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Brahma (; ) is the creator god in the Trimurti of Hinduism. He has four faces, looking in the four directions.〔Bruce Sullivan (1999), Seer of the Fifth Veda: Kr̥ṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa in the Mahābhārata, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816763, pages 85-86〕 Brahma is also known as ''Svayambhu'' (self-born),〔Alf Hiltebeitel (1999), Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226340517, page 292〕 ''Vāgīśa'' (Lord of Speech), and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths.〔〔Barbara Holdrege (2012), Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-1438406954, pages 88-89〕 Brahma is identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Kama and Hiranyagarbha (the cosmic egg),〔〔 he is more prominently mentioned in the post-Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is conflated with Purusha.〔 Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of a Hindu Trinity, however, ancient Hindu texts mention other trinities of gods or goddesses which does not include Brahma.〔David White (2006), Kiss of the Yogini, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226894843, pages 4, 29〕〔 While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, several Puranas describe him being born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu. Other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects,〔Stella Kramrisch (1994), The Presence of Siva, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691019307, pages 205-206〕 or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology.〔Charles Coulter and Patricia Turner (2000), Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities, Routledge, ISBN 978-0786403172, page 258, Quote: "When Brahma is acknowledged as the supreme god, it was said that Kama sprang from his heart."〕 Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is also viewed as a different form of Brahman, the ultimate formless metaphysical reality and cosmic soul in Hinduism.〔Jan Gonda (1969), (The Hindu Trinity ), Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pages 212-226〕〔David Leeming (2009), Creation Myths of the World, 2nd Edition, ISBN 978-1598841749, page 146; David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195156690, page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheistic or monistic, all gods being aspects of Brahman"; Also see pages 183-184, Quote: "Prajapati, himself the source of creator god Brahma – in a sense, a personification of Brahman (...) Moksha, the connection between the transcendental absolute Brahman and the inner absolute Atman."〕 Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the other members of the Trimurti, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a primary deity in India.〔Brian Morris (2005), Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521852418, page 123〕 Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India; the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan.〔SS Charkravarti (2001), Hinduism, a Way of Life, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120808997, page 15〕 Brahma temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.〔Ellen London (2008), Thailand Condensed: 2,000 Years of History & Culture, Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 978-9812615206, page 74〕 ==Etymology== The origins of deity Brahma are uncertain, in part because several related words such as one for Ultimate Reality (Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature and these are difficult to differentiate. The existence of a distinct deity named ''Brahma'' is evidenced in late Vedic text.〔Bruce Sullivan (1999), Seer of the Fifth Veda, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120816763, pages 82-83〕 A distinction between spiritual concept of Brahman, and deity Brahma, is that the former is gender neutral, while the latter is masculine. The spiritual concept of Brahman is far older, and some scholars suggest deity Brahma may have emerged as a personal conception and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle called Brahman.〔 In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem ''brahman'' forms two distinct nouns; one is a neuter noun ''bráhman'', whose nominative singular form is '; this noun has a generalized and abstract meaning. Contrasted to the neuter noun is the masculine noun ''brahmán'', whose nominative singular form is '.〔In Devanagari ''brahma'' is written . It differs from ''Brahma'' by having a ''matra'' (diacritical) in the form of an extra vertical stroke at the end. This indicates a longer vowel sound: long "ā" rather than short "a".〕 This noun is used to refer to a person, and as the proper name of a deity ' it is the subject matter of the present article. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brahma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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