The earth, being yet uninhabited, he made the first man and the first woman wherewith to people it.
Brahma is the object of the most ancient adoration of the Brahmins; he is considered the intelligence who existed before time, and will continue throughout eternity: he watches over the events of each age and revolution of the universe; he is the power by which everything was created, and everything is sustained; he is the invisible head of the Brahmins, and as such, is worshipped by them with devoted respect.
The Hindoos invoke him regularly morning and evening, and throw water from the palms of their hands upon the ground, and towards the sun, which they adore as the likeness of the Eternal, while at mid-day, they renew their homage by the offer of a flower.
The Hindoo painters always represent Brahma with four heads and four faces, analagous to the four cardinal points, and long beards descending from his four chins. In his four hands he holds the mysterious chain, to which are suspended the worlds, and the book of the law; the pencil to write it, and the fire of sacrifice.
Vishnu, the second deity of the Indian Trinity, is considered as the preserver of the world, which Brahma has created out of nothingness. He descended on the earth by a sacrifice of which he alone was capable, and to save it from certain ruin, submitted to all the weaknesses of humanity.
He became teacher, warrior, and prophet, that he might leave to
the world on his quitting it, the model of a man. He resided in the centre of the worlds, and all the worlds were in him.
Vishnu is usually represented near his wife, whom he enfolds in his arms. His complexion is blue, his eyes are like the flowers of the lotos, and his visage burns with an eternal youth. He is strong and vigorous in appearance, his four hands are sometimes raised, as if in the act of blessing the human race, while on his head is placed a triple storied crown.