|
 In
the Pauranic period, Brahma,
as befits a God of Creation,
was granted Saraswati
the goddess of learning
as his wife. (See our
section in Saraswati.)
Brahma survived as
an object of some respect
by being aligned to Vishnu,
albeit with a distinctively
inferior status. He
is supposed to perform
his manifold tasks of
creation while sitting
on a lotus that grows
out of Vishnu's navel.
This is a great degradation
from his formal status
as one of the Great Trinity,
but Hinduism being an
instinctual faith rather
than an intellectual one,
nobody seems to have realized
what has happened. The
conflict with the Shiva
cult remained and Shiva
is constantly visiting
punishment upon the creator.
Once he cuts off the fifth
head of Brahma for his
disrespectful and lustful
behavior. In another version
he acts just in time to
prevent Brahma from acquiring
supreme status. At one
time Brahma did become
the Supreme God. His fifth
head began to glow with
a luster that proved unbearably
scorching for all the
Worlds of Gods and men
because it was shining
with the light of understanding
of the Vedas that it had
heard from the other four
heads of Brahma. Shiva
therefore, to save the
universe as well as to
check such presumption,
cut off this glowing head.
Shiva is supposed to
have pronounced the final
curse that caused Brahma
to fall forever from worship,
an indication of the total
triumph of the Shiva faction
over the votaries of Brahma.
The story
is that Vishnu and Brahma
were debating which if
them was superior when
Shiva manifested himself
as a great pillar of fire
with no end in either
heaven or the nether world.
Vishnu took the form of
a boar and burrowed down
for countless ages to
seek the source of this
strange fiery pillar.
He failed to do so and
recognized that Shiva
was not only the pillar,
he was superior to him.
He gave up the quest therefore.
Brahma however, flew up
as a swan and came back
many aeons later with
the report that he had
seen the summit. An angry
Shiva curses him for claiming
credit for achievements
not his own. He is cursed
with perpetual old age
and the total desertion
of all worshippers. That
explains why Brahma is
always depicted nowadays
as a senile old man who
is so decrepit you wonder
if he is not going to
expire instantaneously.
But as our illustrations
show that was not always
the case with Indian art.
The furious
Shiva is popularly supposed
to have relented and allowed
Brahma one spot on all
the earth where he has
a temple dedicated solely
to his worship. This is
the famous Pushkar temple
situated in the middle
of a lake and an unusually
serene spot. However
the common perception
of there being only one
temple to Brahma is untrue.
There are at least four
major temples to him still
in use today. They are
Pushkar in Ajmer, Rajasthan;
Dudhai in the state of
Madhya Pradesh; Khed Brahma
at Idar, also in Madhya
Pradesh and Kodakkal in
the Malabar region of
Kerala-Karnataka. Remember
you heard it here first!
I would not be in the
least surprised if more
temples came to light
tucked away in remote
and obscure spots. Brahma
worshippers are not desirous
of the limelight. In vindication
of this hunch just recently,
July 2004, I came to know
of a fifth Brahma temple
in the state of Andhra
Pradesh. This temple is
part of a group of predominantly
Shiva shrines at Kaleshwaram,
130 kilometers from Karimnagar,
and is in the middle of
nowhere in particular,
so that explains its anonymity.
I am certain more temples
exist to Brahma and will
be discovered in due time.
Brahma
is depicted as a four
or five-faced man with
four hands. He is the
epitome of Vedic learning
and hence has the Vedas
in one hand, prayer beads
in another, the sacred
water pot in the third
hand and a ladle for the
Vedic fire sacrifice in
the fourth hand. In some
versions he is depicted
with a bow. This would
be consistent with mythology
as the supreme weapon
is a missile called the
Brahmastra, and it is
a much sought after boon
of Brahma. His vehicle
is the swan, like that
of Saraswati, and his
complexion is supposed
to be red. The Male Trinity
too are a Red, Black and
White (primary colors
of spirituality) trio
like the goddesses are.
A day of Brahma is
a span of creation and
lasts for 2,160,000,000
human years! Creation
is in abeyance during
the night of Brahma, which
lasts for the same length
of time and then the Cycle
is repeated. Brahma
lives for a hundred years
thus, and then he too
dies and all creation
is finally dissolved.
Only Shiva, Vishnu or
the Goddess, depending
upon your cult affiliation
are eternal and bring
about the next Cycle of
Creation. His various
epithets represent his
ancient creative role.
Amongst them are Sanat,
the Ancient One, Adi-kavi,
the first poet and Srashtri,
the creator. |
Top