Studies in Indian Art c9.s1.4

c9.s1.4

Creation is the result of the One becoming the Many. This multiplicity is basically expressed as a Triad, which has many forms. In philosophy it is known as the three guṇas, Sattva, Rajas, Tamas; in religious worship it takes the form of three gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva. The basis of Trinity is metaphysical. Its antiquity is rooted in the Vedas and elaborated in the Purāṇas. In iconography Brahmā is shown as seated on a haṃsa with a kamaṇḍalu in his hand. He has a lotus under him floating in a lake. The lotus is the symol of creation and of life. The haṃsa is the symbol of mind or the Ego which is at the root of individual manifestation. The water in the kamaṇḍalu represents unformed matter. The four faces of this deity are the symobls of the four arms of the *Svastika*, which is the basic design of the universe. Brahmā is the God of all knowledge, symbolised as the four Vedas.