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Mythology
Brahma
The first member of the Hindu trinity though much less important than the other two, namely Vishnu and Mahesh, is manifested as the active creator of this universe. The name Brahma is not found in the Vedas and the Brahmanas, where the active creator is merely known as Golden-Embryo (HIRANYA-GARBHA) or the Lord of Progeny (PRAJA-PATI). The Mahabharata considers him as born from the embryo, which took shape in Vishnu's mind when he began to think of creation.
After the destruction of one universe Vishnu falls asleep, floating on the causal waters. When another Universe is to be created, Brahma appears on a lotus, which springs from the navel of Vishnu. Hence Brahma is also called Navel-born (NABHI-JA) or the Lotus-born (KANJA-JA).
When Brahma has created the world it remains in existence for one of his days, which comes to a period of 4,320,000,000 years in terms of Hindu calendar. When Brahma goes to sleep after the end of his day, the world and all that is therein is consumed by fire. When he awakes he again restores the whole creation. This goes on till the hundred years of Brahma's life are completed. When this period ends he himself loses his existence, and he and all the gods and sages, and the whole universe are dissolved into their constituent elements.
 Brahma is shown as having four heads though originally he had five. The acquiring of five heads and the subsequent loss of one head makes an interesting legend. According to myths, he originally possessed only one head. After cutting a part of his own body Brahma created a woman named SATRUPA (a face with hundred beauties). She is also called VAC or SARASWATI, SAVITRI - the solar hymn, GAYATRI - the triple hymn and SANDHYA (twilight). As soon as Brahma saw his female creation, he fell in love with her and could not remove his gaze from her extraordinary beauty. Naturally Satrupa felt shy and tried to evade his eyes by moving away on all sides. To follow her wherever she moved, Brahma created more heads-one on the left, second on the right and the third at the back of the original first. Satrupa then rose towards the sky to escape his eyes and Brahma created the fifth head on top of all the four. This way he came to have five heads.
It is mentioned in the scriptures that the fifth head was chopped off by Shiva. He spoke most disrespectfully about Shiva, who in anger opened his third eye and the fire burned off his fifth head. Brahma has four arms and in his hands he holds a lotus flower, his scepter, spoon, a string of beads, a bowl containing the holy water and the Vedas. He is therefore also called as CHATURANANA or CHATURMUKHA (four- faced) and ASHTA-KARNA (eight-eared). He is usually shown as a bearded man in the full maturity of age. According to Shiva Purana, from the incestual union of Brahma and Satrupa was born SUAYAMBHUVA MANU, the progenitor of man, and from him in turn all creatures. Brahma's vehicle is the swan or goose, the symbol of knowledge. He is therefore said to be riding on the swan (HANS-VAHANA). He is the source of all knowledge and his consort, Saraswati, is the goddess of knowledge. Brahma was the father of DAKSHA, who is said to have sprung from his thumb and Brahma personally was present at the sacrificial ceremony of that King, which was badly disturbed by Rudra. The four KUMARAS, the chief of whom was called SANAT KUMAR, were also the sons of Brahma, who were born later. He is also the creator of the beautiful AHALYA, whom he gave as wife to sage GAUTAMA. She is the same Ahalya, who was cursed by her husband to become a rock piece, because Indra, the King of heavenly spirits, seduced her. She was brought to her natural human form when Lord Rama touched the rock by his feet. After this she was reconciled to her husband.
Today though Brahma's name is invoked in many religious services, his image is worshipped nowhere except at Pushkara, near Ajmer. Brahma seems to have been thrown into shade probably because in Hindu mind he has ceased to function actively after creating the world, though he will exert himself again while creating a new universe when this present one will meet its end. In fact Vishnu and Shiva, who appeal much more to popular imagination, have now arrogated his dynamic powers of creation. Understandably, the legends about this god are not so numerous and so rich as those centered round the other two of the triad.
One very plausible reason of Brahma's rather unpopularity among the devotees is his being rather callous in granting boons to the demons unguardedly. It is more than a coincidence that all the deadly demons, right from Hiranyakashipu to Ravana received their boons from Brahma, which made them singularly notorious in damaging the noble virtues of the world. Then it became necessary for Lord Vishnu to appear in his various incarnations to kill these demons. That is why the cult of Brahma's worship declined. The Hindu, later on, began to deem Brahma the sole god of worship for the demons. Hence in the entire India, there are uncountable temples to worship Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva while their third companion in the Triumvirate, Lord Brahma has only one temple, which is at the Pushkar Lake in Ajmer.
Brahma's day
Brahma lives hundred years, but they are years of Brahma, not human years. One KALPA coincides with one Day of Brahma's life, and when the night will come, this Universe will be reabsorbed (PRALAYA) in his divine sleep. One KALPA (Day or Night of Brahma) corresponds to 4,320,000,000 earthly years. Earthly time is divided in YUGA or Ages, which are:
| KRITA (OR SATYA)-YUGA |
4,800 years |
| TRETA-YUGA |
3,600 years |
| DWAPARA-YUGA |
2,400 years |
| KALI-YUGA |
1,200 years |
| TOTAL |
12,000 years |
Each Yuga's length, decrease progressively in relation to moral and physical decadence in each age. Throughout the SATYA Yuga virtue prevails and evil is unknown; in the TRETA Yuga virtue falls by a fourth; in the DWAPARA Yuga virtue has diminished by half; in the KALI Yuga, the current age, only a fourth of virtue remains. The fours Yuga make one MAHAYUGA. 360 must multiply the Mahayuga's 12,000 years, the days of the human year.
| 12,000 years (ONE MAHAYUGA) |
X |
360 (HUMAN DAYS) |
= |
4,320,000 years (HUMAN YEARS) |
Every Kalpa has 1000 cycles of four Yuga.
| 4,320,000 years (HUMAN YEARS) |
X |
1000 (CYCLES) |
= |
4,320,000,000 years (ONE KALPA) |
Vishnu
 Hindu gods and goddesses are phenomenal, but in due course of time Vishnu, as God of all gods, acquired supremacy, which continues till date. He is the central and the major deity of the trinity, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Though technically amongst these three chiefs gods known as creator, preserver, and destroyer, Vishnu is the Preserver, for all practical purpose he is
deemed to be all-powerful, all knowing and all present.
The name Vishnu comes from the root VISH, which means, "to spread in all directions, to pervade". He is the inner center, the core, the nucleus, and the cohesive point through which everything exists. He swells in everything, owns everything and overcomes any thing.
At the dawn of Aryan religion's formative stage, Vishnu is found to be a god amongst so many other gods. But his rise on the scale of worship and prayer is very rapid and already before the end of the Vedic times, he rises to the highest pedestal. The form and image of Vishnu as well as its significance is explained in detail in Puranas and several other minor Upanishads.
The two most common representations of Vishnu show him either sleeping over the waves of the ocean on the coils of the serpent-deity, named Shesh Nag, or standing on waves with four hands each hand holding one of his four chief attributes.
About the four arms of Vishnu, GOPAL-UTTARTAPANI Upanishad says:
 "In my lower right hand, which represents the revolving or creative tendency, I hold the conch, symbol of the five elements.
In the upper right hand, which represents the cohesive tendency I hold the discus, shining like an infant sun, symbol of the mind.
In the upper left hand, which represents the tendency towards dispersion and liberation, I hold the lotus, symbol of the causal power of illusion, from which the universe rises.
In my lower left hand, which represents the notion of individual existence, is the mace, symbol of primeval knowledge."
The Conch (SHANKH) named PANCHJANYA is the fountain that evolves the five elements, i.e., water, fire, air, earth and sky or space. When blown it produces a sound that is associated with primeval sound from which creation developed.
Shiva
 Shiva meaning 'the Good' is the third member of the triad. He is also named as MAHESHA or MAHADEVA (the Greatest God). He is much more many-sided and multi-colorful than many of the other gods including Vishnu.
Shiva is represented in various ways but the distinctive characteristics of this god are:
His seat, which is invariably either the skin of a tiger or a panther,
A number of cobras all around his neck and shoulders,
His long matted hair tied into a mop atop his head,
The crescent that he wears on the mop of his head,
The sacred river Ganga falling upon his head and flowing by his side,
The trident (trishula), the symbol of his power,
The sacred bull and
The mendicant's bowl
Besides these symbols another very important physical characteristic of Shiva is his VERTICAL EYE - the third eye. In the Mahabharata, the Great Hindu epic, the legend of how Shiva got the third eye is narrated this way. One day his beautiful consort Parvati, daughter of the King of Mountains, stealthily went behind Shiva and playfully placed her hands over his eyes. Suddenly darkness engulfed the whole world and all beings trembled in great fear as the lord of the universe had closed his eyes. Suddenly a massive tongue of flame leapt from the forehead of Shiva; a third eye had appeared there and this gave light to the world.
In "SRI SHIVA TATTVA" this eye is described as: "the frontal eye, the eye of fire, it is the eye of higher perception. It looks mainly inward but whenever directed outward, it burns all that appears before it. It is from a glance of the third eye that KAMA, the lord of love, was burnt to ashes and that the gods and all created beings are destroyed at each of the periodical destructions of the universe". Having three eyes, Shiva is also called TRI-NETRA, TRI-AMBAKA, TRI-AKSHA or TRI-NAYANA.
About the different symbols surrounding Lord Shiva, the scriptures gives various explanations.
The Tiger Skin
The tiger is the vehicle of SHAKTI, the goddess of all power and force. Shiva is beyond and above any kind of force. He is its master and carries the skin of the tiger as the victor of every force. An interesting legend in Purana narrates that once Shiva wandered in the forests in the form of a bare-bodied mendicant and the wives of the sages were enchanted by him. The jealous sages in anger tried to over-power him by digging a pit. When Shiva passed by the pit, a tiger was made to rush out of it. Shiva slew the tiger and taking its skin wore it as a garment.
Cobras around neck
Shiva is beyond the power of death though he is surrounded and encircled by death. This aspect is also emphasized by his name NEELKANTHA, the god who alone can drink the deadly poison to free the world from its effects. Now these cobras around his neck also represent the basic dormant energy, which in cobra-like manner is coiled at the base of the spinal cord. It is called KUNDALINI, the serpent power.
Crescent on hair-mop
He bears on his head as a diadem the crescent of the fifth day moon. Placed near the fiery third eye this shows the power of Soma, the sacrificial offering, which is the representative of Moon. It means that Shiva possesses the power of procreation co-existent with that of destruction.
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