Brahma
bra'ma, the first person in the Hindu triad or trinity. Brahma is the Hindu creator. Vishnu and Siva, the other members of the triad, are the preserver and destroyer, symbols of good and evil, respectively. In a temple of Brahma at Pushkara, he is represented as having four black faces, each of which is directed toward one of the four quarters of the compass. Each face has two large glass eyes. The four-faced head wears a broad red turban, over which hangs an umbrella. The figure is dressed in red clothes. Brahma is reputed to be the author of the Vedas or sacred books. Inasmuch as he is merely the creator of all things, the Brahmins direct their worship to Vishnu and Siva more particularly. The Brahminical religion is older than Buddhism. It recognizes a system of castes. An important doctrine is the transmigration of souls. Infanticide and the burning of widows on their husbands' funeral piles were Brahminical practices. Brahminical worship consists almost entirely of sacrifices, ceremonies, and observances. See Buddha ; Caste ; India ; Veda 2026 Editor's Note: A curiosity the entry brushes past: though Brahma is the creator, he is scarcely worshipped. Temples to him are vanishingly rare in India — the one at Pushkar the entry names is the most famous of a mere handful — while Vishnu and Shiva have tens of thousands. Various legends explain the neglect as a curse. (Ed: BR 2026-06-26)
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Brahma
WITH CONSORT SARASVATI avatar, or incarnation, that his services tical reasoning; but throughout their will be put in requisition, when this world is to undergo total annihilation. Meanwhile, however, the other deities, Vishnu and Siva, are constantly engaged in their respective duties of preservation and destruction; and the Hindus lavish chiefly their adoration upon those divinities from whom they expect to derive immediate advantage. In the mythological poems, and in sculpture, Brahma Brahma is is represented with four heads, or rather faces, and holding in his four hands a manuscript book containing a portion of the Vedas, a pot for holding water, a rosary, and a sacrificial spoon. In the sculptures of the cave temple of Elephanta, he is represented sitting on a lotus, supported by five swans or geese.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahma (Name of the first of the three)
the name of the first of the three gods who constitute the Trimurti, or triad of principal Hindu deities. The epithets applied to this divinity are very numerous, some of the most usual being Swayambhu, the self-existing; Parameshti, who abides in the most exalted place; Pitamaha, the great father; Prajapati, the lord of creatures; Lokesa, the ruler of the world, etc.; Brahm, the essence of the Supreme Being in the abstract, devoid of personal individuality, to whose name so much reverence is attached that it is considered criminal to pronounce it, is said to have given birth to Brahma, Vishnu and Siva simultaneously; aneously; and to have allotted to the first the province of creating, to the second that of preserving, and to the third that of destroying. Accordingly, ever since the creation of the world, Brahma has had little or nothing to do, and it will not be till the 10th COCK ०००००००00000000000 0000000 800000 0000
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahman
BRAHMIN, BRAMIN, or BRACHMAN, one of the Aryan conquerors of India, who discharged priestly functions, whose ascendency, however, over his fellows was intellectual and spiritual, but not yet political or supported by the caste system; also one of the four leading castes of India, the others, theoretically at least, being Kshatryas (warriors), Vaisyas (merchants), and Sudras (laborers), not reckoning outcasts beyond the pale. They are the most intellectual of all castes, having great mental subtlety. They are admirably adapted for metaphysical speculation, and for mathema- 000000 ०७०५ 00 ODDDDDD 0000000000 vast literature they have almost uniformly told monstrous myths in lieu of history. Nor do they care much for natural science.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahman Bull
the zebu, a variety It is of the bos taurus, or common ox. distinguished by having a large, fatty hump on its its shoulders. Divine honors are paid to it in India, and it is deemed an act of piety to turn one loose in the streets, without any provision for its maintenance. It, therefore, helps itself from grocers' stalls or from gardens.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahmana Beads
a name given in India to the corrugated seeds of elæocarpus, used by the Brahmans and others as necklaces.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahmani
a female Brahman; the Brahman. Also written wife of a Brahminee.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahmaputra
a large river of Asia, whose sources, not yet explored, are situated near Lake of Manasarovara, in Tibet, near those the Indus. In Tibet, where it is called the Sanpo, it flows eastward N. of the Himalayas, and, after taking a sharp bend and passing through these mountains, it emerges in the N. E. of Assam as the Dihong; is joined by the Dibong and the Lohit, when the united stream takes the name of Brahmaputra. After entering Bengal it joins the Ga Ganges at Goalanda, and farther on the Meghna, and their united waters flow into the Bay of Bengal. Its total length is, per- 1,800 miles. haps,
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Brahms
JOHANNES (brämz), a German composer, born in Hamburg, May 7, 1833. In 1861 he went to Vienna, where he devoted himself_to composition. His great "German Requiem" (1868) established his reputa tion. He was the composer of many symphonies, "Rinaldo," "The Song of Destiny," songs, cantatas, etc. His un- Dances" rivaled settings of "Hungarian and his own "Liebeslieder" dances with choral accompaniment, rank with the finest compositions. He died in Vienna, April 3, 1897.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Braila
a town in Rumania, formerly a fortress, on the left bank of the Danube, which divides itself here into a number of arms, one of them forming the harbor of the town. The export of grain and the sturgeon fisheries are among the principal industries. Pop. about 61,000.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Braille
LOUIS (brī'ē), a French teacher of the blind, born in 1809. He invented the Braille alphabet. It consists of a system of points printed on cardboard by indenting the reverse side. The writing is traced with the finger. He died in 1852. See BLIND.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia