ब्रह्मा
Brahma
The Creator · Lord of the Vedas
“The four-faced creator from whose mouths the four Vedas flow.”
Brahma is the Creator in the Hindu trinity (Trimurti). He is responsible for the creation of the universe and all living beings. Despite being the Creator, Brahma is the least worshipped of the Trimurti, with only a few temples dedicated to him — the most famous being in Pushkar, Rajasthan.
- Vahana
- Hamsa (swan)
- Consort
- Saraswati
- Abode
- Satyaloka
- Tradition
- Pan-Hindu
Devi's Insight · What few people know
Why the Creator has so few temples
When a boundless pillar of fire appeared, Brahma flew upward as a swan to find its top and Vishnu dug down as a boar to find its base. Neither found an end. Brahma returned claiming success, with the Ketaki flower as a false witness. Shiva, who was the pillar, decreed that Brahma would not receive widespread temple worship, and the Ketaki is not offered to Shiva. This is why shrines like Pushkar are so rare.
Source: Shiva Purana, Vidyeshvara Samhita (the Lingodbhava episode)
Iconography
Reading the sacred form
- 1
Four heads (originally five): represent the four Vedas and four directions.
- 2
Four arms: hold the Vedas, a water pot (kamandalu), a mala (rosary), and a lotus.
- 3
Seated on a lotus emerging from Vishnu's navel.
- 4
Vehicle (Vahana): Hamsa (swan), symbolizing the ability to discern truth from illusion (viveka).
- 5
Consort: Saraswati (knowledge, arts, music).
From the scriptures
Did you know?
Each of his four faces is linked to one of the four Vedas and one of the four directions.
— Puranic tradition
One “day of Brahma” (a kalpa) spans a thousand cycles of the four yugas.
— Vishnu Purana, Book 1
The temple at Pushkar, Rajasthan, is among the very few dedicated to him.
— Living tradition
Chant
Sacred mantras
Celebrate
Festivals
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