ब्रह्मा
Brahma
The creator — the one who speaks the Vedas and is rarely worshipped
Who is this?
Trimurti
Devi
Family of Shiva
Avatara
Vedic
Regional & planetary
Darshan
Vahana · vehicle
Hamsaहंस
The swan, said to separate milk from water — discrimination between the real and the apparent.
Ayudha · weapons & attributes
Vedasवेद
Held instead of a weapon; authority carried as text.
Kamandaluकमण्डलु
The water pot of the ascetic — creation out of restraint.
Akshamalaअक्षमाला
The rosary: time counted bead by bead.
Forms · रूप
Chaturmukhaचतुर्मुख
Four faces for the four Vedas and the four directions.
Prajapatiप्रजापति
The Vedic lord of creatures, an older layer of the same figure.
What the tradition does
- Temples
- Pushkar, Rajasthan · Kumbakonam · Asotra, Rajasthan
- Festivals
- Kartik Purnima at Pushkar
- Mantra
- ॐ वेदात्मनाय विद्महे — Om Vedatmanaya Vidmahe
- Scriptures
- Brahma Purana · Manusmriti (opening) · Shatapatha Brahmana
The reasoning
Almost no temples are dedicated to him, and the tradition explains this with stories rather than hiding it — a rare case of a deity whose lack of worship is itself taught.
The Padma and Shiva Puranas give different reasons for his loss of worship; some schools read the absence philosophically, not as a curse.
Related
The symbol opens a question
You have seen Brahma's forms. But why are these symbols used in worship?
Follow the thread from sacred image to tradition, scripture, reasoning and living practice.