6 Lesser Known Facts About Brahma, The Creator Of The Universe
Hindu mythology states that world has come into existence and is governed by the Holy Trinity of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Brahma is believed to be the Creator, Vishnu the Governor and Shiva the Destroyer. Ironically, while Shiva and Vishnu are revered and even have temples built in their honour, not much is known about Brahma and neither does he have as many temples dedicated to him. We bring to you some of the most interesting facts about this lesser known and not much spoken about God.
- As the Creator of the Universe, Brahma’s penchant for giving birth to new and unique forms of life is well known. When he created Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of learning and wisdom, he bestowed upon her the ability to take on a hundred different forms, which gave her the name Shatarupa, since shata means hundred and rupa means form, in Sanskrit.
- Unlike most Hindu Gods, Brahma does not have any weapon. His hand holds a book and a sceptre. The former is a symbol of wisdom and the latter of power.
- He also has four hands. Each arm points to the four directions of north, west, south and east. The back left hand represents intellect, the back right hand, the mind. The front left hand stands for self-confidence and the front right hand for ego. Since Brahma is the creator, his depiction is an amalgamation of the dominant traits of any living being.
- Brahma’s being the Creator, his deed was done once he finished creating the universe and life. The onus of preserving the good and destroying the evil now lies with Vishnu and and Shiva respectively. Hence they have assumed many forms as needed to deal with a situation. And thus they are worshipped a lot and in each of their forms are separately worshipped as well. However, Brahma is hardly worshipped.
- Brahma is not to be confused with spiritual concept of Brahman. The latter is a gender neutral abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism, while the former 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.
- Brahma is often portrayed as having four faces, one in each direction. They signify the four Vedas – Atharva, Yajur, Sama and Rig, which are said to hold the comprehensive wisdom of the universe.