Skip to main content

Brahma’s fifth head

Brahma the creator of the universe is always seen with four heads. All of us must have heard different stories upon the significance of the four heads of Brahma. Some one says that the four heads represent the four "yugas" or the largest measure of time. Some say the heads are in four different directions to be able to see all around and be omniscient and omnipresent.

What is lesser known is that Lord Brahma was known to have five heads. There are two propagated stories depicting how the fifth head of Lord Brahma was lost.

Story 1

Brahma had the fifth head of a donkey. Once there was a war amongst the gods and the asuras. The gods were in a winning situation and the defeated asuras were fleeing away from the battlefield. Just then the gods realized that the donkey head of Brahma started calling out to the asuras requesting them not flee. The donkey head offered help to the asuras and told them ways to fight and defeat the gods. All the gods were furious at this display and requested Vishnu's intervention. The gods requested Vishnu to cut the fifth o the donkey head of Brahma. While Vishnu granted this wish, he also warned that if the chopped head falls down, the entire universe would be destroyed. The gods then requested Shiva to hold the chopped head of Brahma and he agreed. The place where Shiva finally rested the chopped head of Brahma is known as Rudratirtha, near Badrinatha.

Story 2

Brahma created various creatures, god, asuras, facets of life and nature. Finally he created a woman and named her Shatarupa – one who takes a hundred forms. He was fascinated with this creation of his. His fascination with Shatarupa was so great that he became obsessed with her. He could leave her out of his sight. She tried to escape Brahma's gaze by moving in different directions, and Brahma grew heads to keep her in sight. Then Shatarupa ascended upward hoping to escape, but then Brahma grew the fifth head facing upwards. Shatarupa then requested Shiva for help. Here are two versions on how Shiva helped –

  • Version 1 – Shiva cut off Brahma's head and held it on his trident. He then rested the trident in Rudratirth.
  • Version 2 – Shiva unleashed Rudra on Brahma. Rudra was also Brahma's creation. Rudra then destroyed Brahma's head by his claws and beak.

Since Brahma felt ashamed of the sin he committed towards his own daughter – Shatarupa, he is ever since chanting Vedas to absolve himself of the sins.

The moral of either stories is that when an organ or a person starts becoming a nuisance and is not performing upto the requirements, it's better to cut it off. We need to understand the purpose to realize the bigger perspectives than smaller gains or losses. Always realize what you need, what you can do than being happy or sad on little gains.

 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flags and their meanings in Mahabharata

Last night I was telling the bedside story to the younger love of my life, when she asked – “How do you identify the leader of the troop in a war – particularly in a warzone where a lot of people are fighting against each other”? While I explained to her how the modern warfare works and how the generals lead the army today, I also imagined the warcraft of yesterday and started to describe the vivid imagination fueled by the magnanimity of the movies like Bahubali, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. The job was simple as we both had watched the movies together. And she understood all that I told her. Yet a question from her made me fumble – Do all the warriors have a flag on their chariot, and what do they mean? In my research for the answer, I stumbled upon the information that I would like to share with you too. In the Viraat Parva of Mahabharata, Arjuna under the disguise of Brihannala plays the role of the charioteer for Prince Uttara of Virata kingdom. Under the condition
7 comments
Read more

Karwa Chauth - Why does moon rise so late?

I have often wondered as to why the moon rises late on the Karwa Chauth night. It’s probably because our hungry stomachs rebel and start cursing the moon instead of praying, that slows it down! Actually on a full moon day, the moon rises exactly at the time of sunset. The moon takes 27.3 days to travel once around the earth. This is also the next full moon day. To travel 360 degrees in 27.3 days, the moon moves approx. 13 degrees towards the east every day. Thus the moon rise increases by approx. 48 min per day in relation to the sunset. On the Karva Chauth day – 4 days after the full moon day, the moon rises 48*4 = 192 min (3 hrs and 12 min) after the sunset. Now please do notice the moon rise timings everyday and see the pattern!
1 comment
Read more

Ganesha - Reviving the series - 10

The series cannot be completed without mentioning the reach of Lord Ganesha to cultures outside of India. In this last post for this year’s series, I shall try to present some more lesser known facts about the spread of the Lord Ganesha’s influence in Indian and non Indian cultures. During the early medieval period, both Jains and Buddhists incorporated Ganesh into their pantheon. The Ganesha cult thus travelled with the Mahayana Buddhism to distant lands, including Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia and Japan. Ganesha’s worship spread in all the regions rapidly. Manjangan ( Ganesha ) temple in  Bali ,  Indonesia Ganesha in Ta Prohm, Angkor For the Jains, Ganesha appears to have taken over certain functions of Kubera. The earliest reference to Ganesha in Jainism is in the Abhidhanacintamani of Hemachandra. It refers to several appelations of Lord Ganesha such as Herama, Ganavgnesa and Vinayaka and visualizes him as elephant headed, pot bellied
Post a Comment
Read more