632/https://books.google.com/books?id=2LgO6TJhFDwC&pg=PT146 |url-status=live }}

The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the 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 endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791421123}}, pages 122-138 The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Prakrti among the terms used for the primary creator,Jan Gonda (1969), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 The Hindu Trinity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425200435/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 |date=25 April 2020 }}, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 213-214 In contrast 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, that is an aeon).

Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas, and among the most studied and described.{{cite book|editor-last1=Bryant|editor-first1=Edwin F.|title=Krishna : a sourcebook|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6|page=7}}{{cite book|last1=Sutton|first1=Nicholas|title=Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata|date=2000|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers|location=Delhi|isbn=81-208-1700-1|page=182|edition=1st}}Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46 Vishnu-focused Puranas describe that Brahma was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and Shiva was born from a fire emerging from the forehead of the god Vishnu.{{cite book|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari |title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC |year=1994|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 |page=147 }}[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma: Hindu god] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011101951/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god |date=11 October 2016 }} Encyclopædia Britannica. In contrast, the Shiva-focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to be born from Shiva's right and left sides of his waist; and in other Puranas, Shiva and Vishnu were born from Brahma's right and left sides of his waist or Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons (kalpas).{{cite book|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty |title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC |year=1981|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 |page=125 }} Yet others describe that the Tridevi created Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva,{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins |url-access=registration |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/137 137] }} and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.{{cite book|author=Stella Kramrisch|title=The Presence of Siva|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205|year=1992|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-01930-4 |pages=205–206 }} Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.{{cite book|editor-last1=Bryant|editor-first1=Edwin F.|title=Krishna : a sourcebook|date=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6|page=18}} Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god or higher goddess.{{cite book|last1=Frazier|first1=Jessica|title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies | date=2011|publisher=Continuum|location=London|isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0|page=72}} Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the saguna (representation with face and attributes){{cite book|author=Arvind Sharma|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8|page=4}} Brahma is Vishnu,{{cite book |author1=Mark Juergensmeyer |author2=Wade Clark Roof |title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ |year=2011 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 |page=1335 |access-date=14 October 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060832/https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }} Shiva,{{cite book |author=Stella Kramrisch |title=The Presence of Siva |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC |year=1992 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-01930-4 |page=171 |access-date=14 October 2016 |archive-date=19 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019092524/https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC |url-status=live }} or Tridevi,{{cite book|author=David Kinsley |title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition |url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins |url-access=registration |year=1988|publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/136 136] }} respectively.

In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,{{cite book|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC |year=2011|publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 |page=40 }} Brahma 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 deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where the deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal god like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, and then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts and all of them are recreated.{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C|year=2002|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6|page=330}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

File:Sculpture of Brahma, Tamil Nadu.jpg and Chitragupta, Tamil Nadu, 10th century CE, Melakadambur Amirtakadeshvarar Temple]]

In the Bhagavata Purana, Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the "Ocean of Causes".Richard Anderson (1967), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1769398 Hindu Myths in Mallarmé: Un Coup de Dés] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001035235/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1769398 |date=1 October 2018 }}, Comparative Literature, Vol. 19, No. 1, pages 28-35 Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe are born, inside a lotus rooted in the navel of Vishnu, along with Shiva, who emerged inside a fire rooted in the forehead of the god Vishnu. This Purana states that both Brahma and Shiva are drowsy, err, are temporarily incompetent as they put together the universe. They then become aware of their confusion and drowsiness, meditates as two ascetics, then realizes Vishnu in their bodies, see the beginning and end of the universe, and then their creative powers are revived. Brahma and Shiva, states the Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combine Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and a tempest of causal nexus. The Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma and Shiva,{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}} wherein they 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.Richard Anderson (1967), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1769398 Hindu Myths in Mallarmé: Un Coup de Dés] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001035235/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1769398 |date=1 October 2018 }}, Comparative Literature, Vol. 19, No. 1, page 31-33

The Puranas describe Brahma as the god creating time.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana, for example, the Tridevi are called the "mothers of the universe", and they are credited with creating Brahma, all the complete other gods including Vishnu, Shiva, the three worlds, the entire universe. They are the ones, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas, Tamas - into matter (Prakrti) to create the empirically observed world.Nicholas Gier (1998), The Yogi and the Goddess, International Journal of Hindu Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 279-280

The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas-quality god expands in the Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Sarasvati 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) with her Sattva qualities.H Woodward (1989), The Lakṣmaṇa Temple, Khajuraho and Its Meanings, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 19, pages 30-34Alban Widgery (1930), The principles of Hindu Ethics, International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 40, No. 2, pages 234-237Joseph Alter (2004), Yoga in modern India, Princeton University Press, page 55

The Sangam literature mentions all Hindu gods and goddesses and Vedic practices in Tamilakam. Tamilians considered the Vedas as books of Hinduism and used it to perform Yajnas.{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-362 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 362 by George L. III Hart | access-date=9 October 2023 | archive-date=26 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926135934/https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-362 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-15 | title=Poem: Purananuru - Part 15 by George L. III Hart | access-date=9 October 2023 | archive-date=30 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930223547/https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/purananuru-part-15 | url-status=live }} Several Tamil Hindu kings and queens have performed Vedic sacrifices and worshipped various gods and goddesses of Hinduism. Several Sangam texts mention that Brahma as a creator god born from the navel of Vishnu along with Shiva as a destroyer god born from his forehead while he was the preserver god. As he is a direct biological ancestor of all royal families, the Cholas said that Brahma and Shiva as their direct biological ancestors and Vishnu as their creator and the creator of this entire universe.{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/pattupattutentamilidyllschelliahj.v._108_Q/page/129/mode/2up | title=Pattupattu Ten Tamil Idylls Chelliah J. V. }} Cilappatikaram also has several mentions of Brahma as the creator god.{{cite book |translator=R Parthasarathy |title=The Cilappatikāram: The Tale of an Anklet (Iḷaṅkōvaṭikaḷ) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWPg7EvPirgC |year=2004 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-303196-3 |ref={{harvid|R Parthasarathy (Translator)|2004}} |pages=6–8 |access-date=9 October 2023 |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131007/https://books.google.com/books?id=HWPg7EvPirgC |url-status=live }}

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Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms.Kenneth Morgan (1996), The Religion of the Hindus, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120803879}}, page 74 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 the other hand, he holds a mala, symbolizing the time to create the universe, in the other hand, he holds a shruka, — a ladle symbolizing the means to feed sacrificial fire, and in the even another hand, a kamandalu – a utensil with water symbolizing the means from where all creation emits.{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&pg=PA67|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|pages=66–67|access-date=10 October 2017|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331130953/https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{cite book|author= Thomas E. Donaldson|title= Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DbxE8zOuRbUC&pg=PA99|year= 2001|publisher= Abhinav|isbn= 978-81-7017-406-6|page= 99|access-date= 10 October 2017|archive-date= 31 March 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131027/https://books.google.com/books?id=DbxE8zOuRbUC&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status= live}} 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 and pink), with his vehicle (vahana) – hamsa, a swan – nearby.Philip Wilkinson and Neil Philip (2009), Mythology, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0756642211}}, page 156

Chapter 51 of the Manasara, an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making murtis and temples, states that a Brahma statue should be gold in color.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 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). 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 shruka and a large shruka (two ladles used in yajna ceremonies). The text details the different proportions of the murti, describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as a lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddess Sarasvati. Brahma is associated largely with the Vedic culture of yajna and knowledge. In some Vedic yajna, Brahma is summoned in the ritual to reside and supervise the ritual in the form of Prajapati.

Brahma's wife is the goddess Sarasvati.Elizabeth Dowling and W George Scarlett (2005), Encyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual Development, SAGE Publications, {{ISBN|978-0761928836}} page 204David Kinsley (1988), Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions, University of California Press, {{ISBN|0-520063392}}, pages 55-64 She is the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions.

Brahma, despite being believed to be the creator, is considered mortal according to scriptures. The Age of Brahma, according to Hindu cosmology, spans vast epochs of time. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" total 311 trillion 40 billion (311,040,000,000,000) earth years. Brahma's lifespan is 311.04 trillion solar years, and humanity is in the 28th Kali Yuga of the 51st year of the current Brahma's life.{{cite book|last=Johnson|first=W.J.|title=A Dictionary of Hinduism|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-861025-0|page=165}}{{cite book |author-last=Gupta |author-first=S. V. |year=2010 |chapter=Ch. 1.2.4 Time Measurements |editor-last1=Hull |editor-first1=Robert |editor-last2=Osgood |editor-first2=Richard M. Jr. |editor-link2=Richard M. Osgood Jr. |editor-last3=Parisi |editor-first3=Jurgen |editor-last4=Warlimont |editor-first4=Hans |title=Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pHiKycrLmEQC&pg=PA7 |series=Springer Series in Materials Science: 122 |publisher=Springer |pages=6–8 |isbn=9783642007378 |quote=Paraphrased: Deva day equals solar year. Deva lifespan (36,000 solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Mahayuga equals 12,000 Deva (divine) years (4,320,000 solar years), and is divided into 10 charnas consisting of four Yugas: Satya Yuga (4 charnas of 1,728,000 solar years), Treta Yuga (3 charnas of 1,296,000 solar years), Dvapara Yuga (2 charnas of 864,000 solar years), and Kali Yuga (1 charna of 432,000 solar years). Manvantara equals 71 Mahayugas (306,720,000 solar years). Kalpa (day of Brahma) equals an Adi Sandhya, 14 Manvantaras, and 14 Sandhya Kalas, where 1st Manvantara preceded by Adi Sandhya and each Manvantara followed by Sandhya Kala, each Sandhya lasting same duration as Satya yuga (1,728,000 solar years), during which the entire earth is submerged in water. Day of Brahma equals 1,000 Mahayugas, the same length for a night of Brahma (Bhagavad-gita 8.17). Brahma lifespan (311.04 trillion solar years) equals 100 360-day years, each 12 months. Parardha is 50 Brahma years and we are in the 2nd half of his life. After 100 years of Brahma, the universe starts with a new Brahma. We are currently in the 28th Kali yuga of the first day of the 51st year of the second Parardha in the reign of the 7th (Vaivasvata) Manu. This is the 51st year of the present Brahma and so about 155 trillion years have elapsed. The current Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at midnight on 17/18 February 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar. |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131004/https://books.google.com/books?id=pHiKycrLmEQC&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}

File:BrahmaPushkarGurjarPilgrimage.jpg in Pushkar, Rajasthan]]

Very few temples in India are primarily dedicated to Brahma and his worship. The most prominent Hindu temple for Brahma is the Brahma Temple, Pushkar. Others include:

• Shri Kheteshwar Brahmadham Teerth, Asotra, Barmer, Rajasthan
• Adi Brahma Temple, Khokhan, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
• Brahma Karmali Temple, Nagargao, Valpoi, Goa
• Brahmaji Temple, Chhinch, Banswara, Rajasthan
• Brahma Temple, Khedbrahma, Sabarkantha, Gujarat
• Brahma Kuti Temple, Bithoor, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
• Kumbakonam Brahma Temple, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

File:BRAHMAJI TEMPLE CHHINCH.jpg, Banswara, Rajasthan]]

Brahma is also worshipped in temple complexes dedicated to the Trimurti. Some of these are: Thanumalayan Temple,History of Suchindram temples". The Hindu. 29 January 2002. Retrieved 24 May 2020. Sri Purushothaman Temple, Ponmeri Shiva Temple,Sri Ponmeri Shiva Temple". templesofindia.org. Retrieved 3 January 2024 Thripaya Trimurti Temple, Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple, Kodumudi Magudeswarar Temple, Brahmapureeswarar Temple

In Kerala, there is also a shrine for Brahma in Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple where according to legend, Lord Shiva beheaded Brahma.{{cite web | url=https://keralamythology.blogspot.com/2016/11/legend-of-kandiyoor-mahadeva-temple.html | title=Kerala Mythology: Legend of Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple | date=11 November 2016 }}

Chaturmukeshvara temple at the temple town of Srikalahasti near Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh has an image of Lord Shiva with four faces and has bas-relief carvings. At this temple, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva are both worshipped. According to a legend, this is the place where Lord Brahma regained His ability to create after He pleaded forgiveness from Lord Shiva for getting rid of His Sisihathya sins.{{cite web | url=https://srikalahasthitemple.com/about-temple/ | title=About Srikalahasti Temple - Temple Open Timings - Rahu Ketu Pooja }}

There is a Chaturmukha Brahma temple in Chebrolu, Andhra Pradesh, and a seven feet height of Chatrumukha (Four Faces) Brahma temple at Bangalore, Karnataka. In the coastal state of Goa, a shrine belonging to the fifth century, in the small and remote village of Carambolim, Sattari Taluka in the northeast region of the state is found.{{cite web | url=https://www.goaholidayhomes.com/information/brahma-temple-at-carambolim.html | title=Brahma Temple at Brahma Carambolim in Goa, Brahma Temple in Goa, About Brahma Temple in Goa, Lord Brahma Goa Temple information }}{{cite web | url=https://www.navhindtimes.in/2019/07/13/magazines/zest/the-rare-temple-of-sri-brahma-in-brahmakarmali/ | title=The rare temple of Sri Brahma in Brahmakarmali | the Navhind Times | Goa News | date=13 July 2019 }}{{cite web | url=https://brah.ma/devalayam/brahma-karmali-mandir | title=🪔 Brahma Karmali Mandir देवालयं | Brah.ma }}

A famous icon of Brahma exists at Mangalwedha,{{cite web | url=https://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/09-09/features1483.htm | title=The Sampradaya Sun - Independent Vaisnava News - Feature Stories - September 2009 }} 52 km from the Solapur district of Maharashtra and in Sopara near Mumbai. Temples exist in Khokhan, Annamputhur and Hosur.

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| footer = Left: The four-faced Brahma (Phra Phrom) statue, Erawan Shrine, Thailand
Center: 12th-century CE Brahma with missing book and water pot, Cambodia
Right: 9th-century CE Brahma Sculpture in Prambanan Java, Indonesia

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| image2 = Cambodian - The Hindu God Brahma - Walters 542734.jpg

| image3 = Brahma temple Prambanan 2017-08-02 (3).jpg

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A shrine of Brahma can be found in Cambodia's Angkor Wat. One of the three largest temples in the 9th-century CE Prambanan temples complex in Yogyakarta, central Java (Indonesia) is dedicated to Brahma, the other two to Shiva (largest of three) and Vishnu respectively.Trudy Ring et al (1996), International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-1884964046}}, page 692 The temple dedicated to Brahma is on the southern side of Shiva temple and Vishnu temple.

A statue of Brahma is present at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand and continues to be revered in modern times. The golden dome of the Government House of Thailand houses a statue of Phra Phrom (Thai representation of Brahma). An early 18th-century CE painting at Wat Yai Suwannaram in Phetchaburi city of Thailand depicts Brahma.Chami Jotisalikorn et al (2002), Classic Thai: Design, Interiors, Architecture., Tuttle, {{ISBN|978-9625938493}}, pages 164-165

The name of the country Burma is derived from Brahma. In medieval texts, it is referred to as Brahma-desa.Arthur P. Phayre (2013), History of Burma, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0415865920}}, pages 2-5Gustaaf Houtman (1999), Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, {{ISBN|978-4872977486}}, page 352

Brahma in Buddhism is known in Chinese as Simianshen ({{lang|zh|四面神}}, "Four-Faced God"), Simianfo ({{lang|zh|四面佛}}, "Four-Faced Buddha") or Fantian ({{lang|zh|梵天}}), Tshangs pa (ཚངས་པ) in Tibetan, Phạm Thiên ({{lang|vi|梵天}}) in Vietnamese, Bonten ({{lang|ja|梵天}}) in Japanese,{{cite book|author1=Robert E. Buswell Jr.|author2=Donald S. Lopez Jr.|title=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4805-8 |pages=141–142 }} and Beomcheon ({{lang|ko|범천,梵天}}) in Korean.

Korean Buddhist Sculpture: Art and Truth, Woo bang Kang In Chinese Buddhism, he is regarded as one of the Twenty Devas ({{lang|zh|二十諸天}} Èrshí Zhūtiān) or the Twenty-Four Devas ({{lang|zh|二十四諸天}} Èrshísì zhūtiān), a group of protective dharmapalas.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/275253538|title=A dictionary of Chinese Buddhist terms : with Sanskrit and English equivalents and a Sanskrit-Pali index|date=2004|publisher=RoutledgeCurzon|author1=Lewis Hodous|author2=William Edward Soothill|isbn=0-203-64186-8|location=London|oclc=275253538|access-date=10 May 2021|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131029/https://search.worldcat.org/title/275253538|url-status=live}}

Hindus in Indonesia still have a high regard for Brahma (Indonesian and Javanese: Batara Brahma and Sanghyang Brahma). In Prambanan there is a special temple made for Brahma, side by side with Vishnu and Shiva, and in Bali there is Andakasa Temple dedicated to Brahma.{{citation |url= https://baliexpress.jawapos.com/read/2017/08/24/9520/menyingkap-misteri-dewa-brahma-jarang-dipuja |title= Menyingkap Misteri Dewa Brahma Jarang Dipuja (Indonesian) |work= Baliexpress |access-date= 30 June 2021 |archive-date= 9 July 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181345/https://baliexpress.jawapos.com/read/2017/08/24/9520/menyingkap-misteri-dewa-brahma-jarang-dipuja |url-status= live }}

In the past, although not as popular as Vishnu and Shiva, the name Brahma appeared on several occasions. In the legend that developed in East Java about Ken Arok, for example, Brahma is believed to be the biological father of Ken Arok. It is said that Brahma was fascinated by the beauty of Ken Arok's mother, Ken Endok and made her a lover. From this relationship was born Ken Arok.

The name Brahma is also used as the name of a mountain in the Tengger mountain range, Mount Bromo. Mount Bromo is believed to be derived from the word Brahma and there was once a sect that believed that Brahmaloka - the universe where Brahma resides - was connected to Mount Bromo. To this day, Mount Bromo is still considered a sacred place for Javanese Hindus, making it the location for the annual Yadnya Kasada or Kasodo ceremony. People around Mount Bromo will celebrate the Kasodo festival every year by presenting offerings such as vegetables, chickens and money that are revealed to the Gods and poured into the crater of Mount Bromo as a sign of gratitude to the Almighty.{{cite web | url=https://authentic-indonesia.com/activities/the-bromo-volcano/ | title=Java | the Bromo Volcano | Authentic-Indonesia }}

In the Javanese version of wayang (shadow puppet play), Brahma has a very different role from his initial role. When Hindu society began to disappear from Java and the era of Walisongo's wayang kulit began to emerge, Brahma's role as creator in the shadow puppet standard was given to a figure named Sang Hyang Wenang, while Brahma himself was renamed to Brama (fire) where he was a ruling god. Brama, the son of the figure of Batara Guru (Shiva). The figure of Brahma in Javanese wayang is fused and mixed with the figure of Agni.{{citation|url=https://gamabali.com/dewa-brahma/|title=Dewa Brahma|work=GamaBali|access-date=30 June 2021|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624064010/http://gamabali.com/dewa-brahma/|url-status=dead}}

{{col div|colwidth=20em}}

• Brahma (Buddhism)
• Brahma Samhita
• Brahmastra
• Brahma from Mirpur-Khas
• Brahmakumari
• Brahmani
• Demiurge
• Svetovid

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{{reflist}}

{{Sister project links|commonscat=|n=no|s=no|b=no|voy=no|v=no}}

• [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma] at Encyclopædia Britannica
• [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles25/hindu-23.shtml Hinduism - Brahma And The Trimurti]
• [http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_069_0f_ManeepinPromsuthirak_HinduBrahmaInThaiLiterature.pdf Hindu Brahma in Thai Literature - Maneepin Phromsuthirak]

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