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99-483: Apart from Kshatriyas , several other Indian communities and dynasties have legends of fire-born ancestry. Alf Hiltebeitel theorises that the fire-lineage legends signify a new class of Kshatriya warriors, as opposed to the earlier warriors who claimed descent from the solar and lunar lineages mentioned in the ancient texts. Among the clans now known as the Rajputs, the legend might have been invented by Padmagupta,

198-472: A diadem (crown). Two of his hands should be in refuge granting and gift giving mudra , while he should be shown with kundika (water pot), akshamala (rosary), a small shruka and a large shruka (two ladles used in yajna ceremonies). The text details the different proportions of the murti , describes the ornaments, and suggests that the idol wear chira (bark strip) as a lower garment, and either be alone or be accompanied with goddess Sarasvati . Brahma

297-406: A homa ritual . This led to the appearance of a hero named Pratihara ("door-keeper"), who Vashistha placed on the road leading to the palace. After this, another hero named Chalukka appeared from the hollowed palm of Brahma . Finally, a third hero appeared, who sage named Pavara (or Para-mara, "slayer of the enemy"). However, these three heroes were not able to stop the demons. Vashistha then dug up

396-580: A 10th-century court poet of the Paramara dynasty . His Nava-sahasanka-charita is the earliest source claiming an Agnivanshi origin for the Paramaras. He might have been motivated by the fact that the Paramaras were the only royal family in their region without a mythical account of heroic or divine origin. The 16th century Rajput bards might have extended the legend to include other imperial dynasties, in order to foster Rajput unity against Muslims. Among

495-457: A dark age, where rakshasas (demons) increased in number, Vedas came to be trampled under feet, and Hinduism was forgotten. The sages then visited Parashurama's cave on Mount Abu. There, all the gods, men and nāgas assembled and came up with a plan to destroy the demons. Vashistha erected a fire altar and worshipped Shiva , who appeared before the sages. But the demons disrupted the ceremony by throwing impurities like blood, flesh and garbage on

594-475: A legend similar to the Paramara legend. However, this version does not present the sages Vashistha and Vishwamitra as rivals. It goes like this: One day, Agastya , Gautama , Vashistha, Vishwamitra and other great sages started a major sacrificial ceremony on Arbuda (Mount Abu). Demons interrupted the ceremony by polluting it with flesh, blood, bones and urine. To get rid of these demons, Vashistha performed

693-403: A lotus rooted in the navel of Vishnu, along with Shiva, who emerged inside a fire rooted in the forehead of the god Vishnu. This Purana states that both Brahma and Shiva are drowsy, err, are temporarily incompetent as they put together the universe. They then become aware of their confusion and drowsiness, meditates as two ascetics, then realizes Vishnu in their bodies, see the beginning and end of

792-427: A new fire pit, and made yet another offering to the fire, to conjure a new hero. This four-armed hero held a sword, a shield, a bow, and an arrow. Vashistha named him Chahavana, performed his coronation with Vedic hymns, and then ordered him to fight the demons. The sage also asked the goddess Ashapura to help the hero. Chahuhvana killed the demon Yantraketu, while the goddess killed the demon Dhumraketu. On seeing this,

891-457: A sage called Mahabaha kindled a flame and established a fire temple, which started attracting several devotees. Later, the Buddhists , unhappy with these Brahminical rites, managed to get an order prohibiting this style of worship. The fire temple devotees then prayed to seek a hero who would overthrow Buddhism and restore their traditional faith. The "Supreme Justice" then conjured a hero from

990-632: A shrine belonging to the fifth century, in the small and remote village of Carambolim , Sattari Taluka in the northeast region of the state is found. A famous icon of Brahma exists at Mangalwedha , 52 km from the Solapur district of Maharashtra and in Sopara near Mumbai . Temples exist in Khokhan , Annamputhur and Hosur . A shrine of Brahma can be found in Cambodia's Angkor Wat . One of

1089-857: A similar story mentioned in Balakanda of the Ramayana (1:53:18 — 1:54:3). In this story, Vishvamitra (initially a Kshatriya) snatches Vashistha's Kamadhenu cow (called "Shabala"). With Vashistha's permission, the cow creates the non-Indo-Aryan warriors who defeat Vishvamitra's army. These warriors include the Barbaras , the Kambojas , the Pahlavas , the Shakas , and the Yavanas . The Mahabharata repeats this legend with some variations. In this version,

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1188-517: A specific domain. The term rajanya unlike the word Kshatriya essentially denoted the status within a lineage. Whereas Kshatra , means "ruling; one of the ruling order". Jaiswal points out the term Brahman rarely occurs in the Rig-veda with the exception of the Purusha Sukta and may not have been used for the priestly class. Based on the authority of Pāṇini , Patanjali , Kātyāyana and

1287-597: A territory, and symbolising ownership over clan lands. This later gave rise to the idea of kingship. In the period of the Brahmanas (800 BCE to 700 BCE) there was ambiguity in the position of the varna. In the Panchavimsha Brahmana (13,4,7), the Rajanya are placed first, followed by Brahmana then Vaishya. In Shatapatha Brahmana 13.8.3.11 , the Rajanya are placed second. In Shatapatha Brahmana 1.1.4.12

1386-523: A tribal assembly (called Samiti), which included women. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle; was assisted by a priest; and did not maintain a standing army, though in the later period the rulership appears to have risen as a social class . The concept of the fourfold varna system is not yet recorded. The hymn Purusha Sukta to the Rigveda describes the symbolic creation of the four varna-s through cosmic sacrifice (yajña). Some scholars consider

1485-467: Is brahma ( ब्रह्म ); and the masculine noun brahmán , whose nominative singular form is brahmā ( ब्रह्मा ). The former, the neuter form, has a generalized and abstract meaning while the latter, the masculine form, is used as the proper name of the deity Brahma. However, Brahman was sometimes used as a synonym for Brahma's name during the time the Mahabharata was written. One of

1584-779: Is 311.04 trillion solar years, and humanity is in the 28th Kali Yuga of the 51st year of the current Brahma's life. Very few temples in India are primarily dedicated to Brahma and his worship. The most prominent Hindu temple for Brahma is the Brahma Temple, Pushkar . Others include: Brahma is also worshipped in temple complexes dedicated to the Trimurti . Some of these are: Thanumalayan Temple , Sri Purushothaman Temple , Ponmeri Shiva Temple , Thripaya Trimurti Temple , Mithrananthapuram Trimurti Temple , Kodumudi Magudeswarar Temple , Brahmapureeswarar Temple In Tamil Nadu, there

1683-467: Is Andakasa Temple dedicated to Brahma. In the past, although not as popular as Vishnu and Shiva, the name Brahma appeared on several occasions. In the legend that developed in East Java about Ken Arok, for example, Brahma is believed to be the biological father of Ken Arok . It is said that Brahma was fascinated by the beauty of Ken Arok's mother, Ken Endok and made her a lover. From this relationship

1782-423: Is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas , or ages: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" total 311 trillion 40 billion (311,040,000,000,000) earth years. Brahma's lifespan

1881-560: Is also a shrine for Brahma in Kandiyoor Mahadeva Temple in a rare posture along with his consort Goddess Sarasvati . There is a temple dedicated to Brahma in the temple town of Srikalahasti near Tirupati , Andhra Pradesh . There is a Chaturmukha Brahma temple in Chebrolu , Andhra Pradesh, and a seven feet height of Chatrumukha (Four Faces) Brahma temple at Bangalore , Karnataka . In the coastal state of Goa ,

1980-451: Is always changing ( 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. The primary creator is extensively discussed in Vedic cosmogonies with Brahman or Purusha or Prakrti among the terms used for the primary creator, In contrast

2079-578: Is assigned to the kshatriya class, along with a mantra, intended to impart physical vitality or 'ojas'. The Vedas do not mention kshatriya (or varna) of any vamsha (lineage). The lineages of the Itihasa - Purana tradition are: the Solar dynasty (Suryavamsha); and the Lunar dynasty (Chandravamsha/Somavamsha). There are other lineages, such as Agnivanshi ("fire lineage"), in which an eponymous ancestor

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2178-521: Is associated largely with the Vedic culture of yajna and knowledge. In some Vedic yajna , Brahma is summoned in the ritual to reside and supervise the ritual in the form of Prajapati . Brahma's wife is the goddess Sarasvati. She is the embodiment of his power, the instrument of creation and the energy that drives his actions. Brahma, despite being believed to be the creator, is considered mortal according to scriptures. The Age of Brahma, according to Hindu cosmology , spans vast epochs of time. A kalpa

2277-468: Is based on the life of Sindhuraja, but is of little historical value. The legend is not mentioned in earlier Paramara inscriptions (such as the Harsola copper plates ) or literary works (such as Halayudha 's Mritasanjivani ). Therefore, it appears that Padmagupta invented the legend in late 10th century. By this time, all of the Paramaras' neighbouring dynasties claimed descent from mythical heroes or gods:

2376-536: Is claimed from Agni (fire), and Nagavanshi (snake-born), claiming descent from the Nāgas , whose description can be found in scriptures such as Mahabharata . Brahma Brahma ( Sanskrit : ब्रह्मा , IAST : Brahmā ) is a Hindu god , referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti , the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva . He is associated with creation, knowledge, and

2475-586: Is found in Hammira Raso (1728), which describes the life of Hammira-deva , the Chauhan king of Ranthambore . It was composed by Jodharaja, a court poet of prince Chandrabhana of Neemrana . Its version of the legend is as follows: Parashurama slaughtered Kshatriyas (warriors) 21 times. The only escapees were those who disguised themselves as women, those who fled leaving behind their swords and those who fell at his feet. The absence of any warriors led to

2574-403: Is not unique to the Rajputs. There are several south Indian legends of fire-born dynasties and communities: Hiltebeitel notes that the common theme among all these "fire-origin" legends is not the theft of a cow: rather, it is the creation of a new order of Kshatriyas (as opposed to the traditional solar and lunar Kshatriyas mentioned in the ancient sources). Hiltebeitel further theorises that

2673-584: Is often depicted with a white beard, implying his sage-like experience. He sits on lotus, dressed in white (or red and pink), with his vehicle ( vahana ) – hamsa , a swan – nearby. Chapter 51 of the Manasara , an ancient design manual in Sanskrit for making murtis and temples, states that a Brahma statue should be gold in color. The text recommends that the statue have four faces and four arms, have jata-mukuta-mandita (matted hair of an ascetic), and wear

2772-539: Is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy . The Sanskrit term kṣatriyaḥ is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: brahmin , kshatriya, vaishya , and shudra . The administrative machinery in the Vedic India was headed by a tribal king called a Rajan whose position may or may not have been hereditary. The king may have been elected in

2871-507: Is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu tradition. The spiritual concept of brahman is quite old and some scholars suggest that the god Brahma may have emerged as a god and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle of brahman . The existence of a distinct god named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic texts. Grammatically, the nominal stem Brahma- has two distinct forms: the neuter noun bráhman , whose nominative singular form

2970-642: Is regarded as one of the Twenty Devas ( 二十諸天 Èrshí Zhūtiān ) or the Twenty-Four Devas ( 二十四諸天 Èrshísì zhūtiān ), a group of protective dharmapalas . Hindus in Indonesia still have a high regard for Brahma ( Indonesian and Javanese : Batara Brahma and Sanghyang Brahma ). In Prambanan there is a special temple made for Brahma, side by side with Vishnu and Shiva, and in Bali there

3069-589: Is the Atman (Soul, Self) within and without – yea, within and without! While the Maitrayaniya Upanishad maps Brahma with one of the elements of the guṇas theory of Hinduism, the text does not depict him as one of the trifunctional elements of the Hindu Trimurti idea found in later Puranic literature. During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent god and his sect existed during

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3168-399: Is this Shiva. That part of him which belongs to rajas , that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Brahma . That part of him which belongs to sattva , that O students of sacred knowledge, is this Vishnu. Verily, that One became threefold, became eightfold, elevenfold, twelvefold, into infinite fold. This Being (neuter) entered all beings, he became the overlord of all beings. That

3267-457: Is within each living being. It equates the atman (Soul, Self) within to be Brahma and various alternate manifestations of Brahman, as follows, "Thou art Brahma, thou art Vishnu, thou art Shiva, thou art Agni , Varuna , Vayu , Indra , thou art All." In verse (5,2), Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇas , that is qualities, psyche and innate tendencies the text describes can be found in all living beings. This chapter of

3366-567: The Mahabharata , Jayaswal believes that Rajanya was the name of political people and that the Rajanyas were, therefore, a democracy (with an elected ruler). Some examples were the Andhaka and Vrsni Rajanyas who followed the system of elected rulers. Ram Sharan Sharma details how the central chief was elected by various clan chiefs or lineage chiefs with increasing polarisation between

3465-492: The Maitrayaniya Upanishad asserts that the universe emerged from darkness ( tamas ), first as passion characterized by innate quality ( rajas ), which then refined and differentiated into purity and goodness ( sattva ). Of these three qualities, rajas are then mapped to Brahma , as follows: Now then, that part of him which belongs to tamas , that, O students of sacred knowledge ( Brahmacharins ),

3564-493: The Shiva Purana , where Brahma and Vishnu argued about who was the greatest among them. While they debated, they saw a huge column of fire piercing through the sky which was Shiva as Lingodbhava . They decided to locate the beginning and end of this column of fire which is Shiva. Vishnu assumed the form of a boar as Varaha and journeyed towards the earth and Brahma assumed the form of a swan as Hamsa and journeyed towards

3663-608: The Vedas . Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends . In some Puranas , he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha . Brahma is the Vedic god Prajapati . During the post-Vedic period, Brahma was a prominent deity and his sect existed; however, by the 7th century CE, he had lost his significance. He was also overshadowed by other major deities like Vishnu , Shiva , Tridevi and demoted to

3762-481: The Cholas said that Brahma and Shiva as their direct biological ancestors and Vishnu as their creator and the creator of this entire universe . Cilappatikaram also has several mentions of Brahma as the creator god. Brahma is traditionally depicted with four faces and four arms. Each face of his points to a cardinal direction. His hands hold no weapons, rather symbols of knowledge and creation. In one hand, he holds

3861-1099: The Government House of Thailand houses a statue of Phra Phrom (Thai representation of Brahma). An early 18th-century CE painting at Wat Yai Suwannaram in Phetchaburi city of Thailand depicts Brahma. The name of the country Burma is derived from Brahma. In medieval texts, it is referred to as Brahma-desa . Brahma in Buddhism is known in Chinese as Simianshen ( 四面神 , "Four-Faced God"), Simianfo ( 四面佛 , "Four-Faced Buddha") or Fantian ( 梵天 ), Tshangs pa ( ཚངས་པ ) in Tibetan, Phạm Thiên ( 梵天 ) in Vietnamese, Bonten ( 梵天 ) in Japanese, and Beomcheon ( 범천,梵天 ) in Korean. In Chinese Buddhism , he

3960-605: The Hindu Kush mountains. A. M. T. Jackson proposed a similar theory, but argued that the Rajputs had originated from Gurjars , who according to him, came to India as part of invading hordes. The basis for his theory was the Agnivanshi myth, and the prevalence of surnames such as Pavar (Parmar) and Chavan (Chauhan) among Gurjars. The theory was further supported by other British scholars as well as some Indian scholars, such as D. R. Bhandarkar . William Crooke theorised that

4059-700: The Sisana inscription of the Chauhans of Bedla, and the Nainsi ri Khyat . Dvyasraya-Mahakavya , an account of the Chaulukya dynasty (Solankis) by Hemachandra (c. 1088–1173), mentions the Agnikula legend while describing the origin of the Paramaras. The Chaulukyas knew about the Agnikula legend, but associated it with the Paramaras, not themselves. The Bhavishya Purana , some of whose portions date as late as

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4158-524: The Thai Buddhist community. The origins of the term brahmā are uncertain, partly because several related words are found in the Vedic literature, such as Brahman for the 'Ultimate Reality' and Brāhmaṇa for 'priest'. A distinction between the spiritual concept of brahman and the god Brahmā is that the former is a genderless abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism, while the latter

4257-518: The Tridevi created Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and these texts then state that Brahma is a secondary creator of the world working respectively on their behalf. Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself. Thus in most Puranic texts, Brahma's creative activity depends on the presence and power of a higher god or higher goddess. Further, the medieval era texts of these major theistic traditions of Hinduism assert that

4356-488: The Vedas as books of Hinduism and used it to perform Yajnas . Several Tamil Hindu kings and queens have performed Vedic sacrifices and worshipped various gods and goddesses of Hinduism . Several Sangam texts mention that Brahma as a creator god born from the navel of Vishnu along with Shiva as a destroyer god born from his forehead while he was the preserver god. As he is a direct biological ancestor of all royal families,

4455-441: The rajanya (aristocracy helping the ruler) and the vis (peasants) leading to a distinction between the chiefs as a separate class ( raja, rajanya, kshatra, kshatriya ) on one hand and vis (clan peasantry) on the other hand. The term kshatriya comes from kshatra and implies temporal authority and power which was based less on being a successful leader in battle and more on the tangible power of laying claim to sovereignty over

4554-427: The saguna (representation with face and attributes) Brahma is Vishnu, Shiva, or Tridevi, respectively. In the post-Vedic Puranic literature, 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

4653-651: The yajnas of the historical Vedic religion , which led to religious ideas developed in the Upanishads . The Kshatriyas studied Vedas, gave gifts and performed fire sacrifice. The gaṇa sangha form of government was an oligarchic republic during the period of the Mahajanapadas (c. 600–300 BCE), that was ruled by Kshatriya clans. However, these kshatriyas did not follow the Vedic religion, and were sometimes called degenerate Kshatriyas or Shudras by Brahmanical sources. The kshatriyas served as representatives in

4752-676: The 19th century, also contains the legend with some variations. In this version, the Kanyakubja Brahmins conducted a sacrifice on Mount Abu to appease Brahma . The recital of the Vedic mantras produced four Kshatriya heroes: Samavedin Paramara, Yajurvedin Chahumana (Chauhan), Trivedin Chalukya and Atharvavedin Parihara (Pratihara). Abu'l Fazl mentions another variation of the legend in his Ain-i-Akbari : In 761 BCE,

4851-511: The 2nd century CE to 6th century CE. Early texts like the Brahmanda Purana describe that there was nothing but an eternal ocean. From this, a golden egg called Hiranyagarbha , emerged. The egg broke open and Brahma, who had created himself within it, came into existence (gaining the name Svayambhu ). Then, he created the universe, the earth, and other things. He also created people to populate and live on his creation. However, by

4950-602: The 7th century CE, Brahma lost his importance. Historians believe that some of the major reasons for Brahma's downfall were the rise of Shaivism and Vaishnavism , their replacement of him with Tridevi in the Smarta tradition , and the frequent attacks by Buddhists , Jains , Hindus who worship Indra and all the other Hindu gods . Various Puranic legends mention various reasons for his decline in worship now. There are primarily two prominent versions of why Brahma lost his ground in worship popularly. The first version refers to

5049-726: The Agnikula myth is of south Indian origin, and may have been transmitted to northern India by the feudatories of the Pallavas and the Chalukyas . He suggests that the Tamil-language Silappatikaram legend is "an Agnikula myth waiting to be realized". It mentions solar and lunar ancestry of the Cholas and Pandyas respectively, but remains silent on the ancestry of the Cheras. According to a legend in this text, after

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5148-925: The Agnikula myth. The Paramara inscriptions which mention this legend include the Udaipur Prashasti inscription, the Nagpur stone inscription, the Vasantagarh inscription, the Arthuna inscription of Chamundaraja, the Neminath Jain temple inscription, the Donagaragrama inscription, the Patnarayan inscription and the Jainad inscription . Tilaka-Manjari by Dhanapala, a contemporary of the Paramara king Bhoja , also supports this account. Some of

5247-472: The Chaulukyas of Gujarat are known to have employed Brahmins from Deccan for fabricating their myths of origin. D. C. Sircar also suggested that the Paramara court poet Padmagupta might also have been a native of southern India. According to Paramara inscriptions, his patron Vakpati Munja had achieved military successes in southern India. According to K. N. Seth, the foreign-origin theory is weakened by

5346-592: The Deccan. Writing in the context of how the jajmani system operated in the 1960s, Pauline Kolenda noted that the "caste function of the Kshatriya is to lead and protect the village, and with conquest to manage their conquered lands. The Kshatriyas do perform these functions today to the extent possible, by distributing food as payments to kamins and providing leadership." In rituals, the nyagrodha ( Ficus indica or India fig or banyan tree) danda , or staff,

5445-407: The Indo-Aryan natives of north-western India, Tod's claim of stark differences between the appearances of the Scythians and the natives is misleading, as both the groups have Indo-European origins. Notes Citations Kshatriyas Traditional Kshatriya ( Sanskrit : क्षत्रिय , romanized :  Kṣatriya ) (from Sanskrit kṣatra , "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya )

5544-433: The Mahajanapada period, most of the prominent royal dynasties in northern India were not kshatriyas. The Nanda Empire , whose rulers were stated to be shudras, destroyed many kshatriya lineages. After the collapse of the Maurya Empire , numerous clan-based polities in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan claimed kshatriya status. The Shakas and Yavanas were considered to be low-status kshatriyas by Brahmin authors. In

5643-411: The Pratiharas from Lakshmana , the Chahamanas (Chauhans) from Surya (Sun), the Chaulukyas from Brahma 's water pot ( chaluka ), and the Chandelas from Chandra (Moon). The Paramaras were the only ones without a legend of mythical origin. This might have motivated Padmagupta to invent a new legend with Sindhuraja's approval. The post-Sindhuraja Paramara inscriptions and literary works widely mention

5742-538: The Puranic and Tantric literature. However, these texts state that his wife Sarasvati has Sattva (quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, holistic, constructive, creative, positive, peaceful, virtuous), thus complementing Brahma's Rajas (quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, action qua action, individualizing, driven, dynamic) with her Sattva qualities . The Sangam literature mentions all Hindu gods and goddesses and Vedic practices in Tamilakam . Tamilians considered

5841-402: The Purusha Sukta to be a late interpolation into the Rigveda based on the neological character of the composition, as compared to the more archaic style of the Vedic literature. Since not all Indians were fully regulated under the varna in the Vedic society, the Purusha Sukta was supposedly composed in order to secure Vedic sanction for the heredity caste scheme. An alternate explanation is that

5940-424: The Tridevi are called the "mothers of the universe", and they are credited with creating Brahma, all the complete other gods including Vishnu, Shiva, the three worlds, the entire universe. They are the ones, states Skanda Purana, who combined the three Gunas - Sattva, Rajas, Tamas - into matter ( Prakrti ) to create the empirically observed world. The Vedic discussion of Brahma as a Rajas -quality god expands in

6039-430: 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 , that is an aeon). Brahma is a "secondary creator" as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas , and among the most studied and described. Vishnu-focused Puranas describe that Brahma

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6138-439: The altar. Twenty sages, including their leader Vashistha, then invoked Brahma and Shiva. They erected a new altar and conducted a fresh ceremony, singing hymns from the Sama Veda . Following this, four sword-bearing warriors emerged from the fire pit, and defeated the demons. Parashurama and Shakti blessed the newly created heroes. Chohan, one of the heroes, was four-armed. The sage Bhrigu told him that he would be protected by

6237-462: The assembly at the capital, debated various issues put before the assembly. Due to the lack of patronage of Vedic Brahmanism, the kshatriyas of the gana sanghas were often patrons of Buddhism and Jainism . In the Pali canon , Kshatriya is referred as khattiya . In the kingdoms of the Mahajanapadas, the king claimed kshatriya status through the Vedic religion. While kings claimed to be kshatriya, some kings came from non-kshatriya origins. After

6336-469: The colonial historians saw the foreign-origin theory as a way of justifying their own colonial invasion. R. B. Singh criticises Indian supporters of the theory for having failed to see the "subtle game" of the colonial historians. Hiltebeitel argues that the Ramayana story cannot be the origin of the Agnikula myth, because it has nothing to do with birth from fire. There are other mythological legends involving sages and birth of warriors, which do not support

6435-474: The decline of the Gupta Empire around 5th century. They were admitted in the Hindu caste system after performing a fire ritual. James Tod , who relied on bardic legends, was the first to propose this theory. He speculated that the Agnivashi Rajputs, who were of "good-stature and fair", could not have descended from the "dark, diminutive and ill-favoured" aboriginal natives of India. He proposed that their ancestors were Scythians and other groups residing beyond

6534-449: The deity Brahma is described as part of its cosmology, he is a mortal god like all deities and dissolves into the abstract immortal Brahman when the universe ends, and then a new cosmic cycle (kalpa) restarts and all of them are recreated. In the Bhagavata Purana , Brahma is portrayed several times as the one who rises from the " Ocean of Causes ". Brahma, states this Purana, emerges at the moment when time and universe are born, inside

6633-423: The demons referred to in the Agnikula legend were Buddhist rivals of the Brahmins. He argued that the Kshatriya descent was based on status rather than descent, and therefore Brahmins conducted a purification or initiation fire ritual to raise the status of foreign warriors who helped them repress the Buddhists. The foreign-origin theory has been criticised by several later scholars. Alf Hiltebeitel states that

6732-521: The destruction of the Chola and the Pandya capitals (the latter by agni or fire), it is the Chera king who redeems the royals by establishing the worship of Kannagi . Besides the south Indian legends of fire-origin, Hiltebeitel also connects the Chaulukyas (Solanki Rajputs) to the south Indian Chalukyas of Kalyani in his support. Before the popularisation of the Agnikula myth, both these dynasties claimed origin from Brahma 's chaluka (folded palm or water-pot). The Guhilot Rajputs of Mewar as well as

6831-404: The dynasties that are now called Rajputs, the Paramara kings of Malwa were the first to claim an Agnikula ("fire clan") ancestry. Several inscriptions and literary works composed during the Paramara era mention this legend. The earliest known source to mention this story is the Nava-sahasanka-charita of the Paramara court poet Padmagupta Parimala.The Sanskrit-language epic was composed during

6930-430: The earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka (lesson) of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad , probably composed around the late 1st millennium BCE. Brahma is first discussed in verse 5,1, also called the Kutsayana Hymn , and then expounded in verse 5,2. In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn , the Upanishad asserts that one's Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God

7029-419: The fact that the Agnikula legend is not mentioned in the earliest of the Paramara records (such as the Harsola copper plates ). Moreover, the earliest Paramara-era accounts do not mention the other Rajput clans as fire-born. The early Chauhan dynasties were centered around Ajmer - Pushkar region, and their association with Mount Abu is a later invention. R. B. Singh argues that if the ancestors of Rajputs were

7128-541: The first instance in the extant Vedic texts where four social classes are mentioned for the first time together. Usage of the term Rajanya possibly indicates the 'kinsmen of the Rajan' (i.e., kinsmen of the ruler) had emerged as a distinct social group then, such that by the end of the Vedic period, the term rajanya was replaced by Kshatriya ; where rajanya stresses kinship with the Rajan and Kshatriya denotes power over

7227-529: The foreign-origin theory. For example, the Ramayana also mentions that Vashistha and Rishyasringa performed a ceremony that resulted in the birth of Rama and his three brothers. The Pratisarga-Parvan of Bhavishya Purana mentions a legend according to which the Brahmins destroyed the mlecchas by pulling them into a sacrificial fire pit (rather than creating them from it). Besides, the fire-origin legend

7326-400: The goddess Shakti in his endeavours to kill the demons. The goddess protected Chohan from all dangers: every time he fell at her feet, his strength doubled and he was able to slay the demons. The goddess came to be known as Ashapuri because she fulfilled the hopes ("asha") of the sages. A slight variation occurs in the writings of Suryamal Misran , the court poet of Bundi . In this version,

7425-455: The good and the evil, the material and the spiritual, a beginning and an end. The Puranas describe Brahma as the god creating time. They correlate human time to Brahma's time, such as a mahākalpa being a large cosmic period, correlating to one day and one night in Brahma's existence. The stories about Brahma in various Puranas are diverse and inconsistent. In Skanda Purana , for example,

7524-471: The ketaki flower as an ornament on his head then and fused that head into him then. The second version refers to the Vishnu Purana , where Vishnu created Brahma and Shiva from his navel and forehead respectively, thus making Brahma along with Shiva both as inferior to Vishnu, who created them both as the supreme god above them in all aspects of power in this universe and after that, when the creation of

7623-425: The knowers of Atharva Veda (Vashistha) then made a fire offering with mantras . A hero with a bow, a crown and golden armour emerged from the fire. He brought back Vashistha's cow. The grateful owner of the cow named this hero "Paramara" ("slayer of the enemy"), and gave him the power to rule the entire earth. From this hero, who resembled Manu , sprang the (Paramara) dynasty. Padmagupta's Nava-sahasanka-charita

7722-514: The kshatriyas of the epics and Puranas. Dynasties began affiliating themselves with the Solar and Lunar dynasties and this gave them legitimation as rulers. In return the newly christened kshatriyas would patronize and reward the Brahmins. The Sanskritic culture of the kshatriyas of this period was heavily influential for later periods and set the style that kshatriyas of later periods appealed to. This process took place both in North India and

7821-513: The later inscriptions mention the name the dynasty's progenitor as "Dhumaraja" (smoke-king) instead of "Paramara". The earliest of the Chauhan inscriptions and literary works do not claim Agnivanshi descent. These sources variously state that the dynasty's legendary founder Chahamana was born from Indra 's eye, in the lineage of the sage Vatsa, in the solar dynasty and/or during a ritual sacrifice performed by Brahma . Some recensions of Prithviraj Raso , an epic poem by Chand Bardai , contain

7920-466: The now-cold fire temple. This hero, called Dhananjaya (or Dhanji), attained power in a short time and restored the Brahminical rites. He came to Malwa from Deccan, and established a government there. When his fifth-generation descendant Putaraja died childless, the nobles elected one Aditya Ponwar as his successor. The Paramara dynasty descended from Ponwar. Padmagupta's legend appears to be based on

8019-565: The order is—Brahmana, Vaishya, Rajanya, Shudra. The order of the Brahmanical tradition—Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra—became fixed from the time of dharmasutras (450 BCE to 100 BCE). The kshatriya were often considered pre-eminent in Buddhist circles. Even among Hindu societies they were sometimes at rivalry with the Brahmins, but they generally acknowledged the superiority of the priestly class. The Kshatriyas also began to question

8118-529: The origin of Chauhan dynasty: it states that Manikya Rai was the first valiant Chauhan, and he was born from Brahma's sacrifice. R. B. Singh believes that the 16th century poets came up with the legend to foster Rajput unity against the Mughal emperor Akbar . Adaptions of the Prithviraj Raso legend occur in later works written under the patronage of the various Chauhan dynasties. One notable adaption

8217-670: The other demons fled. Pleased with Chahuvana's bravery, the goddess agreed to be his family deity . Prithviraj Chauhan , the hero of Prithiviraj Raso , was born in this family. Prithviraj Raso is the earliest source that includes four different Rajput dynasties (not just the Paramaras) in this legend. Scholars such as Dasharatha Sharma and C. V. Vaidya , who analyzed the earliest available copies of Prithviraj Raso , concluded that its original recension did not contain this legend at all. The earliest extant copy of Prithviraj Raso , dated to 15th century, contains only one sentence regarding

8316-683: The other two members of the Trimurti. Brahma is revered in the ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India, owing to the absence of any significant sect dedicated to his reverence. Few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan. Some Brahma temples are found outside India, such as at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok , which in turn has found immense popularity within

8415-437: The reign of Sindhuraja (ca. 997-1010). Its version of the legend is as follows: On Mount Arbuda ( Abu ), the priest of Ikshvaku royal house ( Vashistha ) once made a sacred grove. The son of Gadhi ( Vishvamitra ) stole the wish-granting cow of Vashistha, just like Kartavirya Arjuna had once stole the cow of Jamadagni . The barkcloth on the bosom of Arundhati (Vashistha's wife) became soaked with tears. The earliest of

8514-576: The role of a secondary creator, who was created by the major deities. Brahma is commonly depicted as a red complexioned man with four heads and hands. His four heads represent the four Vedas and are pointed to the four cardinal directions. He is seated on a lotus and his vahana (mount) is a hamsa (swan). According to the scriptures, Brahma and Sarasvati created their children from their minds and thus, they are referred to as Manasaputras . In contemporary Hinduism, Brahma does not enjoy popular worship and has substantially less importance than

8613-402: The sacred texts of Vedas , in the other hand, he holds a mala , symbolizing the time to create the universe, in the another hand, he holds a shruka, — a ladle symbolizing the means to feed sacrificial fire, and in the even another hand, a kamandalu – a utensil with water symbolizing the means from where all creation emits. His four mouths are credited with creating the four Vedas. He

8712-445: The sky. Vishnu found about his defeat, revealing that he had been unable to locate the end, which was at the end of the universe and he got tired before he reached that so he was defeated in it there. However, Brahma had recruited the ketaki flower which fell from Shiva's head by his powers to end the debate here now, which was at the beginning of the universe with his beginning at there now and he got tired before he reached that so he

8811-552: The stolen cow (called "Nandini") retaliates by creating the various mleccha tribes from different parts of her body. Seeing the power of the Brahmin Vashistha, Vishvamitra decides to become a Brahmin as well. Some colonial-era historians interpreted the Agnikula myth to suggest a foreign origin for the Agnivanshi Rajputs. According to this theory, the foreign ancestors of these Rajputs came to India after

8910-520: The third to fourth centuries CE, kingdoms in the Krishna and Godavari rivers claimed kshatriya status and performed Vedic rituals to legitimate themselves as rulers. During his visit to India in the 7th century, Hieun Tsang noted that kshatriya rulers were ruling the kingdoms like Kabul, Kosala, Bhillamala, Maharashtra and Vallabhi. In the era from 300 to 700 CE, new royal dynasties were bestowed kshatriya status by Brahmins by linking them to

9009-503: The three largest temples in the 9th-century CE Prambanan temples complex in Yogyakarta, central Java (Indonesia) is dedicated to Brahma, the other two to Shiva (largest of three) and Vishnu respectively. The temple dedicated to Brahma is on the southern side of Shiva temple and Vishnu temple. A statue of Brahma is present at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok , Thailand and continues to be revered in modern times. The golden dome of

9108-470: The universe was always happening and he was the supreme god of this universe. The post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony , many involving Brahma. These include Sarga (primary creation of the universe) and Visarga (secondary creation), ideas related to the Indian thought that there are two levels of reality, one primary that is unchanging ( metaphysical ) and other secondary that

9207-402: The universe was completed, Brahma lost all of his importance after his role as creator of the universe ended and was removed from worship by everyone in the world, while Shiva was always worshipped as the destroyer of the universe after his role of the destruction of the universe was always happening and Vishnu was always worshipped as he was the preserver of the universe and his preserving role in

9306-491: The universe, and then their creative powers are revived. Brahma and Shiva, states the Bhagavata Purana, thereafter combine Prakriti (nature, matter) and Purusha (spirit, soul) to create a dazzling variety of living creatures, and a tempest of causal nexus. The Bhagavata Purana thus attributes the creation of Maya to Brahma and Shiva, wherein they creates for the sake of creation, imbuing everything with both

9405-683: The various gods create the four heroes on Vashistha's request. According to the bardic tale of the Khichi clan of Chauhans, the Puwar (Paramara) was born from Shiva 's essence; the Solankhi (Solanki) or Chaluk Rao (Chaulukya) was born from Brahma's essence; the Pariyar (Parihar) was born from Devi's essence; and the Chahuvan (Chauhan) was born from the fire . The myth also appears with some variations in

9504-466: The word 'Shudra' does not occur anywhere else in the Rig-veda except the Purusha Sukta , leading some scholars to believe the Purusha Sukta was a composition of the later Rig-vedic period itself to denote, legitimize and sanctify an oppressive and exploitative class structure that had already come into existence. Although the Purusha Sukta uses the term rajanya , not Kshatriya , it is considered

9603-605: Was born Ken Arok. The name Brahma is also used as the name of a mountain in the Tengger Mountains range, namely Mount Bromo . Mount Bromo is believed to be derived from the word Brahma and there was once a sect that believed that Brahmaloka – the universe where Brahma resided – was connected to Mount Bromo. In the Javanese version of wayang (shadow puppet play), Brahma has a very different role from his initial role. When Hindu society began to disappear from Java and

9702-545: Was born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu and Shiva was born from a fire emerging from the forehead of the god Vishnu . In contrast, the Shiva -focused Puranas describe Brahma and Vishnu to be born from Shiva's right and left sides of his waist; and in other Puranas , Shiva and Vishnu were born from Brahma's right and left sides of his waist or Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma creating each other cyclically in different aeons ( kalpas ). Yet others describe that

9801-476: Was defeated in it there and this came to him and he took him as a false witness to support his lie that he had located the beginning. Shiva then took his true form and cut off one of Brahma's five heads for his dishonesty, proclaiming that he would no longer receive an active following to his worship and would get a low status of popularity. Pleased with Vishnu's honesty, he offered him a high status of popularity and an active following dedicated to his worship and took

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