Vishvakarman


Vishvakarman . It/he is the Personification of ultimate reality,the abstract creative power inherent in deities, living and nonliving being in this universe. According to the Rigveda It/He is considered to be the first monotheistic God concept, an architect,and divine engineer of universe from before the advent of time.

In the Vedas

The term Vishvakarman was originally used as an epithet for any supreme god and as an attribute of Indra and the Sun. The name Vishvakarman occurs five times in the tenth book of the Rigveda. The two hymns of the Rigveda identify Vishvakarman as all-seeing, and having eyes, faces, arms and feet on every side and also has wings. Brahma, the later god of creation, who is four-faced and four-armed resembles him in these aspects. He is represented as being the source of all prosperity, as swift as thought and titled a seer, priest, lord of speech.
The later parts of the Rigveda reveals efforts to find a satisfactory answer to the mysteries regarding the origin of the universe, the creation hymns present in these parts of the Rigveda mention individual creator gods as opposed to the collection of gods and their chiefs creating the world.
In the Rig Veda Vishwakarman is visualised as the Ultimate Reality , from whose navel all visible things Hiranyagarbha emanate. The same imagery is seen in Yajurveda purusha sukta, in which the divine smith Tvastar emerges from Vishwakarma.
In the Vedic period the term first appeared as an epithet of Indra, Surya, and Agni. In that time the later developed creator concept of Brahma might have been intertwined with the concept of Vastoshpati and Bṛhaspati, or Brahmanaspathi In the last phase of vedic period and during the growth of monothesism,one can see Vishwakarma emerged as the supreme god who was perceived as a hotar, the unborn creator and name giver of all other gods who have lot of faces, eyes and feet on every side; and who helps Tvastar, in producing all the Heavenly, Earthly and other Celestial realms and preserves them through the exercise of his arms and wings. He sacrificed himself to himself for the evolution of this visible world, thus he is Purusha or Narayana] His attributes like Vachaspathy connect him with Brahaspathi. Again, Yajurveda pictured him as the Prajapati and in the Atharva veda he is mentioned as Pashupati.
Shwethashwatharopanishad described him as Rudrasiva, the one who is dwelling in all living forms. In Puranas
According to a hymn, from Moolastambha purana which is something similar to Nasadeeya suktha.in which It/He was the one who created himself from himself when there was no earth, water, light, air and akasha, and even the Thrimurthies
Later in the post vedic and brahmanic period, the term Vishwakarma is appeared both as a Rsi and a Silpi. In Shukla yajurveda the term is seen as one of names of pancha risis. In Rigveda the term again i appeared as an epithet of surya , but in Purana one of the seven rays of the Soorya is also known as Viswakarma. Bhauvana Vishwakarma is a vedic Rsi who was the author of Rg 10–81,82 suktha, was probably a silpi and the son of Prabhas, the eighth hermit of the legendary Astam vasu and Yogasiddha, sister of Brihaspati. He is said to have revealed the Sthapatya Veda / Vastu Shastra or fourth Upa-veda, and presides over the sixty-four mechanical arts.In the later puranic period this vedic Creator concept paved the way to the imagery of Brahma and Sadasiva and Padmanabha .
Vishvakarma created five prajapathies – from his five faces such as Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva, Aghora, Tatpuruṣha, Īsāna. They are Manu, Maya, Twosta, Silpy, Viswajna and their respective Rishis
  1. Sānaga Brahma Rishi
  2. Sanāthana Brahma Rishi
  3. Ahabhuna Brahma Rishi
  4. Prathna Brahma Rishi
  5. Suparna Brahma Rishi
In later puranas he is degraded as a mere silpi, sometimes identified with vedic Tvastar. Silpi Vishwakarma is the designer of all the flying chariots of the gods, and all their weapons and divine attributes. Vishwakarma/Tvostar is also credited with creating the missiles used in the mythological era, including the Vajra, the sacred weapon of Lord Indra, from the bones of sage Dadhichi. He is regarded as the supreme worker, the very essence of excellence and quality in craftsmanship.

Vishwakarma Puja

Since Vishwakarma is the divine engineer of the world, as a mark of reverence, he is not only worshiped by the engineering and architectural community but also by all professionals. It is customary for craftsmen to worship their tools in his name.
Silpy Vishwakarma is attributed a putative birthday by the Hindu religion. The more philosophical minded argue that it is impossible for the original Creator of everything to be born on a particular day. In Rig veda he is described as Swayambhu So it is a contradiction in terms since that presupposes another creator for Vishwakarma. The Vishwakarma Puja is celebrated in all parts of Nepal and India.
Even among those who believe that there is a birthday there is no agreement as to when it actually occurs. Visvakarma birthday is celebrated on two days under different names:
Vishvakarman is a particular god of Hindu railwaymen in India.

Architectural wonders

Hindu scriptures describe many of Vishwakarma's architectural accomplishments.
Through the four yugas, he had built several towns and temples for the gods. Among them were, in chronological order, Svarga in the Satya Yuga, Lanka in the treta Yuga, and Dwarka in the dwapara Yuga.

Jagannath puri, Temple

The Lord of Architecture is also supposed to have built the three deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra along with Sudarshana Chakra in the Shreekshretra Jagannath Temple.

Dwarka

Viswakarma is also supposed to have built Dwarka overnight.

Pushpaka Vimana

Vishwakarma is said to have built the Pushpaka Vimana from the sun dust from his son-in-law Surya and given it to Ravana.

Trishul

Also made from the sun dust, it was given to lord Shiva.

Sudarshana Chakra

Also made from the sun dust, it was given to lord Vishnu.

Vajra

The Vajra was made from sage Dadichi's bones for Indra to kill Vritra.