Brahma and Gayatri

Goddess Gayatri is the personification of Gayatri Mantra, the celebrated Vedic hymn. Scriptures also call her Savitri and hail her as Veda Mata, the mother of the holy Vedas. Gayatri is also regarded as the manifestation of the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati. She is also linked with Savitr, termed in Vedic scriptures as an Aditya, an offspring of the Mother Goddess Aditi and a Vedic solar deity. Puranas also describe her as the consort of Brahma, the Supreme God of Creation, identifying her as 'the supreme pure consciousness.'      

Brahma and Saraswati

 The story is an interesting mythological account about the Divine couple Brahma and Gayatri. This narrative appears in Skanda Purana and is in the form of a conversation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Here, Shiva tells the story of Brahma and Gayatri to Parvati, with a prelude that it was all about the feud between Brahma's two spouses, but the one who lost out in that quarrel was none other than the Creator God!

The narration begins with Brahma deciding to perform a grand Yagnya, the fire sacrifice. He informs his wife Saraswati, the Goddess of Wisdom, about it, then decides on an auspicious time to start it and invites other Gods and sages to the ritual.     

 Everything went as planned, and the all-important Day of the sacrifice arrived. Brahma started to perform the preparatory rituals as ordained. The spouse is required to accompany the Karta, the performer, in such religious rites and holy ceremonies, and the couple has to perform the ritual together, discharging their individual roles as laid down. In other words, the performer cannot do such a sacrifice without his wife accompanying him.

But Saraswati failed to turn up in the sacrificial location at the appointed time.     

Gayatri Enters the Scene

As her presence was imperative for him to start the sacrifice, Brahma sent a priest to Saraswati, cautioning her that the auspicious time for starting the ritual was running out and calling her to rush to the place of the ritual immediately. However, according to the story, Saraswati showed no urgency in going to the place and joining her spouse, Brahma. She is said to have explained that she had to attend to many chores before starting for the sacrifice, and also that other Goddesses like Lakshmi, Parvati, Ganga Devi, and Indrani, and the spouses of other Gods and sages were yet to join her. Thus, Saraswati cited many reasons and excused herself from coming to the sacrifice at the time fixed for its commencing.         

When Brahma learned from the priest what happened, he flew into a rage. But he was determined to perform the Yagnya at any cost and start it at the right time, too. So he told Indra, the king of the heavens, to get a suitable woman for him to marry immediately so that they both could perform the sacrifice as husband and wife. Indra acted quickly, identified a woman he thought was fit to be Brahma's consort, and brought her to him, as well as the Gods and sages present there. Understanding the necessity and urgency of such a move, they approved Indra's choice and named her Gayatri. Without further ado, Brahma married her and took her as his consort, and as spouses, they performed the fire sacrifice as required and completed it successfully.      

Saraswati's Fury

It was then that Saraswati entered the assembly. When she found that Brahma had taken someone else as his wife and finished the sacrifice and that all others were party to these developments, she flew into a rage. Considering it a severe insult to her, she took out her anger on those whom she thought were responsible for it and started punishing them.      

She cursed the 'main culprit', Brahma, that people would not worship him and there would hardly be any Temples for him on earth; Indra, who arranged for the wedding to remain chained in an unknown land; Vishnu, to be born among cowherds and spend a long time among them and the cattle; and the sages, that they would be reduced to performing sacrifices in exchange for gifts as a remuneration.

Then Saraswati stormed out from there.     

Gayatri's Healing Touch

But Gayatri was wise; she modified the curses, mitigated their adverse effects, and utilized them for the good of the world. She also promised that those worshiping Brahma would get many benefits. Then Vishnu and Lakshmi placated Saraswati, made her see reason, and return to the sacrificial place. There, Gayatri fell at her feet and sought her pardon for all omissions and commissions. This gesture touched Saraswati, who accepted Gayatri as her sister, promised to be kind to her, and agreed that she could also live with them (Brahma and Saraswati).

Thus, Brahma's spouses reconciled to reality and formed a harmonious duo for the benefit of humankind. But Saraswati's curse had its impact on Brahma, and people do not build temples and worship Brahma in them, as they do for other Gods and divinities.  

Brahma, Saraswati and Gayatri- Moral of the Story

People should view this story as a leela, the Divine play of Gods and Goddesses, to teach some valuable lessons to human beings. We can take that the moral of this story is that - people should perform their duties following all the rules and guidelines, keep their word, and honor their commitment, irrespective of their power and status; otherwise, they will have to pay a price. Also, understanding and accommodation can help solve even tricky problems and help find acceptable solutions.