Studies in the Epics and Puranas c8.18

c8.18

The unity of the Godhead as the cause of the world, which is recognized in the above hymn, is directly expressed in others where he is called the One, the Unborn, and placed above all gods. In two hymns, Ṛgveda, X. 81 and 82, he is invoked under the name Viśvakarman, "All-Creator," who, in later mythology, became the architect of the gods. In another remarkable hymn, Ṛgveda, X. 121, the poet inquires who is the first-born god that created the world and upholds it, and in the last verse he is invoked as "Prajāpati", "Lord of the Creatures." Prajāpati later became the current designation of the Creator, and synonymous with Brahmā. The Supreme Being is said to have originated in the primeval waters as the Golden Germ (Hiraṇya-garbha) which contained all the gods and the world, or became the Creator. The idea was afterwards developed to that of the world-egg and of Brahmā.