The Lord Brahma’s Temples

We have seen earlier that there aren’t many temples for Lord Brahma and also the possible reason for why he does not have many followers.

However there are two temples worth mentioning and if you are going on holiday to those areas, a visit would be well worth along with the blessing of the Lord Brahma.

The Brahma Temple in Pushkar, Rajastan, India

The Brahma temple in Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan is the only temple in India that is dedicated to Lord Brahma.

There are also a number of beliefs attached to it. A lotus flower from the palms of Lord Brahma fell accidentally and came towards the earth.

As the flower fell into the Pushkar valley, it created a lake that boasts divine beauty. This lake later became popularly known as Pushkar Lake. The serene beauty of the place acts as a perfect place to host the beautiful Brahma temple.

Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. The temple is described to have been built by sage Vishwamitra after Brahma’s yagna (great pooja).

The 8th century Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara renovated this temple, while the current medieval structure dates to Maharaja Jawat Raj of Ratlam, who made additions and repairs, though the original temple design is retained.

Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, but also as the “King of the sacred places of the Hindus”. Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of the very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India and the most prominent one dedicated to Brahma.

Pushkar Lake and the Brahma temple have been identified as one of the ten most religious places in the world and one of the five sacred pilgrimage places for the Hindus, in India. The spiritual importance attracts a lot of Hindu devotees from different parts of the world.

The Prambanan Tri Murty Temple in Indonesia

Prambanan is the ninth-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to Trimurties, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainers (Vishnu), and the Destroyer (Shiva).

A Dutchman named Calons visited Java in 1733 and reported on the existence of the ruins of the temple compound, overgrown with shrubs. The restoration work started in 1978 and was completed in 1991.

The temple compound is located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta city on the boundary between Yogyakarta and Central Java province. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, currently is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia.

It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples. On either side of the central temple, there are two smaller but similar-sized temples that can be seen.

The temple in the middle of the complex is dedicated to Lord Siva Mahadeva and contains five chambers, four small chambers in every cardinal direction, and one bigger main chamber in the central part of the temple.

The chamber in the centre (moolasthana), of the largest temple in Prambanan, and linked to the east chamber, has a three-meter-high statue of Shiva Mahadeva. The statue bears Lakcana (attributes or symbol) of Shiva such as a skull and crescent at the crown, and the third eye on the forehead, also four hands that hold Shiva’s symbols: prayer beads, feather duster, and trisula (trident).

The statue of Shiva stands on a lotus pad on a Yoni pedestal that bears the carving of Naga serpents on the north side of the pedestal.