Prajapati

thumb|[[Vishwakarma as Prajapati with the same iconographical features of Brahma, a statue from Tamil Nadu]]

Prajapati (, ) is a name applied to many different deities of Hinduism that played roles in creation.

These include: Brahma, the creator god; a son of Brahma; Vishwakarma, the architect of the devas; Agni, the fire god; Indra, the weather god; Daksha, the ritual god; and Kashyap, the father of the Adityas (solar deities), Asuras (malevolent gods), Gandharva (celestial musicians), Yakshas (nature spirits), and humans (through his grandson Vaivasvata Manu). In Jain tradition, Prajapati is identified as a Kamadeva.

In classical and medieval era literature, Prajapati is the metaphysical concept called Brahman as Prajapati-Brahman, and Brahman is the primordial matter that made Prajapati.

Etymology

Prajapati (Sanskrit: ) is a compound of "praja" (creation, procreative powers) and "pati" (lord, master). The term means "lord of creatures",

Origins

thumb|A Statue of Brahma as Prajapati at Daksha Prajapati Temple, Banapura, Odisha

thumb|"An attempt to depict the creative activities of Prajapati", a steel engraving from the 1850s.

The origins of Prajapati are unclear. He appears late in the Vedic layer of texts, and the hymns that mention him provide different cosmological theories in different chapters. His profile gradually rises in the Vedas, peaking within the Brahmanas. Scholars such as Renou, Keith and Bhattacharji posit Prajapati originated as an abstract or semi-abstract deity in the later Vedic milieu as speculations evolved from the archaic to more learned speculations.

In Chandogya Upanishad 1.2.1, Prajapati appears as the creator of all devas and devis and asuras and asuris: "The gods and goddesses and the demons and demonesses are both children of Prajapati, yet they fought among themselves." ().

Post-Vedic texts

In the Mahabharata, Brahma is declared to be a Prajapati who creates many males and females, and imbues them with desire and anger, the former to drive them into reproducing themselves and the latter to be being like gods and goddesses.

The Grhyasutras include Prajapati as among the deities invoked during wedding ceremonies and prayed to for blessings of prosperous progeny, and harmony between husband and wife.

Prajapati is the God of Universe, Fire, Sun, Creation, etc. He is also identified with various mythical progenitors, especially (Manusmriti 1.34) the ten gods of created beings which are first created by Brahma: Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasishtha, Daksha, Bhrigu, Narada.

In the Puranas, there are groups of Prajapatis called Prajapatayah who were rishis (sages) from whom all of the world is created, followed by a Prajapatis list that widely varies in number and name between different texts. According to George Williams, the inconsistent, varying and evolving Prajapati concept in Hindu mythology reflects the diverse Hindu cosmology.

A list of sixteen found in the Mahabharata includes

Shiva
Vaivasvata Manu
Daksha
Bhrigu
Dharma
Tapa
Yama
Marici
Angiras
Atri
Pulastya
Pulaha
Kratu
Vasishtha
Parameshti
Surya
Chandra
Kardama
Krodha
Vikrita
Brahma.

Jainism

In Jain tradition, Prajapati is mentioned in two related ways, which could be same person. First, Jain scriptures name Prajapati as a Kamadeva, one of the exceptionally beautiful great men described in Jain universal history. Prajapati was contemporary to second Tirthankara, Ajitanatha. He became asceting and attained Nirvana.

Second, Some Jain narrative texts describe a king named Prajapati, ruler of Podanapura, who had sons Vijay and Tripṛṣṭha. In that account, King Prajapati later renounces the world, becomes an ascetic, and attains liberation from Podanapura.

Some Jain writers identify Kamadeva Prajapati as the same as King Prajapati, while others suggest they may have been different individuals. One Jain account states that Prajapati Kamadeva attained liberation at Podanpura, thus making them the same person. As a result, Jain tradition preserves both interpretations: Prajapati as Kamadeva, known for beauty, and Prajapati as a king who later renounced the world. In some versions, they are treated as the same figure, while in others, they remain distinct.

In Thailand , this deity is familiar from The Dhajagga Sutta mantras influences of the Buddhism in Thailand., He is a symbol of thailand Department of Empowerment of persons and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand and Phra Prachabodi lnstitute. , with Disabilitiesthe department that people working in this department must pay homage to before starting their first job in this department.

References

External links

Prajapati: Hindu Deity, Encyclopaedia Britannica