Brahmā the Creator

Author: Traditional

Time Period: 1 CE–500 CE

Country or Culture: India

Genre: Myth

PLOT SUMMARY

Brahmā is an important god of creation in the Hindu pantheon. His name comes from the root word brahman, referring to abstract sacred power, which in turn comes from the root word brh, signifying growth and development. Traditionally, Brahmā is revered both as an abstract underlying power and as a concrete deity capable of acting in the mundane world.

Brahmā is the protagonist of several of the best-known creation stories in the wide and varied Hindu mythological canon. In one, Brahmā as an abstract force creates a universe consisting of primal waters. He plants a small golden seed into this watery existence, and it grows into a golden egg known as Hiranyagarbha. In some texts, the egg is said to rest on a lotus growing out of the navel of the god Visnu (Vishnu). When this egg breaks open, its top forms the heavens; its bottom, the earth; and the portion between the two pieces, the sky.

Brahmā as a concrete manifestation emerges from this egg and continues the work of forming the universe. According to some sources, he brings some beings into existence on his own, without the aid of a mother counterpart. These include a number of sages who are said to have been born from his mind and deified representations of emotions that come from parts of his body.

Most of the universe, however, is populated with help from a mother figure. In one popular tale, Brahmā creates Sarasvatī, a goddess representing wisdom and the fecund powers of the earth. As soon as she emerges, he finds her very attractive and wants to have sex with her. She coyly demurs and becomes a cow to hide from him. He then assumes the form of a bull, and their union generates all cattle. They next transform into a mare and a stallion, and horses come into being. This playful game of hide and seek continues until the earth is populated by all existing forms of life.

Brahmā in his concrete manifestation is represented as a red or pink male figure, often depicted riding on a sacred goose. According to some myths, Brahmā grows a new head for each direction Sarasvatī teasingly flees from him. By the time the world is populated, he has heads looking north, south, east, west, and above. However, he loses the fifth head, the one looking up. In some myths, this head is too radiant or radiates beams of light that are so bright that they offend the other gods. In others, he becomes involved in a dispute with Visnu and Śiva (Shiva) as to who is the most powerful being, and Śiva takes on an aggressive manifestation that chops off Brahmā’s fifth head.

Although the gods themselves come to dispute his ultimate authority, Brahmā has been believed to be the progenitor of all beings throughout much of Indian history. Since he is their ultimate cause, all Hindu gods are sometimes considered manifestations of Brahmā. Therefore, he is sometimes known by the reverent title Pitāmaha, meaning “grandfather.”

SIGNIFICANCE

Brahmā is one of the main deities of traditional Hinduism. In his role as the world creator, he forms the Trimūrti, or triumvirate, along with Visnu, the world sustainer, and Śiva, the world destroyer. Information about Brahmā can be found in a number of sacred Sanskrit texts. Chief among these is the Brahmā Sūtra, also known as the Vedānta Sūtra. Consisting of 555 verses, it is an examination of the nature of Brahmā and a summary of several popular Upanishads, including the Chāndogya Upanishad. The Brahmā Sūtra is credited to the scholar Bādarāyana, who is sometimes identified with the saint Vyāsa, the traditional author of the Mahābhārata. The age of the text is a subject of much debate, with some scholars claiming that the Brahmā Sūtra was written as late as 400 CE and others placing its date of composition as early as 500 BCE.

Bronze and stone statues of Brahmā were created in India and the Indianized states of Southeast Asia during the early medieval period (ca. 500 CE–1200 CE). They generally depict him with four heads and four arms. The repetition of the number four is sometimes interpreted as symbolizing the four main Vedic texts. Brahmā is often shown holding stylized objects such as a scepter, a lotus, a book of the Vedas, and a necklace of beads used to count time. Art from this early medieval period often features the entire Trimūrti. Such pieces sometimes depict the three gods on their mounts, with Brahmā riding a goose, Visnu upon the mythical bird Garuda, and Śiva atop a bull.

Brahmā worship decreased after the early medieval period. Some scholars have suggested that Brahmā’s association with the concrete, created world caused this decline, as worshippers had become more interested in ascetic spiritual pursuits focused on Visnu and Śiva. According to some Hindu beliefs, Brahmā has the ability to grant immortality but is not able to give the gift of spiritual release, as are Visnu and Śiva. Hindus began to seek liberation from samsāra, the cycle of death and rebirth, so worshippers became more focused on the other two gods of the Trimūrti. Today, only a few temples are dedicated to Brahmā, whereas Visnu and Śiva remain popular subjects of veneration.

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