# Brahma

- Date: c. 1890
- Medium: Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Painting: 45.1 x 27.7 cm (17 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.)
- Culture: Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
- Credit line: Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.148)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/2003.148/2003.148_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The god of creation has four arms and four heads. The manuscript in his upper right hand indicates that he is the source of sacred knowledge as the quintessential Brahman. The lotus flower in his lower right hand references birth and procreation. He would typically hold a rosary and water pot in his left hands, which are here difficult to clearly identify given the cursory style of Kalighat painitngs. His mount, the goose, examines the ground at his feet.