Brahma Relief

He is the lord of creation and wisdom. Brahma has four faces and at least four hands. The four faces represent the four vedas, and the four hands represent the four directions. The hands hold a book of the vedas (Book of Wisdom & Learning), a string of pearls for counting time, a scepter, a sacrificial spoon which is symbolic of spiritual nature and a water pot to point out that the universe evolved from water symbolizing his function as the creator. In the Upanishads, Brahma is the all-pervading divine essence : everything flowed from this and everything returned to it. Later, legends told that the formless lord of the universe, who existed in himself, created the waters and planted a seed from which a golden egg developed. He was hatched from this egg as Brahma, the absolute creator of the universe. In Hindu cosmology, the time of creation is recorded in the days of the life of Brahma. When Brahma awoke from his sleep and opened his eyes, the universe was created. When he shuts his eyes at the end of the day to go to sleep, the universe comes to an end.

12"H, Wall Hanging