What Happens to Brahma After Death?

[Crane-Foot King]

What happens to Brahma (the Creator) after he dies and a new Brahma is born? Does he reincarnate as the new Brahma, attain liberation, or so forth?
I'd be more interested in a Shaivite answer, but I'd equally appreciate a Shakti or Vashnaivite one.

[Necromancer]

What happens to Brahma (the Creator) after he dies and a new Brahma is born? Does he reincarnate as the new Brahma, attain liberation, or so forth?
I'd be more interested in a Shaivite answer, but I'd equally appreciate a Shakti or Vashnaivite one.

Namaste.

I have always thought that Lord Brahma is eternal and immortal. His creation may become dissolved through Lord Shiva, Kalki or any destructive personage, but Lord Brahma remains, ready to create a new universe.

If Brahma isn't eternal, his 'lifespan' is measured in the billions of years anyway and would be incomprehensible to us to even conceive of 'what happens after He dies'.

We may ask 'what happens after the universe dies'? can the universe ever die, really? or will there always be something out there? even sub-atomic particles, or space without planets? time without measurement?

Just because something dies, that doesn't mean it ceases to exist. It's like if we die, our perception of the world ceases to exist and the world dies with us, yet the world keeps on turning for others but we wouldn't know it.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Kalicharan Tuvij]

Namaste King

I totally agree with Necro. In addition, there are innumerable worlds, similar and dissimilar, material (apara) or non-material (para), so it is useless thinking about what happens when Brhama dies. I look at it this way: Brahma is as much a god as a living principle of Reality; so there cannot be a question of the dying of a principle, for it is always there, manifest as all the limbs of Brahma, or un-manifest as Brahman himself.

[brahma jijnasa]

What happens to Brahma (the Creator) after he dies and a new Brahma is born? Does he reincarnate as the new Brahma, attain liberation, or so forth?
I'd be more interested in a Shaivite answer, but I'd equally appreciate a Shakti or Vashnaivite one.

Although Brahma's lifespan is very long, even he must eventually die. It is said that Brahma is the first born living being in this universe. He lives until the final destruction of the universe occurs. At this destruction all living beings including Brahma will be destroyed along with the entire universe.
What happens after the final destruction of the universe?
Over a period of time the universe does not exist. Then Lord Vishnu re-creates the universe, not just one universe but many material universes. Yes indeed, this material universe in which we live is not the only one.
In each of them He creates one Brahma who is thus the first born living being in this particular universe.

A bit more detailed description of what happens after the final destruction of the universe:
All material elements that constituted the universe, along with Brahma and all living beings entering the gigantic body of the Lord Maha Vishnu.
Now, if Brahma and some other living beings developed bhakti and attained self-realization, they can achieve liberation (mukti, moksha) and enter the spiritual world called Vaikuntha. However if Brahma and other living beings do not attain liberation, they can not enter Vaikuntha but remain within gigantic body of the Lord Maha Vishnu. They remain there in a state of unconsciousness, which is like a deep sleep. In this state, they stay there and wait until Lord Vishnu re-creates the universe. After the universe have being re-created, Brahma and other living beings who have not achieved liberation, must return to some material universe and be reborn according to their karma. So after death Brahma might be re-born as Brahma or some other demigod or living being. Only if he attained liberation, he does not need to go back to the material world again.
This process of creation of the universe, its destruction and subsequently re-creation is repeated over and over again. Those living beings who have not achieved liberation are repeatedly coming back over and over again.


regards

[Crane-Foot King]

Although Brahma's lifespan is very long, even he must eventually die. It is said that Brahma is the first born living being in this universe. He lives until the final destruction of the universe occurs. At this destruction all living beings including Brahma will be destroyed along with the entire universe.
What happens after the final destruction of the universe?
Over a period of time the universe does not exist. Then Lord Vishnu re-creates the universe, not just one universe but many material universes. Yes indeed, this material universe in which we live is not the only one.
In each of them He creates one Brahma who is thus the first born living being in this particular universe.

A bit more detailed description of what happens after the final destruction of the universe:
All material elements that constituted the universe, along with Brahma and all living beings entering the gigantic body of the Lord Maha Vishnu.
Now, if Brahma and some other living beings developed bhakti and attained self-realization, they can achieve liberation (mukti, moksha) and enter the spiritual world called Vaikuntha. However if Brahma and other living beings do not attain liberation, they can not enter Vaikuntha but remain within gigantic body of the Lord Maha Vishnu. They remain there in a state of unconsciousness, which is like a deep sleep. In this state, they stay there and wait until Lord Vishnu re-creates the universe. After the universe have being re-created, Brahma and other living beings who have not achieved liberation, must return to some material universe and be reborn according to their karma. So after death Brahma might be re-born as Brahma or some other demigod or living being. Only if he attained liberation, he does not need to go back to the material world again.
This process of creation of the universe, its destruction and subsequently re-creation is repeated over and over again. Those living beings who have not achieved liberation are repeatedly coming back over and over again.


regards

Why would Brahma, who sits in the highest point in the material universe, has control over the greatest astras, and is in association with Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, take birth as a lesser Deva or as a human? It just doesn't seem possible.

[brahma jijnasa]

Why would Brahma, who sits in the highest point in the material universe, has control over the greatest astras, and is in association with Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, take birth as a lesser Deva or as a human? It just doesn't seem possible.

You may think that Brahma is some great great god, however he is also a living creature like us humans. As every living being is reborn according to his merits or karma, so he must be reborn according to his merits too. If he exhausted his merits or karmas that correspond to the position of Brahma, he must step down from that position and take some lower position as a lesser deva or as a human.
This way karma works. Karma can be produced and then exhausted. Pious karma or pious merits can take up a person who lives on Earth to the position of Indra who is the King of Heaven, or some other heavenly being or demigod even to the position of Brahma or guna avatara Shiva. But as soon as the pious merits are spent, they fall to a lower position, and finally has to go back to Earth.
Ascent and descent back to Earth of living beings according to their pious merits is described in Bhagavad-gītā 9.20-21 (http://vedabase.net/bg/9/20/en) :

"Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.

When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death."

See also Bhāgavatam 5.19.28 (http://vedabase.net/sb/5/19/28/).

regards