Bandbaajabarat: formatting fix

2026-03-15T04:37:46Z

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CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

2023-08-13T19:54:36Z

Removed empty portal template using script

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:24, 14 August 2023
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	* [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles25/hindu-23.shtml Hinduism - Brahma And The Trimurti]		* [http://www.oldandsold.com/articles25/hindu-23.shtml Hinduism - Brahma And The Trimurti]
	* [http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_069_0f_ManeepinPromsuthirak_HinduBrahmaInThaiLiterature.pdf Hindu Brahma in Thai Literature - Maneepin Phromsuthirak]		* [http://www.siamese-heritage.org/jsspdf/1981/JSS_069_0f_ManeepinPromsuthirak_HinduBrahmaInThaiLiterature.pdf Hindu Brahma in Thai Literature - Maneepin Phromsuthirak]
	~~{{Portal bar\|Hinduism\|India\|Religion}}~~
	{{Hindu Culture and Epics}}		{{Hindu Culture and Epics}}
	{{Hindudharma}}		{{Hindudharma}}

103.155.198.87: /* Iconography */

2023-04-28T10:35:52Z

Iconography

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	{{multiple image		{{multiple image
	\| align = right		\| align = right
	\| image1 = ~~A roundel of~~ Brahma.jpg		\| image1 = Brahma on hamsa.jpg
	\| total_width=400px		\| total_width=400px
	\| caption1 =		\| caption1 =

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	{{Infobox deity <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->		{{Infobox deity <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology-->
	\| type = Hindu		\| type = Hindu
	\| image = Brahma ~~on hamsa~~.jpg		\| image = A roundel of Brahma.jpg
	\| caption = A ~~watercolor painting~~ with depiction of Brahma, 19th century		\| caption = A roundel with depiction of Brahma, 19th century
	\| name = Brahma		\| name = Brahma
	\| devanagari = ब्रह्मा		\| devanagari = ब्रह्मा

Bot at 08:01, 17 March 2023

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ImportMaster: robot: Create/update articles in Category:Hindu gods.

2023-01-16T17:03:36Z

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Ajay Kumar: /* Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranas */clean up, typos fixed: , → , (2)

2022-12-09T17:30:04Z

Post-Vedic, Epics and Puranas: clean up, typos fixed: , → , (2)

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:00, 9 December 2022
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	[[File:Sheshashayi Vishnu.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|In [[Vaishnava]] Puranic scriptures, Brahma emerges on a lotus from Vishnu's navel as Vishnu (Mahavishnu) creates the cosmic cycle, after being emerged by Shiva. Shaivite texts describe that Shiva told Vishnu to create, Shiva ordered Vishnu to make Brahma.<ref name=bryant18/>]]		[[File:Sheshashayi Vishnu.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|In [[Vaishnava]] Puranic scriptures, Brahma emerges on a lotus from Vishnu's navel as Vishnu (Mahavishnu) creates the cosmic cycle, after being emerged by Shiva. Shaivite texts describe that Shiva told Vishnu to create, Shiva ordered Vishnu to make Brahma.<ref name=bryant18/>]]

	During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during 2nd to 6th century CE. The early texts like [[Brahmananda Purana]] describe that there was nothing, but an eternal ocean. From which, a golden egg, called [[Hiranyagarbha]], emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Swayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.<ref name = "ACK" >{{Cite book\|last=Srinivasan\|first=Shalini\|title=Stories of Creation\|date=April 1971\|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha private limited\|isbn=8184826478}}</ref><ref name = "Fall" >{{Cite book\|last=Achuthananda\|first=Swami\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FqDwAAQBAJ&q=Brahma\|title=The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma\|date=2018-08-27\|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd\|isbn=978-0-9757883-3-2\|language=en}}</ref><ref name = "Dalal1" >{{Cite book\|last=Dalal\|first=Roshen\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Brahma\|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide\|date=2010\|publisher=Penguin Books India\|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6\|language=en\|pages=78–79}}</ref>		During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during 2nd to 6th century CE. The early texts like [[Brahmananda Purana]] describe that there was nothing, but an eternal ocean. From which, a golden egg, called [[Hiranyagarbha]], emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Swayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.<ref name = "Dalal1" >{{Cite book\|last=Dalal\|first=Roshen\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Brahma\|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide\|date=2010\|publisher=Penguin Books India\|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6\|language=en\|pages=78–79}}</ref><ref name = "ACK" >{{Cite book\|last=Srinivasan\|first=Shalini\|title=Stories of Creation\|date=April 1971\|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha private limited\|isbn=8184826478}}</ref><ref name = "Fall" >{{Cite book\|last=Achuthananda\|first=Swami\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FqDwAAQBAJ&q=Brahma\|title=The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma\|date=2018-08-27\|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd\|isbn=978-0-9757883-3-2\|language=en}}</ref>

	However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to Shiva Purana where Brahma and Vishnu were arguing who was the greatest among them. Then suddenly they hear a voice and saw a huge lightening pillar. The voice asked them to find out the end of the pillar and whoever could find the end of the pillar will be the greatest. Vishnu went towards the bottom and Brahma went towards the top. Vishnu came back and accepted his defeat that he couldn't find the end. However, Brahma came back and lied that he could find the top end. The pillar was Shiva Linga and the voice was of Shiva and this lies infuriated Shiva. Angry Shiva cursed Brahma that he will never be worshiped henceforth.		However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to Shiva Purana where Brahma and Vishnu were arguing who was the greatest among them. Then suddenly they hear a voice and saw a huge lightening pillar. The voice asked them to find out the end of the pillar and whoever could find the end of the pillar will be the greatest. Vishnu went towards the bottom and Brahma went towards the top. Vishnu came back and accepted his defeat that he couldn't find the end. However, Brahma came back and lied that he could find the top end. The pillar was Shiva Linga and the voice was of Shiva and this lies infuriated Shiva. Angry Shiva cursed Brahma that he will never be worshiped henceforth.

	Historians believe that some of the major reasons of Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism , replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhist, Jains and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.<ref name="Dalal1" /><ref name="Fall" />		Historians believe that some of the major reasons of Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhist, Jains and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.<ref name="Dalal1" /><ref name="Fall" />

	The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of [[cosmogony]], many involving the Brahma. These include ''Sarga'' (primary creation of universe) and ''Visarga'' (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ([[metaphysics\|metaphysical]]) and other secondary that is always changing ([[empiricism\|empirical]]), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.<ref name=tpinchman125>Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN\|978-0791421123}}, pages 122-138</ref> The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with ''Brahman'' or ''[[Purusha]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'' among the terms used for the primary creator,<ref name=tpinchman125/><ref>Jan Gonda (1969), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 The Hindu Trinity], Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 213-214</ref> while the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle (''kalpa'', aeon).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref name=tpinchman125/>		The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of [[cosmogony]], many involving the Brahma. These include ''Sarga'' (primary creation of universe) and ''Visarga'' (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ([[metaphysics\|metaphysical]]) and other secondary that is always changing ([[empiricism\|empirical]]), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.<ref name=tpinchman125>Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN\|978-0791421123}}, pages 122-138</ref> The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with ''Brahman'' or ''[[Purusha]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'' among the terms used for the primary creator,<ref name=tpinchman125/><ref>Jan Gonda (1969), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 The Hindu Trinity], Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 213-214</ref> while the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle (''kalpa'', aeon).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref name=tpinchman125/>

	Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and [[Puranas]], and among the most studied and described.<ref>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|last1=Sutton\|first1=Nicholas\|title=Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata\|date=2000\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers\|location=Delhi\|isbn=81-208-1700-1\|pages=182\|edition=1st}}</ref><ref>Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46</ref> Some texts suggest that Brahma and was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god [[Vishnu]] and from Lord Brahma's wrath , shiva was born.<ref>{{cite book\|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari \|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC \|year=1994\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass \|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 \|pages=147 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma: Hindu god] Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> In contrast, the [[Shiva]]-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by [[Ardhanarishvara]], that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from [[Rudra]], or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ([[Kalpa (aeon)\|kalpa]]).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty \|title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC \|year=1981\|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 \|pages=125 }}</ref> Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma,<ref name=kinsley137>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition\|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/137 137] }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name=kinsley137/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch\|title=The Presence of Siva\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205\|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=205–206 }}</ref> Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.<ref name=bryant18>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=18}}</ref> Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.<ref name="Continuum">{{cite book\|last1=Frazier\|first1=Jessica\|title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies \| date=2011\|publisher=Continuum\|location=London\|isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0\|pages=72}}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna'' (representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book\|author=Arvind Sharma\|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C \|year=2000\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8\|page=4}}</ref> Brahma is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book\|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer \|author2=Wade Clark Roof \|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ \|year=2011\|publisher=SAGE Publications \|isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 \|page=1335}}</ref> Shiva,<ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch \|title=The Presence of Siva \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC \|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=171 }}</ref> or Devi<ref>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition \|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/136 136] }}</ref> respectively.		Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and [[Puranas]], and among the most studied and described.<ref>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|last1=Sutton\|first1=Nicholas\|title=Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata\|date=2000\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers\|location=Delhi\|isbn=81-208-1700-1\|pages=182\|edition=1st}}</ref><ref>Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46</ref> Some texts suggest that Brahma and was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god [[Vishnu]] and from Lord Brahma's wrath, shiva was born.<ref>{{cite book\|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari \|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC \|year=1994\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass \|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 \|pages=147 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma: Hindu god] Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> In contrast, the [[Shiva]]-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by [[Ardhanarishvara]], that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from [[Rudra]], or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ([[Kalpa (aeon)\|kalpa]]).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty \|title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC \|year=1981\|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 \|pages=125 }}</ref> Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma,<ref name=kinsley137>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition\|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/137 137] }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name=kinsley137/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch\|title=The Presence of Siva\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205\|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=205–206 }}</ref> Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.<ref name=bryant18>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=18}}</ref> Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.<ref name="Continuum">{{cite book\|last1=Frazier\|first1=Jessica\|title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies \| date=2011\|publisher=Continuum\|location=London\|isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0\|pages=72}}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna'' (representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book\|author=Arvind Sharma\|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C \|year=2000\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8\|page=4}}</ref> Brahma is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book\|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer \|author2=Wade Clark Roof \|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ \|year=2011\|publisher=SAGE Publications \|isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 \|page=1335}}</ref> Shiva,<ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch \|title=The Presence of Siva \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC \|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=171 }}</ref> or Devi<ref>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition \|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/136 136] }}</ref> respectively.

	In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name=pandeyp40>{{cite book\|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen\|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC \|year=2011\|publisher=Pearson \|isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 \|pages=40 }}</ref> Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical [[Brahman]] along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.<ref name=pandeyp40/><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book\|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler\|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C \|year=2002\|publisher=Sussex Academic Press\|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 \|pages=330 }}</ref>		In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name=pandeyp40>{{cite book\|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen\|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC \|year=2011\|publisher=Pearson \|isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 \|pages=40 }}</ref> Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical [[Brahman]] along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.<ref name=pandeyp40/><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book\|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler\|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C \|year=2002\|publisher=Sussex Academic Press\|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 \|pages=330 }}</ref>

ImportMaster: robot: Add missing article in Category:Mahabharata

2022-02-01T17:17:27Z

robot: Add missing article in Category:Mahabharata

Show changes

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:00, 9 December 2022
Line 81:		Line 81:
	[[File:Sheshashayi Vishnu.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|In [[Vaishnava]] Puranic scriptures, Brahma emerges on a lotus from Vishnu's navel as Vishnu (Mahavishnu) creates the cosmic cycle, after being emerged by Shiva. Shaivite texts describe that Shiva told Vishnu to create, Shiva ordered Vishnu to make Brahma.<ref name=bryant18/>]]		[[File:Sheshashayi Vishnu.jpg\|thumb\|upright\|In [[Vaishnava]] Puranic scriptures, Brahma emerges on a lotus from Vishnu's navel as Vishnu (Mahavishnu) creates the cosmic cycle, after being emerged by Shiva. Shaivite texts describe that Shiva told Vishnu to create, Shiva ordered Vishnu to make Brahma.<ref name=bryant18/>]]

	During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during 2nd to 6th century CE. The early texts like [[Brahmananda Purana]] describe that there was nothing, but an eternal ocean. From which, a golden egg, called [[Hiranyagarbha]], emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Swayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.<ref name = "ACK" >{{Cite book\|last=Srinivasan\|first=Shalini\|title=Stories of Creation\|date=April 1971\|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha private limited\|isbn=8184826478}}</ref><ref name = "Fall" >{{Cite book\|last=Achuthananda\|first=Swami\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FqDwAAQBAJ&q=Brahma\|title=The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma\|date=2018-08-27\|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd\|isbn=978-0-9757883-3-2\|language=en}}</ref><ref name = "Dalal1" >{{Cite book\|last=Dalal\|first=Roshen\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Brahma\|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide\|date=2010\|publisher=Penguin Books India\|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6\|language=en\|pages=78–79}}</ref>		During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed during 2nd to 6th century CE. The early texts like [[Brahmananda Purana]] describe that there was nothing, but an eternal ocean. From which, a golden egg, called [[Hiranyagarbha]], emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Swayambhu). Then, he created the universe, the earth and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation.<ref name = "Dalal1" >{{Cite book\|last=Dalal\|first=Roshen\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=Brahma\|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide\|date=2010\|publisher=Penguin Books India\|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6\|language=en\|pages=78–79}}</ref><ref name = "ACK" >{{Cite book\|last=Srinivasan\|first=Shalini\|title=Stories of Creation\|date=April 1971\|publisher=Amar Chitra Katha private limited\|isbn=8184826478}}</ref><ref name = "Fall" >{{Cite book\|last=Achuthananda\|first=Swami\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F9FqDwAAQBAJ&q=Brahma\|title=The Ascent of Vishnu and the Fall of Brahma\|date=2018-08-27\|publisher=Relianz Communications Pty Ltd\|isbn=978-0-9757883-3-2\|language=en}}</ref>

	However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to Shiva Purana where Brahma and Vishnu were arguing who was the greatest among them. Then suddenly they hear a voice and saw a huge lightening pillar. The voice asked them to find out the end of the pillar and whoever could find the end of the pillar will be the greatest. Vishnu went towards the bottom and Brahma went towards the top. Vishnu came back and accepted his defeat that he couldn't find the end. However, Brahma came back and lied that he could find the top end. The pillar was Shiva Linga and the voice was of Shiva and this lies infuriated Shiva. Angry Shiva cursed Brahma that he will never be worshiped henceforth.		However, by the 7th century, Brahma lost his importance. Puranic legends mention various reasons for his downfall. There are primarily two prominent versions why Brahma lost his ground. The first version refers to Shiva Purana where Brahma and Vishnu were arguing who was the greatest among them. Then suddenly they hear a voice and saw a huge lightening pillar. The voice asked them to find out the end of the pillar and whoever could find the end of the pillar will be the greatest. Vishnu went towards the bottom and Brahma went towards the top. Vishnu came back and accepted his defeat that he couldn't find the end. However, Brahma came back and lied that he could find the top end. The pillar was Shiva Linga and the voice was of Shiva and this lies infuriated Shiva. Angry Shiva cursed Brahma that he will never be worshiped henceforth.

	Historians believe that some of the major reasons of Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism , replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhist, Jains and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.<ref name="Dalal1" /><ref name="Fall" />		Historians believe that some of the major reasons of Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, replacement of him with Shakti in the Smarta tradition and the frequent attacks by Buddhist, Jains and even by Hindu followers of Vaishnavas and Shaivites.<ref name="Dalal1" /><ref name="Fall" />

	The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of [[cosmogony]], many involving the Brahma. These include ''Sarga'' (primary creation of universe) and ''Visarga'' (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ([[metaphysics\|metaphysical]]) and other secondary that is always changing ([[empiricism\|empirical]]), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.<ref name=tpinchman125>Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN\|978-0791421123}}, pages 122-138</ref> The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with ''Brahman'' or ''[[Purusha]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'' among the terms used for the primary creator,<ref name=tpinchman125/><ref>Jan Gonda (1969), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 The Hindu Trinity], Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 213-214</ref> while the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle (''kalpa'', aeon).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref name=tpinchman125/>		The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of [[cosmogony]], many involving the Brahma. These include ''Sarga'' (primary creation of universe) and ''Visarga'' (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ([[metaphysics\|metaphysical]]) and other secondary that is always changing ([[empiricism\|empirical]]), and that all observed reality of the latter is in an endlessly repeating cycle of existence, that cosmos and life we experience is continually created, evolved, dissolved and then re-created.<ref name=tpinchman125>Tracy Pintchman (1994), The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN\|978-0791421123}}, pages 122-138</ref> The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with ''Brahman'' or ''[[Purusha]]'' or ''[[Devi]]'' among the terms used for the primary creator,<ref name=tpinchman125/><ref>Jan Gonda (1969), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40457085 The Hindu Trinity], Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 213-214</ref> while the Vedic and post-Vedic texts name different gods and goddesses as secondary creators (often Brahma in post-Vedic texts), and in some cases a different god or goddess is the secondary creator at the start of each cosmic cycle (''kalpa'', aeon).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref name=tpinchman125/>

	Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and [[Puranas]], and among the most studied and described.<ref>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|last1=Sutton\|first1=Nicholas\|title=Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata\|date=2000\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers\|location=Delhi\|isbn=81-208-1700-1\|pages=182\|edition=1st}}</ref><ref>Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46</ref> Some texts suggest that Brahma and was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god [[Vishnu]] and from Lord Brahma's wrath , shiva was born.<ref>{{cite book\|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari \|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC \|year=1994\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass \|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 \|pages=147 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma: Hindu god] Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> In contrast, the [[Shiva]]-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by [[Ardhanarishvara]], that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from [[Rudra]], or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ([[Kalpa (aeon)\|kalpa]]).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty \|title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC \|year=1981\|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 \|pages=125 }}</ref> Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma,<ref name=kinsley137>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition\|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/137 137] }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name=kinsley137/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch\|title=The Presence of Siva\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205\|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=205–206 }}</ref> Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.<ref name=bryant18>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=18}}</ref> Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.<ref name="Continuum">{{cite book\|last1=Frazier\|first1=Jessica\|title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies \| date=2011\|publisher=Continuum\|location=London\|isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0\|pages=72}}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna'' (representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book\|author=Arvind Sharma\|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C \|year=2000\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8\|page=4}}</ref> Brahma is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book\|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer \|author2=Wade Clark Roof \|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ \|year=2011\|publisher=SAGE Publications \|isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 \|page=1335}}</ref> Shiva,<ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch \|title=The Presence of Siva \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC \|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=171 }}</ref> or Devi<ref>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition \|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/136 136] }}</ref> respectively.		Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and [[Puranas]], and among the most studied and described.<ref>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book\|last1=Sutton\|first1=Nicholas\|title=Religious doctrines in the Mahābhārata\|date=2000\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers\|location=Delhi\|isbn=81-208-1700-1\|pages=182\|edition=1st}}</ref><ref>Asian Mythologies by Yves Bonnefoy & Wendy Doniger. Page 46</ref> Some texts suggest that Brahma and was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god [[Vishnu]] and from Lord Brahma's wrath, shiva was born.<ref>{{cite book\|author=S. M. Srinivasa Chari \|title=Vaiṣṇavism: Its Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Discipline\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=evmiLInyxBMC \|year=1994\|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass \|isbn=978-81-208-1098-3 \|pages=147 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahma-Hindu-god Brahma: Hindu god] Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref> In contrast, the [[Shiva]]-focussed Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to have been created by [[Ardhanarishvara]], that is half Shiva and half Parvati; or alternatively, Brahma was born from [[Rudra]], or Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ([[Kalpa (aeon)\|kalpa]]).<ref name="Stella Kramrisch 1994 pages 205-206"/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty \|title=Siva: The Erotic Ascetic \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnfZ_MBErlQC \|year=1981\|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-972793-3 \|pages=125 }}</ref> Yet others suggest the goddess Devi created Brahma,<ref name=kinsley137>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition\|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/137 137] }}</ref> and these texts then go on to state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf.<ref name=kinsley137/><ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch\|title=The Presence of Siva\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC&pg=PA205\|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press\|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=205–206 }}</ref> Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.<ref name=bryant18>{{cite book\|editor-last1=Bryant\|editor-first1=Edwin F.\|title=Krishna : a sourcebook\|date=2007\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|location=New York\|isbn=978-0-19-514891-6\|page=18}}</ref> Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god.<ref name="Continuum">{{cite book\|last1=Frazier\|first1=Jessica\|title=The Continuum companion to Hindu studies \| date=2011\|publisher=Continuum\|location=London\|isbn=978-0-8264-9966-0\|pages=72}}</ref> Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that the ''saguna'' (representation with face and attributes)<ref>{{cite book\|author=Arvind Sharma\|title=Classical Hindu Thought: An Introduction\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gDmUToaeMJ0C \|year=2000\|publisher=Oxford University Press\|isbn=978-0-19-564441-8\|page=4}}</ref> Brahma is Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book\|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer \|author2=Wade Clark Roof \|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ \|year=2011\|publisher=SAGE Publications \|isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5 \|page=1335}}</ref> Shiva,<ref>{{cite book\|author=Stella Kramrisch \|title=The Presence of Siva \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5BanndcIgUC \|year=1992\|publisher=Princeton University Press \|isbn=0-691-01930-4 \|pages=171 }}</ref> or Devi<ref>{{cite book\|author=David Kinsley \|title=Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition \|url=https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins \|url-access=registration \|year=1988\|publisher=University of California Press \|isbn=978-0-520-90883-3 \|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hindugoddessesvi0000kins/page/136 136] }}</ref> respectively.

	In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name=pandeyp40>{{cite book\|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen\|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC \|year=2011\|publisher=Pearson \|isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 \|pages=40 }}</ref> Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical [[Brahman]] along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.<ref name=pandeyp40/><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book\|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler\|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C \|year=2002\|publisher=Sussex Academic Press\|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 \|pages=330 }}</ref>		In the post-Vedic Puranic literature,<ref name=pandeyp40>{{cite book\|author=R. M. Matthijs Cornelissen\|title=Foundations of Indian Psychology Volume 2: Practical Applications\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkkgeKXyiOIC \|year=2011\|publisher=Pearson \|isbn=978-81-317-3085-0 \|pages=40 }}</ref> Brahma creates but neither preserves nor destroys anything. He is envisioned in some Hindu texts to have emerged from the metaphysical [[Brahman]] along with Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer), all other deities, matter and other beings. In theistic schools of Hinduism where deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts.<ref name=pandeyp40/><ref name="Fowler2002p330">{{cite book\|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler\|title=Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Hinduism\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dRZ4E-qgz8C \|year=2002\|publisher=Sussex Academic Press\|isbn=978-1-898723-93-6 \|pages=330 }}</ref>

Brahma - Revision history

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