Brahma

                              image credit facebook- Hindu culture photos

Hinduism perceives the whole creation and its cosmic activity as the work of three fundamental forces symbolized by three gods, which constitutes the Hindu Trinity or ‘Trimurti’: Brahma — the creator, Vishnu — the sustainer, and Shiva — the destroyer.

Brahma, the Creator

Brahma is the creator of the universe and of all beings, as depicted in the Hindu cosmology. The Vedas, the oldest and the holiest of Hindu scriptures, are attributed to Brahma, and thus Brahma is regarded as the father of dharma. He is not to be confused with Brahman which is a general term for the Supreme Being or Almighty God. Although Brahma is one of the Trinity, his popularity is no match to that of Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is to be found to exist more in scriptures than in homes and temples. In fact, it is hard to find a temple dedicated to Brahma. One such temple is located in Pushkar in Rajasthan.

The Symbolism of Brahma in Hinduism

In the Sanatan Dharm, Brahma is commonly represented as having four heads, four arms, and red skin. Unlike all the other Hindu gods, Brahma carries no weapon in his hands. He holds a water-pot, a spoon, a book of prayers or the Vedas, a rosary and sometimes a lotus. He sits on a lotus in the lotus pose and moves around on a white swan, possessing the magical ability to separate milk from a mixture of water and milk. Brahma is often depicted as having long, white beard, with each of his heads reciting the four Vedas.

Brahma, Cosmos, Time, and Epoch

Brahma presides over 'Brahmaloka,' a universe that contains all the splendors of the earth and all other worlds. In Hindu cosmology, the universe exists for a single day called the ‘Brahmakalpa’. This day is equivalent to four billion earth years, at the end of which the whole universe gets dissolved. This process is called ‘pralaya’, which repeats for such 100 years, a period that represents Brahma's lifespan.
Linga Purana, which delineates the clear calculations of the different cycles, indicates that Brahma's life is divided in one thousand cycles or ‘Maha Yugas’.