The holy trinity in Hindu religion has Lord Brahma along with Shiva and Lord Vishnu. He is responsible for the creation of the universe and everything within it. He is thought to be the source of space, time and form. He is known in many names such as Lokesha (the divine creator), Pitamaha (the supreme father of the universe) and Vishwakarma (the supreme creator). He is considered to be the reason behind day and night.
There are many stories related to Brahma's birth. Lord Vishnu fell into a deep sleep after the destruction of the previous universe and in his sleep the thought of development happened. This thought formed a Golden Embryo. Brahma took his shape in addition to getting anther name from the Golden Embryo or the Hiranya Garbha. There is also another story which says that he was created out of a Lotus which grew in the navel of Vishnu. That is how He got other names Kanja Ja (Lotus born) and Nabhi Ja (navel born).
According to Manusmriti, Brahma is self-existent as he was born out of a seed from the water bodies he created. Brahma took birth one more time from the seed, which was formed as a Golden Embryo. There is a third fable related to his birth in the Ramayana. According to Ramayana, Brahma was born from the ether, which holds the world.
He also thought to have created sons from his mind so they are referred to as manas putras (born from mind). His mind gave birth to Pulaha, Kratuj, Angiras, Marici, Atri, Pulastya, Vashishta, Pracetas, Bhrgu and Narada. His body bore 9 sons Dharma, Daksa, Kama, Anger, Maya, Greed, Lust, Death, Joy, Bharata and a daughter named Angaja.
In his attempt to create the universe and populate it, he created a goddess out of himself and called her Gayatri. She is also referred to as Saraswati. Lord Brahma and Saraswati are mentioned in many mythological as well as literature pieces. They are also the gods of meaning, arts, science and knowledge.
Lord Brahma is seen as an old man with a white beard. He carries a Rudraksha mala, lotus, sacred water, a scepter, a spoon and Vedas in his 4 arms. Even though he had five heads, he is represented in pictures with four heads. The reason is that Shiva burned the fifth head of Lord Brahma in anger, when he was offended by Lord Brahma.
There are no temples built for Lord Brahma even though he is the creator of the universe. Pushkar in Ajmer is a place of worship for the worshippers of Brahma. Temples of Shiva and Lord Vishnu usually have the northern wall dedicated to him. He is called Parivara Devata.
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