Brahma

Brahma is the creator in the Hindu triad. He is shown with four faces, four arms, a rosary, a water pot, a Veda and a lotus, seated on a swan or a lotus. Worship of Brahma is rare in India, and his temples are few. In Odisha, the Brahma Temple on the eastern bank of Bindusagar near the Lingaraja temple in Bhubaneswar is the best known. Another Brahma temple at Niali in Cuttack district dates from the 12th century. A four-armed Brahma image is also kept in the Bhringesvara Siva temple at Bhubaneswar. In Odisha tradition, Brahma is said to have consecrated the Jagannath images at Puri.

According to the Puranas, Brahma was born from the lotus that grew from the navel of Vishnu as he rested on the cosmic ocean, and he then created the worlds and living beings. His four faces are said to look in the four directions, and the four Vedas are said to have come from them. In the Shiva...