Difference between revisions of "Shiva" - New World Encyclopedia

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{{Hdeity infobox|
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  Image                    = Sivakempfort.jpg
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| Caption                  = A statue in [[Bangalore]] depicting Shiva meditating
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| Name                    = Shiva
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| Sanskrit_Transliteration = {{IAST|Śiva}}
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| Devanagari              = {{lang|sa|शिव}}
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| God of                  =
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| Mantra                  = Aum Namah Sivaya
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| Weapon                  = Trident (Trishul)
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| Consort                  = Parvati or Sati or Shakti or [[Durga]]
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| Abode                    = Mount {{IAST|Kailāsa}}
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| Mount                    = Nandi (bull)
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}}
  
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[[Image:statueofshiva.JPG|right|thumb|A statue of Shiva near [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]], [[Delhi]]]]
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'''Shiva''' (from [[Sanskrit]]: शिव, meaning "Auspicious one") is a principal deity of [[Hinduism]] who is especially revered among the cluster of Hindu groups known as ''[[Shaivism|Shaivites]].'' Widely worshiped by Hindu communities throughout [[India]] and the world, Shiva is an ancient Hindu deity that is associated with the paradoxical motifs of destruction and regeneration, [[eroticism]] and [[asceticism]], [[sexuality]] and [[celibacy]]. Hindu religious [[iconography]] and [[mythology]] simultaneously describe him as a great ascetic as well as co-generator of the universe along with [[Shakti]] (the female principle of creation).
  
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'''Shiva''' ([[Devanagari]] शिव) is one of the foremost [[Hinduism|Hindu]] gods, enumerated among the [[Trimurti|Hindu Trinity]] as the god of destruction. His theonym derives from the [[Vedas|Vedic]] [[Sanskrit]] adjective for "auspicious" or "propitious", marking his development out of and in many ways in contrast to [[Rudra]], his fearsome precursor from the Rg Veda. Shiva's most popular epithets include ''Mahesvara'' (or "great god"), ''Shankara'', ''Shambu'', ''Pashupati'', ''Chandramoli'' and even ''Rudra'', among many others.  
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In images and sculpture, Shiva is often represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the ''Tandava'' upon the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of [[Nataraja]], the lord of the dance. Shiva is usually worshiped as the ''Shiva linga,'' the  phallic symbol (representing the male sexual organ) that symbolizes Shiva's creative regenerative power, potentiality, and, paradoxically, his ascetic restraint. Due to the symbol's sexual associations, however, it has often been seen as controversial and criticized by outsiders.
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Shiva also plays a central role in the teachings of [[Tantra]], whereby the interaction of Shiva and Shakti represent the renewal of the cosmos through the ongoing interplay of male-female sexual energy.
  
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The embodiment of capriciousness, Shiva is the god in whom opposites come to be dissolved; as such, he is characterized by polarities such as asceticism and eroticism, benevolence and wrath, beauty and horror. Accordingly, he has become a repository of diverse imagery and symbolism, though he is ubiquitously recognized by the [[linga]], a phallic column which has historically been one of the most widely venerated objects in the cult of Shiva. [[Shaivism]], the second largest monotheistic school in contemporary Hinduism, is dedicated to the worship of Shiva as the supreme divinity.
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==Etymology==
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The Sanskrit word ''{{IAST|śiva}}'' or ''Shivam'' ([[Devanagari]] {{lang|sa|िशव}}) is an adjective meaning kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious.<ref>Vaman Shivram Apte, ''The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary'' (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1965, ISBN 8120805674), 919.</ref> As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One," used as a euphemistic name for the [[Vedas|vedic]] god [[Rudra]].<ref>Arthur Anthony Macdonell, ''A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary'' (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1996, ISBN 81-21507154), 314.</ref> In simple English transliteration, it is written either as ''Shiva'' or ''Siva.'' Pronunciation is written in the International Phonetic Alphabet as {{IPA2|ɕivə}}. In the ''Rig Veda,'' [[Indra]] uses this word to describe himself several times. (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3)
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==Origins==
 
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[[Image:Pashupati.gif|thumb|right|An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed ''pashupati'']]
 
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===Pre-Vedic===
 
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Relics obtained by archaeologists from the ruins of the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] suggest that the worship of a god resembling Rudra-Shiva was practiced between 2800 - 1500 B.C.E. These artifacts include numerous phallic objects carved on rock surfaces which closely resemble lingas (see below), as well as the "Pashupati seal" found at [[Mohenjo-daro]]. An engraving upon this seal depicts a horned male figure with an erect phallus who is surrounded by an assortment of wild creatures. Considering the phallic imagery, which has traditionally been considered the emblematic of Shiva, as well as the inclusion of animals, this image appears to depict a prototype of the Vedic deity [[Pashupati]], the "lord of the creatures". Pashupati would eventually come to be considered an aspect of Shiva.<ref>Gavin Flood, ''An Introduction to Hinduism.'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 28-29.</ref> The central figure is also seated in a yogic posture, perhaps foreshadowing the associations Shiva would later come to assume with meditatation and asceticism.
 
  
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===Rudra===
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In the [[Tamil language]], ''Siva'' literally means "the supreme one." The renowned Hindu philosopher [[Adi Sankara]] interprets Shiva to mean either "The Pure One," (i.e., the One who is not affected by three [[Gunas]] of Prakrti, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name."<ref>Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, Ramakrishna Math edition, 47 and 122.</ref> Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means the One who is eternally pure, or the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas <ref>Swami Chinmayananda's translation of ''Vishnu sahasranama,'' 24, (Central Chinmaya Mission Trust).</ref>
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With the dissolution of the Harrapan culture, religion in the Indus Valley region and the Indian subcontinet as a whole underwent significant changes. The Rg Veda (c. 1200 B.C.E.) fostered the transformation of the initial proto-Shiva figure into Rudra, a terrifying and mercurial diety of the wild who held jurisdiction over sickness and storms. Although only four of the Rg Vedic hymns are dedicated exclusively to this character, he plays an important mythological role in the Vedas in his associations with the fire god [[Agni]] and the sacrificial beverage [[Soma]]. Not unlike Shiva, Rudra is connected with wildlife in his function as "lord of the cattle" (pasunam patih) and "wearer of the animal hide". Moreover, Rudra's nature is highly contrary: not only is the divine custodian of disease, but he also possesses the ability to conjure medicine to cure any given ailment. As such, great efforts are made to appease the deity in the few hymns that are dedicated to him in hopes that his beneficence will supplant his malevolence. As a proper name, Shiva means "The Auspicious One", a moniker which is first applied to Rudra in the ''Yajurveda.'' This may have originally been used as a euphemistic epithet for Rudra to distinguish his horrific appearance from his more magnanimous form. With this connection in mind, Shiva and Rudra are typically viewed as the same divine personality in contemporary Hinduism, and are often referred to mutually as Rudra-Shiva by scholars in recognition of the inextricable mythological and ritual link between the two deities.
 
  
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===Supremacy===
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The name Shiva may have derived from the Dravidian word “Siva” meaning “to be red,” making it the equivalent of Rudra, “the red” ''Rig Veda.''<ref>Shyam Singh Shashi, ''Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes'' (New Delhi: Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1994, ISBN 8170418364), 190.</ref>
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In the later Vedas, Rudra came to inherit new monikers such as Bhava, Sarva, Mahadeva, and the aforementioned Shiva, all of which seem to have been names of regional or indigenous gods of non-Aryan of non-Vedic origin. In the divine persona of Rudra the traits of these deities seems to have been syncretized into one divine personality. By the time of the Upanishads (7th century CE or later), Rudra had by all indications assumed the characteristic traits of a single, Supreme Lord, including omnipotence, omnipresence, and complete transcendence. In the ''Svetsvara Upanishad'', for instance, Rudra-Shiva is proclaimed to be identical with [[Purusha]], the primordial man, and even [[Brahman]], the [[ontology|ontological]] ground of all being. By this point he was also perceived to be protector and creator of all things, and bore more and more striking resemblance to Shiva as he is known today.
 
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Shiva would go on to develop his own distinct character, eventually supplanting Rudra entirely. While Rudra proper quickly fell out of currency in the ritual sphere, his influence upon Shiva was lasting: not only did Rudra provide much of the macabre imagery still associated with Shiva, but he also established Shiva's status as a divine "outsider", representing the religious life as it existed away from societal norms. Although many opposites met in Rudra, it was not until the character of Shiva was fully developed that these opposites were so splendidly reconciled.
 
  
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==Iconography==
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==Historical Development==
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===Depiction===
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===The Pashupati seal===
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[[File:Shiva Pashupati.jpg|thumb|right|225px|An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed ''pashupati''.]]
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A seal discovered during excavation of the [[Mohenjo-daro]]  archaeological site in the [[Indus Valley Civilization|Indus Valley]] has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure.<ref>Gavin Flood, ''An Introduction to Hinduism'' (Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0521438780), 28-29.</ref> This "''Pashupati''" (Lord of Animals, or Lord of Beings Sanskrit ''{{IAST|paśupati}}'')<ref>For translation of ''{{IAST|paśupati}}'' as "Lord of Animals" see: Axel Michaels, ''Hinduism: Past and Present.'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004, ISBN 0691089531), 312.</ref> seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals. Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a [[prototype]] of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.
  
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[[Image:Shiva.jpg|thumb|The Hindu god Shiva. Note the blue skin and symbols held in his hands]]
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This claim has not fared well with some modern academics. Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative," saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a [[yoga]] posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.<ref>Flood 1996, 28-29.</ref><ref>Gavin Flood (ed.), ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism'' (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003, ISBN 1405132515), 204-205.</ref> Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying:
  
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Shiva is identified in depictions by some of the most intricate and idiosyncratic imagery in the Hindu tradition. Inscribed on his divine person as a constellation of multifarious symbols is the sheer diversity of the mythologies synthesized by his character. Shiva is commonly depicted as a relatively anthropomorphic light-skinned man with either two or four arms. He may also take the form of a young boy or a weathered old man. His skin is covered in funerary ashes, marking Shiva's proclivity to dwell in cremation grounds, and suggesting the potency of his ascetic heat. Some depictions attribute him with six faces. His clothing is limited to an animal skin drawn round his waist, usually that of an elephant, deer, or tiger, most commonly the latter. This is based upon a story wherein Shiva evokes the anger of some forest ascetics who promptly let loose a vicious tiger to destroy him. Shiva seizes the beast without effort and strips it's skin with the nail of his little finger, representing his control over imperious aspects of character such as lust and pride.
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<blockquote>"…there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as ''pasupati'' because of his association with cattle; but [[asceticism]] and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than [[Cattle| kine]]. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the [[Indus Valley Civilization|Harappan]] figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a [[bull]] sect, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance."<ref>John Keay, ''India: A History'' (New York: Grove Press, 2000,  ISBN 0802137970), 14.</ref></blockquote>
  
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Shiva's hair is long and matted in the style typical of ascetics, marking his status as the paramount yogi, unmatched in his renunciation of the world. From his hairline hangs the crescent moon, which has earned him the epithet Chandramoli or "moon-headed". It is also in his hair where Ganga, the goddess of the Ganges, is said to reside, and the great waters are often shown pouring out in a stream from Shiva's locks. On his forehead just above the bridge of the nose there sits a third-eye, which represents the heat-producing seat of Shiva's ascetic power.
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===Rudra===
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Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god [[Rudra]]<ref>Michaels, 216.</ref> and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.
  
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Shiva's throat is blue as a reminder of his service to humankind. In a famous myth describing how the gods churned the cosmic milk-ocean for the purpose of gaining the nectar of immortality, it is said that preceding the precious fluid there came from the ocean fourteen precious articles, among which was the Halahala poison. In order to save humanity and the gods from its lethal potency, Shiva drank the poison, which left his throat with a bluish hue thereafter. Around Shiva's collar along with japa beads is wrapped a live serpent, usually a cobra, which represents immortality.
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The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the [[Rig Veda]], which is dated to between 1700&ndash;1100 B.C.E. based on [[Linguistics|linguistic]] and philological evidence. A god named [[Rudra]] is mentioned in the ''Rig Veda.'' The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33 he is described as the "Father of the Maruts," a group of storm gods. Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred [[hymn]]s of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas, and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances.  
  
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As far as accessories go, Shiva most famously carries the trident, the three prongs representing the creative, preservative, and destructive functions of the divine triad. The fact that the trident itself is in the hand of Shiva affirms that all three aspects are ultimately under his control. Shiva sometimes carries the skull of [[Brahma]], whom he beheaded, and therefore makes note of the fact that all things in the universe perish while Shiva himself remains undying. One on his hands is typically held out in the Abhya Mudra, a sign of fearlessness and an offering of shelter for the helpless. He is often accompanied in images by Nandin, a white bull which is considered his divine vehicle or ''vahana''. Mount Kailash, upon the peak of which Shiva is said to reside in constant meditation, often forms the backdrops for pictures of the god.
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The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains:
  
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===Linga===
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<blockquote>"To what extent {{IAST|Śiva}}'s origins are in fact to be sought in Rudra is extremely unclear. The tendency to consider  {{IAST|Śiva}} an ancient god is based on this identification, even though the facts that justify such a far-reaching assumption are meager."<ref>Michaels, 217.</ref></blockquote> 
  
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[[Image:108shivalingas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|108 shiva [[linga]]s carved on the rock at the banks of river [[Tungabhadra]], [[Hampi]]]]
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Rudra is called "The [[Archery|Archer]]" (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|Śarva}}'')<ref>For {{IAST|Śarva}} as a name of Shiva see: Apte, 910.</ref> and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.<ref>For archer and arrow associations see Stella Kramrisch, ''The Presence of Śiva'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981, ISBN 0691019304).
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Chapter 2, and 32.</ref> This name appears in the ''Shiva Sahasranama,'' (list of a thousand names) and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.<ref>Ram Karan Sharma, ''Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva'' (Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1996, ISBN 8170813506), 306.</ref> The word is derived from the Sanskrit root ''{{IAST|śarv}}-'' which means "to injure" or "to kill"<ref>For root ''{{IAST|śarv}}-'' see: Apte, 910.</ref> and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name {{IAST|Śarva}} as "One who can kill the forces of darkness". The names {{IAST|Dhanvin}} ("Bowman") and {{IAST|Bāṇahasta}} ("Archer," literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")<ref>Swami Chidbhavananda, ''Siva Sahasranama Stotram (with Navavali)'' (Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, 1997), 33.</ref>
  
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One of the primary symbols of Shiva is the linga (also known as "Lingam"), a phallic shape which embodies both his regenerative capability as not only the destroyer but also the reproducer of the universe. The never-wilting phallus also represents Shiva's persistent restraint from sex and the complete absence of sexual temptation, which has allowed him to accumulate a powerful reservoir of ascetic heat. As such, the consistently erect phallus of Shiva speaks to his infinite creative potentiality. The linga has traditionally been the focal point of Shaivite worship throughout India in both temples and family shrines, and has become the definitive mark of Shaivism, allowing a devotee to recognize and identify with followers of the group. The Linga is commonly used in worship and are of two varieties: those sculpted out of wood or stone by humans and those that occur naturally, such as the ice Lingam located at the Cave Temple of Lord Amarnath in Kashmir. In temples, lingam are commonly found in proximity to a yoni, the symbol of the female principle from which the male principle is considered inextricably linked. Additionally, the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines, where Shiva is worshipped in the form of a Jyotirlingam (or "Lingam of light") are among the most esteemed worship sites in the Shaivite tradition.  
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===Identification with Vedic deities===
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Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including [[Agni]], [[Indra]], [[Prajapati|{{IAST|Prajāpati}}]], Vāyu, and others.  
  
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==Forms==  
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====Agni====
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===Ardhanarisvara===
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Rudra and Agni have a close relationship.<ref>For general statement of the close relationship, and example shared epithets, see: Sivaramamurti, 11.</ref><ref>For an overview of the Rudra-Fire complex of ideas, see: Kramrisch, 15-19.</ref> The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva.<ref>For quotation "An important factor in the process of Rudra's growth is his identification with Agni in the Vedic literature and this identification contributed much to the transformation of his character as {{IAST|Rudra-Śiva}}." see: Chakravarti, 17.</ref> The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the ''Nirukta,'' an important early text on etymology, which says "Agni is called Rudra also". The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch:
  
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[[Image:Arthanari.png|right|thumb|Chola bronze from the [[11th century]]. Shiva in the form of [[Ardhanarisvara]]]]
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:"The fire myth of {{IAST|Rudra-Śiva}} plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination."<ref>Kramrisch, 18.</ref>
  
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As is suggested by the inseparability of the lingam and yoni, the male and female principles are closely interwoven in the Shaivite tradition. Shiva, the supreme masculine power in the universe, is closely related with Shakti, the equivalent female energy. While Shiva represents an unchanging, infinite, and transcendent reality that provides the [[monism|monistic]] essence of the universe, Shakti is considered the active force behind all action and existence in the phenomenal cosmos. Without this dynamic and decidedly feminine power which actualizes the potentiality of the masculine, Shiva's creative power would be rendered impotent. In religious art, this mutual dependence of Shakti and Shiva in creation is poignantly expressed in the half-male, half-female figure known as [[Ardhanarisvara]] or "The lord who is half woman". For such depictions, the female Shakti half is represented by Shiva's wife [[Parvati]], and the male half is represented by her husband Shiva. This suggests the necessary pairing of male and female in order to create life, and their equal contribution to such a process.
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In the ''Śatarudrīa,'' some epithets of Rudra such as {{IAST|Sasipañjara}} ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and {{IAST|Tivaṣīmati}} ("Flaming bright") suggest a fusing of the two deities.<ref>For "Note Agni-Rudra concept fused" in epithets {{IAST|Sasipañjara}} and {{IAST|Tivaṣīmati}} see: Sivaramamurti, 45.</ref> Agni is said to be a bull<ref>[https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv06048.htm Rig-Veda, Book 6: HYMN XLVIII. Agni and Others] ''Sacred Texts''. Retrieved January 20, 2021.</ref> and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, ''Nandi.'' The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned.<ref>For the parallel between the horns of Agni as bull, and Rudra, see: Chakravarti, 89.</ref><ref>RV 8.49; 10.155.</ref> In medieval sculpture both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.<ref>For flaming hair of Agni and Bhairava see: Sivaramamurti, 11.</ref>
  
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However, some feminists have disagreed with the assertion that Ardhanisvara represents equality of the sexes. Such critics pointing out that the literal meaning of Ardhanarisvara refers to the "lord who is half woman" as opposed to a more mutual "half-man, half-woman." This phrasing suggests the inherent male nature of the deity and privileges him with the status of isvara—"god," "lord," or "master;" Parvati meanwhile, is simply "woman" (nari). It has also been noted that the right side of the body upon which Shiva is placed is traditionally considered superior to the left in the Indian tradition.<ref>Goldberg, 55.</ref> Thus, the placement of Shiva on the right side of Ardhanarisvara affords him implicit privilege over his wife on the left.
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====Indra====
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There are several similarities between the Vedic god [[Indra]] and Shiva; both deities are known for having a thirst for an herb with narcotic properties called [[Soma]]. Moreover, each is associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the [[Aum]] sound, the Supreme Self. In the ]]Rig Veda\\ the term ''{{IAST|śiva}}'' is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3,<ref>For text of RV 2.20.3a as {{lang|sa|स नो युवेन्द्रो जोहूत्रः सखा िशवो नरामस्तु पाता ।}} and translation as "May that young adorable ''Indra,'' ever be the friend, the benefactor, and protector of us, his worshiper" see: Ravi Prakash Arya, and K.L. Joshi, ''Ṛgveda Saṃhitā'' (Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2001, ISBN 8171101387), 48, volume 2.</ref> 6.45.17,<ref>For text of RV 6.45.17 as {{lang|sa|यो गृणतामिदासिथापिरूती िशवः सखा । स त्वं न इन्द्र मृलय ॥ }} and translation as "''Indra,'' who has ever been the friend of those who praise you, and the insurer of their happiness by your protection, grant us felicity" see: Arya & Joshi 2001, 91, volume 3.</ref><ref>For translation of RV 6.45.17 as "Thou who hast been the singers' Friend, a Friend auspicious with thine aid, As such, O Indra, favour us" see: T.H. Griffith, ''The Hymns of the Ṛgveda'' (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973, ISBN 812080046X), 310.</ref> and 8.93.3.<ref>For text of RV 8.93.3 as {{lang|sa|स न इन्द्रः सिवः सखाश्चावद् गोमद्यवमत् । उरूधारेव दोहते ॥}} and translation as "May ''Indra'', our auspicious friend, milk for us, like a richly-streaming (cow), wealth of horses, kine, and barley" see: Arya & Joshi 2001, 48, volume 2.</ref>)
  
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===Nataraja===
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Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull.<ref>For the bull parallel between Indra and Rudra see: Chakravarti, 89.</ref><ref>RV 7.19.</ref>
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[[Image:NatarajaMET.JPG|left|thumbnail|[[Bronze]] [[Chola dynasty|Chola]] Statue depicting Shiva dancing as ''[[Nataraja]]''. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York City.]]
 
  
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Shiva Nataraja refers to Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, a depiction of the deity which has long been popular in South Indian art. This involves two dances which are attributed to Shiva in the Puranas: the Tandava, the dance of destruction, and the Siva-lila, the dance of Shiva in love. The Tandava appears to be the earliest form of this dance, and it involves a frenzied constellation of movements which set in motion the annihilation of the universe. During this dance, Shiva careers down Mount Kailash while a company of half-human, half-animal creatures cheers urge him on. In some instances, this dance involves Shakti, who performs the dance atop Shiva's corpse. The Shiva Nataraja's beautiful dance is also connected to Shakti, particularly his marriage to Parvati. This dance is first performed in order to attract the amorous attention of his future wife. He is dressed in a red garment with a carpet on his back, holding in his left hand a horn and in his right a drum. Later on in the South Indian Koyil Purana, Shiva goes to a forest in which many Mimamsakas are living and attempts to argue with them. After sending a number of threatening beings at him in vain, Shiva begins to dance, and so the annoyed sages conjure up a dwarf by the name of Muyalaka. When Muyalaka makes his attempt to kill Shiva, the dancing god uses his foot to break the dwarf's neck, and continues on with his dance. This image of Shiva Nataraja has been immortalized in South India art, obviously a representation of Shiva's ability to conquer evil, personified by the dwarf. This image is often encircled by flames, which represents the consumption of the illusory physical universe by the appearance of Shiva's pervasive reality.
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Indra is likened to a white elephant named 'Airavat' instead of the bull.  
  
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===Bhairava===
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However, in the ''Rig Veda,'' Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.<ref>For the lack of warlike connections and difference between Indra and Rudra, see: Chakravarti, 8.</ref>
  
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Bhairava is Shiva in his terrible form. Legend has it that when Shiva asked Lord Brahma whom exactly was the supreme entity in the universe, Brahma named Vishnu. Angered, Shiva took form as Bhairava and sliced off one of Brahma's five heads. This act left Bhairava/Shiva guilty of the murder of a Brahmin, and from that point on, he was forced to perform immense penance to redeem himself for this most heinous of crimes. For many years to come, Bhairava carried with him the skull of the Brahman. The Kapalikas (see below), a medieval order of Shavites, dedicated their personal devotion to Shiva in this form. They too based their religious lives upon penance for the murder of Brahmins in order to accumulate merit, and so they carried skulls with them as they wandered from town to town. Bhairava was considered by Kapalikas to be best propitiated by human or animal sacrifice, an act not uncommon in ancient India, and a speciality of the Kapalikas according to their critics.<ref>Lorenzen, 85.</ref> The god further was honoured with liquor and offerings of human heads, all in an effort to appease his blood-thirstiness. The aim of the Kapalika ritual and practice was to come into a mystical identification with Shiva through this deity, an experience which supposedly granted the practicitioner not only liberation from reincarnation but also magical powers. Bhairava is also particularly popular in Nepal.
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As a result of these multifarious precursors, modern historians believe that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built-up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure.<ref>Keay, xxvii.</ref>
  
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===Avatars===
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==Attributes of Shiva==
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[[Image:Shiva and Parvati.jpg|thumb|200px|Shiva with Parvati. Shiva is depicted three-eyed, with crescent moon on his head, the Ganga flowing through his matted hair, wearing ornaments of serpents and a skull necklace, covered in ashes and Trisula and Damaru are seen in the background.]]
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[[Image:Gangadhara.jpg|thumb|200px|Shiva Bearing the Descent of the Ganges River as Parvati and Bhagiratha, and the bull Nandi look, folio from a Hindi manuscript by the saint Narayan, circa 1740]]
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*'''Third Eye:''' Shiva is often depicted with a third eye with which he burned Desire ({{IAST|Kāma}}) to ashes.<ref>For Shiva as depicted with a third eye, and mention of the story of the destruction of Kama with it, see: Flood 1996, 151.</ref> There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name ''Tryambakam'' (''Sanskrit'': त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in many scriptural sources.<ref>For a review of theories about the meaning of ''tryambaka,'' see: Chakravarti, 37-39.</ref> In classical Sanskrit the word ''ambaka'' denotes "an eye," and in the ''Mahabharata'' Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "Having Three Eyes".<ref>For usage of the word ''ambaka'' in classical Sanskrit and connection to the ''Mahabharata'' depiction, see: Chakravarti, 38-39.</ref> However, in Vedic Sanskrit the word ''{{IAST|ambā}}'' or ''{{IAST|ambikā}}'' means "mother," and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation "Having Three Mothers" that was used by [[Max Müller]] and Arthur Macdonell.<ref>For vedic Sanskrit meaning and "having three mothers" as the translation of Max Müller and Macdonell, see: Chakravarti, 37-38.</ref> Since no story is known in which Shiva had three mothers, E. Washburn Hopkins suggested that the name refers not to three mothers, but to three Mother-goddesses who are collectively called the {{IAST|Ambikās}}.<ref>For discussion of the problems in translation of this name, and the hypothesis regarding the {{IAST|Ambikās}} see: E. Washburn Hopkins, ''Epic Mythology'' (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969), 220.</ref> Other related translations have been "having three wives or sisters," or based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared with the goddess {{IAST|Ambikā}}.<ref>For the {{IAST|Ambikā}} variant, see: Chakravarti, 17, 37.</ref>
  
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While bearing only minute resemblance to the [[avatar]]a doctrine which is so well-developed, popular and theologically crucial in the Vaishnava tradition, Shiva has been attributed with a number of incarnations of his own. These include the Panchabrahma avatars (Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Tatpurusa, Aghora, and Isana), the Sivastamurti (Sarva, Bhava, Rudra, Ugra, Bhima, Isa, Mahadeva, and Pasupati. Most of these are simply names fo the deity that appear in Vedic texts. Also listed as avatars are Nandin, the white bull with whom Shiva is commonly pictured, as well as Sardula, Salabhava, Grhapatya, Yaksesavara, Kirata. Each of these avatars are accompanied in the Shiva-Purana by a female consort, each of whom is considered an incarnation of Parvati. In terms of historical individuals, Shankara, the influential ninth century founder of the non-dualist [[Advaita]] philosophy, is considered Shiva incarnate. These avatars are by no means universally accepted throughout Shaivism as a whole. Further, salvific power is always accredited solely to Shiva as opposed to his incarnations.
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*'''Blue Throat:''' The epithet ''{{IAST|Nīlakaṇtha}}'' (''Sanskrit'' {{lang|sa|नीलकण्ठ}}; ''nīla'' = blue, ''{{IAST|kaṇtha}}'' = throat)<ref>Sharma 1996, 290</ref>  refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.<ref>Flood 1996, 78.</ref>
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* '''Crescent Moon:''' Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the moon.<ref>For the moon on the forehead see: Chakravarti, 109.</ref>  The epithet ''{{IAST|Chandraśekhara}}'' (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|चन्द्रशेखर}} "Having the moon as his crest" - ''chandra'' = Moon, ''{{IAST|śekhara}}'' = crest, crown)<ref>For ''{{IAST|śekhara}}'' as crest or crown, see: Apte, 926.</ref> refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva.<ref>For the moon iconography as marking the rise of Rudra-Shiva, see: Chakravarti, 58.</ref> The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with [[Soma]], and there is a hymn in the ''Rig Veda'' where Soma and Rudra are jointly emplored, and in later literature Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the Moon.<ref>For discussion of the linkages between Soma, Moon, and Rudra, and citation to RV 7.74, see: Chakravarti, 57-58.</ref> 
  
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==Shiva & Other Dieties==
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*'''Matted Hair:'''  Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets ''{{IAST|Jaṭin}}'', "The One with matted hair"<ref>Chidbhavananda, 22.</ref> and ''Kapardin,'' "Endowed with matted hair"<ref>Sharma 1996, 279.</ref> or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion". 
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===Sati===
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*'''Sacred Ganga:''' The [[Ganges|Ganga river]] flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet ''Gaṅgādhara'' ("Bearer of the river Gaṅgā") refers to this feature. The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair. The legend of Bhagiratha states that when the sage of that name invoked the gods to send the divine Ganges to earth to relieve a drought and purify the remains of his ancestors, he was warned that the earth had not the capacity to withstand the descent of the Ganges from heaven, in pursuit of which he propitiated Siva to receive the Ganges upon her descent from heaven and release her with diminished force. Siva agreed to trap the youthful and mischievous Ganges in his matted locks and release her to the earth. It was thus, according to Hindu legend, that the Ganges came to be trapped in Siva's locks, and to be portrayed as flowing therefrom, in all representations of Siva.
  
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One of the most important associations made in the mythology of Shiva is that between he and another deity is that with Sati, his first wife who is later conceived to be an earlier incarnation of his eventual wife Parvati. Sati is the daughter of Daksa, and from an early age her purpose of her existence singularly centers upon making Shiva her husband. She was given this impetus by Brahma, who had earlier on been derisively mocked by Shiva when the he had experienced pangs of incestuous lust for his own daughter. In order to exact some retribution, Brahma saw to it that Shiva would himself fall prey to sexual passion for Sati.  
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*'''Ashes:''' Shiva smears his body with ashes (''bhasma''). Some forms of Shiva, such as ''Bhairava,'' are associated with a very old Indian tradition of [[cremation]]-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy.<ref>Flood 1996, 92, 161.</ref> These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of [[Theravada Buddhism]].<ref>Flood 1996, 161.</ref> One epithet for Shiva is "Inhabitant of the cremation ground" (''Sanskrit'': {{IAST|śmaśānavāsin}}, also spelled Shmashanavasin) referring to this connection.<ref>Chidbhavananda, 23.</ref>
  
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Unfortunately for Sati, her life's ambition is made difficult since it is virtually impossible to draw Shiva out of his ascetic practices and into a domestic life. It is only through her own appeals to asceticism and devotion that she is able to stir Shiva's desire. At this point she asks Shiva to marry her, and he agrees. The marriage is traditional despite Shiva's impatience with the ritual and formalities. Over the course of the proceedings, Daksa begins to express trepidations with his soon-to-be-son-in-law's unsightly appearance and licentious comportment, and conflict develops between the two. After the wedding, Siva and Sati decamp to Mount Kailash where they bask in one another's company. Meanwhile, a spiteful Daksa organizes a great sacrifice to which all divine beings are invited, with the exception of the newlyweds. Furious with her father's unshakeable disapproval of Shiva, Sati kills herself.  
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*'''[[Tiger]] skin:''' He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honor reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.
  
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When he hears of Sati's death, Shiva is furious and creates a variety of fierce beings including the demon Virabhadra. These demons overtake the various divinities assembled at Daksa's grand sacrifice, and end up killing Daksa. Shiva then enters the sacrifice and it proceeds without further issue. In alternative versions of the story, Shiva carries Sati's lifeless body all over the universe, causing various cosmic disturbances along the way. All the while, Vishnu follows Shiva throughout his tragic journey, slicing off parts of Sati's corpse as he goes. These parts fall to earth, marking sacred places or Shakti peethas wherever they land. Once all the parts of Sati's body are dispersed, Shiva returns to solitude in his mountain abode. Not only does this myth illustrate the destructive power of Shiva, but it also puts forward the idea that it is the feminine power (represented here by Sati) that makes the  hidden power of Shiva accessible to human beings in the physical world.  
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*'''Serpents:''' Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.
  
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===Parvati===
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*'''Trident:''' (Sanskrit: Trishula) Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.
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After Sati's death, Shiva remarries, this time with the maiden Parvati, a reincarnation of Sati. Prior to Parvati's birth, a demon by the name of Taraka had been granted a boon which made him invincible to any creature except for a child of Shiva. Because of Shiva's reputed asceticism and total abstinence from sex, the gods made an active search to find a woman capable of pulling Shiva out of his austerities and into a sexual encounter. Sati was said to have consented to be reborn for the purpose of helping the gods, and so she readily took birth as Parvati. Much like Sati, became obsessed with Shiva at a young age. The possibility of their marriage was made even more promising by the fact that a ''rishi'' predicted, to the delight of her parents, that Parvati would marry a naked yogi.
 
  
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Parvati made some initial attempts to attract Shiva's attention, but once again the god was too deeply immersed in his ascetic practices to notice her, considering women an unnecessary distraction to his [[meditation]]s. Desperate to defeat Taraka, the gods sent [[Kama]], the god of love, to stimulate Shiva's lust. The Cupid-like Kama fired his arrows-of-desire at Shiva in hopes of sending him into a lustful swoon, but Shiva quickly became aware of the love-god's trickery. Irritated by the momentary distraction, Shiva unveiled his dreadful third eye and blasted Kama with his ascetic fire, reducing him to a pile of ash. As a consequence of Shiva's actions, the entire earth was left barren and infertile in Kama's absence.
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*'''Drum:''' A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a ''damaru'' (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|ḍamaru}}''). This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation<ref>Eva Rudy Jansen, ''The Book of Hindu Imagery'' (Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications BV, 1993, ISBN 9074597076), 44.</ref> known as [[Nataraja]]. A specific hand gesture ([[mudra]]) called ''{{IAST|ḍamaru-hasta}}'' (Sanskrit for "{{IAST|ḍamaru}}-hand") is used to hold the [[drum]]. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the {{IAST|Kāpālika}} sect.
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*'''Nandi''', also known as ''Nandin,'' is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: ''vāhana'').<ref>For a review of issues related to the evolution of the bull (Nandin) as Shiva's mount, see: Chakravarti, 99-105.</ref><ref>For spelling of alternate proper names {{IAST|Nandī}} and ''Nandin'' see: Margaret Stutley, ''The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography''  Munshiram Manoharlal, 2003, ISBN 8121510872), 98.</ref> Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name ''{{IAST|Paśupati}}'' or Pashupati (''Sanskrit'' पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "Lord of cattle"<ref>Sharma 1996, 291</ref> and by Kramrisch as "Lord of Animals," who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.<ref>Kramrisch, 479.</ref>
  
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[[Image:Shiva parivar.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of the family of Shiva, consisting of Shiva, [[Parvati]], [[Ganesha]] and [[Murugan|Skanda]] (Kartikeya)]]
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* '''GanaGaṇa''' : In [[Hinduism]], the {{IAST|Gaṇa}}s ([[Devanagari]]: {{lang|sa|गण}}) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa. They are often referred to as the Boothaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their Lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the Lord on behalf of the devotee. [[Ganesha]] was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title ''{{IAST|gaṇa-īśa}}'' or ''{{IAST|gaṇa-pati}}'', "lord of the {{IAST|gaṇas}}".<ref>Anna L. Dallapiccola, ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'' (Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0500510881). </ref>
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*'''Mount Kailāsa''' in the [[Himalayas]] is his traditional abode.<ref>Flood 1996, 151.</ref> In Hindu [[mythology]], Mount {{IAST|Kailāsa}} is conceived as resembling a ''[[Linga]],'' the [[penis]] representing the center of the universe.<ref>For identification of Mount {{IAST|Kailāsa}} as the central ''linga,'' see: Stutley 1985, 62.</ref>
  
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Although the gods mourned Kama's incineration, his work was not entirely in vain, as Shiva would indeed fall in love with Parvati, nonetheless. This occurred after Parvati surpassed all of the great sages in her austerities, and accumulated so much ascetic heat that she threatened even the gods themselves. This impelled them to approach Shiva and persuade him to marry her. Despite attempts made by agents of Shiva to test her devotion, Parvati proved faithful only to Shiva, and so he agreed to marry her. After the wedding, Shiva brings Kama back to life from the ashes at the request of Parvati wife and the desperate pleas of Ratri, Kama's spouse. Shiva resurrected Kama not as an anthropomorphic being but as an incorporeal mental image only, representing the true emotional and mental state of love rather than physical lust. With that, the sexual and procreative aspect of the world was restored, and Shiva and Parvati to proceed in the consummation of their newly minted marriage.
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*'''[[Varanasi]]''' (formerly Benares) is considered as the city specially-loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of [[pilgrimage]] in [[India]]. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as ''Kashi.''<ref>Keay, 33.</ref>
  
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Just as in the previous marriage Shiva and Parvati depart to Mount Kailash for purposes of their honey-moon. Witnessing their prodigious feats of love-making, the gods grew fearful of the potentially insurmountable strength that a child created by such powerful beings might possess. They promptly interrupt Shiva and Parvati in the midst of their embrace, and, as a result, Shiva's semen, fiery with his intense ascetic heat, lands in the Ganges River. It was at this point that the child [[Kartikeya]] was conceived and grew into an infant, whom Parvati raised as her own. Kartikeya went on to defeat the demon Taraka, thereby saving the world. Once again, the efforts of a wife of Shiva to domesticate serve the benefit of the entire world.
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==Mythology==
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According to Gavin Flood, "Śiva is a god of ambiguity and [[paradox]]," whose attributes include opposing themes.<ref>Flood 1996, 150.</ref> The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.
  
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===Ganesha===
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===Destroyer versus benefactor===  
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[[Image:Dakshayani.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Shiva carrying the corpse of his consort दाक्षायनि (सती) Dakshayani (Sati).]]
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In the Yajurveda two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terrific (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|rudra}}'') and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|śiva}}'') forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that "all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Śiva sect of later ages are to be found here."<ref>For quotation regarding Yajur Veda as containing contrary sets of attributes, and marking point for emergence of all basic elements of later sect forms, see: Chakravarti, 7.</ref> In the ''Mahabharata,'' Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror," as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance.<ref>Sharma 1988, 20-21.</ref> The [[duality]] of Shiva's fearful and auspicious attributes appears in contrasted names.
  
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Shiva is also considered father, albeit indirectly, of the popular elephant-headed god [[Ganesha]]. The most common account of Ganesha's birth begins with Shiva leaving Parvati for an extended period of time to engage in further [[Meditation|meditate]] upon Mount Kailasa. This inspired intense loneliness within the goddess and, longing for some company, she conjured the shape of the young Ganesha from flecks of her discarded skin. She quickly ordered her new son to stand guard at the door of her private chamber while she bathed. Eventually, Shiva returned from his meditation and attempted to access Parvati's private chamber. Ganesha refused to let him in and a struggle ensued, which culminated in Shiva beheading his adversary. Hearing the commotion, Parvati came out of her bath and informed Shiva that he had killed her child, and threatened to destroy the universe if the situation was not rectified. Shiva promptly sent off his servants with orders that they should obtain the head of the first being they came across as a replacement for the missing head of the boy. The servants found an elephant and cut off its head, which they placed upon Ganesh's shoulders upon their return. When Ganesh came back to consciousness, Shiva adopted him as his own. <ref>Courtright, 5.</ref>  
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The name ''[[Rudra]]'' (''Sanskrit'' रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name ''Rudra'' is derived from the root ''rud-'' which means "to cry, howl."<ref>For ''rud-'' meaning "cry, howl" as a traditional etymology see: Kramrisch, 5.</ref> Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form ''raudra,'' which means wild, of ''rudra'' nature, and translates the name ''Rudra'' as "the Wild One" or "the Fierce God."<ref>M. Mayrhofer, ''Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary'' ''s.v.'' "rudra," is provided in: Kramrisch, 5.</ref> R.K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "Terrible".<ref>Sharma 1996, 301.</ref> ''Hara'' (''Sanskrit'' हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the ''Shiva Sahasranama,'' where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "One who captivates," "One who consolidates," and "One who destroys."<ref>Sharma 1996, 314.</ref> Kramrisch translates it as "The Ravisher".<ref>Kramrisch, 473.</ref> Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as ''{{IAST|Kāla}}'' (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|काल}}), "Time," and as ''{{IAST|Mahākāla}}'' (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|महाकाल}}), "Great Time," which ultimately destroys all things.<ref>For translation of {{IAST|Mahākāla}} as "Time beyond time" see: Kramrisch, 476.</ref><ref>For the name {{IAST|Kāla}} translated as "time; death," see: Kramrisch, 474.</ref><ref>The name {{IAST|Kāla}} appears in the ''Shiva Sahasranama,'' where it is translated by Ram Karan Sharma as "(The Supreme Lord of) Time." See: Sharma 1996, 280.</ref> ''Bhairava'' (Sanskrit: {{lang|sa|भैरव}}), "Terrible" or "Frightful"<ref>For {{lang|sa|भैरव}} as one of the eight forms of Shiva, and translation of the adjectival form as "terrible" or "frightful" see: Apte, 727, left column.</ref> is a fierce form associated with annihilation.<ref>For Bhairava form as associated with terror see: Kramrisch, 471.</ref>  
  
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Another story claims that Shiva created Ganesha by way of his laughter alone. After Ganesha's birth, Shiva became concerned that the youth was excessively beautiful, and so he cursed Ganesha to have the head of an elephant and a protruding belly in order to make his appearance more comical and less aesthetically appealing.<ref>Brown, 77.</ref>
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In contrast, the name {{IAST|Śaṇkara}} (''Sanskrit'' शङ्कर), "Beneficent"<ref>Sharma 1996, 306</ref> or "Conferring Happiness"<ref>Kramrisch, 481.</ref> reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher [[Adi Shankara|{{IAST|Śaṇkara}}]] (c. 788-820 C.E.), who is also known as Shankaracharya.<ref>For adoption of the name {{IAST|Śaṇkara}} by Shankaracarya see: Kramrisch, 481.</ref><ref>For dating Shankaracharya as 788-820 C.E. see: Flood 1996, 92.</ref> The name ''{{IAST|Śambhu}}'' (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|शम्भु}}), "Causing Happiness," also reflects this benign aspect.<ref>For translation of {{IAST|Śambhu}} as "Causing Happiness" see: Kramrisch, 481.</ref><ref>For speculation on the possible etymology of this name, see: Chakravarti, 28 (note 7), and 177.</ref>
  
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===Vishnu===
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===Ascetic versus householder===
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[[Image:Shiva parivar.jpg|thumb|right|200px|An illustration of the family of Shiva, consisting of Shiva, [[Parvati]], [[Ganesha]] and Skanda (Kartikeya)]]
  
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Shiva and Vishnu, representing the two most popular male gods in the Hindu pantheon and each having inspired his own monotheistic tradition in the forms of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, respectively, have understandably developed something of a rivalry. Efforts to identify each god as the antithesis of the other has lead to noticeably juxtapositions in their characters: while Shiva is the ascetic connected with a spate of macabre images, Vishnu is the bejeweled monarch, ruling over the universe as a king would a society. Further, myths arising out of each tradition will often recount similar tales involving the exploits of both gods, often presenting their chosen deity as superior. The Siva Puranas, for instance, do not allow any diety other than Shiva the satisfaction of destroying a demon; however, in the Vaishnava Puranas, Siva is unable to slay any demon with the intervention of Vishnu at the crucial moment (Klostermaier, 151). In one such myth, Siva grants the demon Vrka a boon that he would be able to kill whoever he touched. Vrka promptly attempted to apply the boon to Parvati and even Shiva himself. Helpless to the conditions of the very boon he granted, Shiva is forced to rely on Vishnu's aid to save him. Vishnu suggests to Vrka that he test the boon on his own head, suggesting to the demon that Shiva is a liar, and Vrka inadvertently kills himself in the process. Similarly, Shaivite mythographers also reinvented or reshaped stories to show how it was actually Vishnu who was dependent on Shiva. For example, it is sometimes said that it was Shiva who bestowed Vishnu's with his all-important Sudarsanacakra.  
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He is depicted as both an ascetic yogin and as a householder, roles which are mutually exclusive in Hindu society.<ref>Flood 1996, 150-151.</ref> When depicted as a yogin he may be shown sitting and meditating.<ref>For Shiva's representation as a yogin, see: Chakravarti, 32.</ref> His epithet ''Mahāyogin'' (The Great [[Yoga|Yogi]]: {{IAST|Mahā}} = great, Yogin = one who practices Yoga) refers to his association with yoga.<ref>For name Mahāyogi and associations with yoga, see, Chakravarti, 23, 32, 150.</ref> While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of [[sacrifice]], it was during the Epic period that concepts of ''tapas,'' ''yoga,'' and [[asceticism]], became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts.<ref>For the ascetic yogin form as reflecting Epic period influences, see: Chakravarti, 32.</ref>
  
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[[Image:Harihara.jpg|thumb|right|[[Vishnu]] (right half - blue) and [[Shiva]] (left half - white)]]
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As a family man and householder he has a wife, [[Parvati]] (also known as {{IAST|Umā}}), and two sons, [[Ganesha]] and Skanda. His epithet ''{{IAST|Umāpati}}'' ("The husband of {{IAST|Umā}}") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, {{IAST|Umākānta}} and {{IAST|Umādhava}}, also appear in the sahasranama.<ref>For {{IAST|Umāpati}}, {{IAST|Umākānta}}, and {{IAST|Umādhava}} as names in the Shiva Sahasranama literature, see: Sharma 1996, 278.</ref> {{IAST|Umā}} in epic literature is known by many names, including {{IAST|Pārvatī}}.<ref>For {{IAST|Umā}} as the oldest name, and variants including {{IAST|Pārvatī}}, see: Chakravarti, 40.</ref><ref>For {{IAST|Pārvatī}} identified as the wife of Shiva, see: Kramrisch, 479.</ref> She is identified with [[Devi]], the Divine Mother, and with [[Shakti]] (divine energy).
  
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Despite their rivalry, Shiva and Vishnu are often depicted together in the form of the Hari-Hara, a statue of a single figure split down the center into two distinct halves. One half has all the characteristic markings of Vishnu (or Hari) while the other half possesses those of Shiva (Hara). This figure is comparable to the aforementioned Ardhanarisvara, though much less common. Just as in that figure, the Hari-Hare depictions almost always place Shiva on the right hand side, insinuating his superiority to Vishnu on the left.  
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Shiva and Parvati are the parents of Karthikeya and [[Ganesha]]. Karthikeya is worshipped in southern India (especially in [[Tamil Nadu]] and Karnataka) by the names ''Subrahmanyan, Shanmughan, Swaminathan'' and ''Murugan,'' and in northern India, is better known by the names ''Skanda, Kumara,'' or ''Karttikeya.''<ref>For regional name variants of Karttikeya see: Shakti M. Gupta, ''Karttikeya: The Son of Shiva'' (Bombay: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1988, ISBN 8170391865), Preface.</ref>
  
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==Worship==
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==Manifestations==
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===Nataraja===
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[[Image:NatarajaMET.JPG|right|thumb|250px|[[Bronze]] [[Chola]] Statue depicting Shiva dancing as ''[[Nataraja]].'' Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.]]
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The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Tamil: நடராஜா, Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|naṭarāja}}'', "Lord of Dance") is popular.<ref>For description of the nataraja form see: Jansen, 110-111.</ref><ref>For interpretation of the ''{{IAST|naṭarāja}}'' form see: Heinrich Zimmer, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1946, ISBN 0691017786), 151-157.</ref> The names ''Nartaka'' ("Dancer") and ''Nityanarta'' ("Eternal Dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama.<ref>For names Nartaka (''Sanskrit'' नर्तक) and Nityanarta (Sanskrit नित्यनर्त) as names of Shiva, see: Sharma 1996, 289.</ref> His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period.<ref>For prominence of these associations in puranic times, see: Chakravarti, 62.</ref> In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|nṛtyamūrti}}'') are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in [[Tamil Nadu]] (in southern India) in particular.<ref>For popularity of the ''{{IAST|nṛtyamūrti}}'' and prevalence in South India, see: Chakravarti, 63.</ref>
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==={{IAST|Dakṣiṇāmūrti}}===
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{{IAST|Dakṣiṇāmūrti}} (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|दक्षिणामूर्ति}})<ref>For iconographic description of the {{IAST|Dakṣiṇāmūrti}} form, see: Sivaramamurti 1976, 47.</ref> literally describes a form ''({{IAST|mūrti}})'' of Shiva facing south ''({{IAST|dakṣiṇa}})''. This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of [[yoga]], [[music]], and [[wisdom]], and giving exposition on the ''shastras.''<ref>For description of the form as representing teaching functions, see: Kramrisch, 472.</ref> This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>For characterization of {{IAST|Dakṣiṇāmūrti}} as a mostly south Indian form, see: Chakravarti, 62.</ref> Elements of this ''motif'' can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.<ref>For the deer-throne and the audience of sages as {{IAST|Dakṣiṇāmūrti}}, see: Chakravarti, 155.</ref>
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===Mruthyunjaya===
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Literally translated as 'victor over death', this is an aspect of Shiva worshipped as the conqueror of Death as manifested in the Hindu lord of [[death]], [[Yama]]. The particular legend in question deals with the sage Markandeya, who was fated to die at the age of 16. On account of the sage's worship and devotion to Shiva, the Lord vanquished ''Yama'' to liberate his devotee from death. Shiva is often worshipped as Mruthyunjaya by the aged or ill, to ward off death and mitigate its harshness when it does occur. He is worshipped as such at the temples of Thirupainyeeli, near Trichinopoly, and at a shrine in Thirukadaiyur, near Chidambaram.
  
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Shaivism refers to a cluster of Hindu schools and traditions in which are devoted primarily to the worship of Shiva. Shaivism is practiced widely throughout India, and varies greatly in both [[philosophy]] and practice based upon distinct regional variations. Its followers are referred to in English as ''Shaiva(s)'', or sometimes ''Shaivite(s)''. With approxiamately 200 million adherents, Shaivism is one of the most prominent communities within Hinduism, second only to Vaishnavism <ref>''The World Almanac & Book of Facts'' 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), pg. 654.</ref>
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===Ardhanarishvara===
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[[Image:Arthanari.png|right|thumb|180px|Chola bronze from the eleventh century. Shiva in the form of [[Ardhanarisvara]].]]
  
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Some of the most prominent Shaivite schools include:
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An iconographic representation of Shiva called ''Ardhanarishvara'' shows him with one half of the body as male, and the other half as female.<ref>Ellen Goldberg, ''The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective'' (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2002, ISBN 079145326X), 1.</ref> According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form, ''({{IAST|Ardhanārīśvara}})'' is best translated as "the lord who is half woman," and not as "half-man, half-woman".<ref>Goldberg specifically rejects the translation by Frederique Marglin (1989) as "half-man, half-woman," and instead adopts the translation by Marglin as "the lord who is half woman" as given in Marglin 1989, 216; Goldberg, 1.</ref>
  
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*The '''Pashupatas''' (Sanskrit: ''{{IAST|Pāśupatas}}''), one of the oldest named Shaivite sects, wielded great influence over South Indian Shaivism from the 7th to 14th centuries. The sect is well known because of two surviving texts, the ''Ganakarika'', and the ''Pasupata Sutra'', which put forth the dualistic distinction between souls (pashu), God (pati) and the physical word (pāsha), a worldview that would live on in Shaiva Siddhanta.
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==={{IAST|Tripurāntaka}}===
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Shiva is often depicted as an [[Archery|archer]] in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, ''Tripura,'' of the Asuras.<ref>For evolution of this story from early sources to the epic period, when it was used to enhance Shiva's increasing influence, see: Chakravarti, 46.</ref> Shiva's name {{IAST|Tripurāntaka}} (''Sanskrit'': {{lang|sa|त्रिपुरान्तक}}), "Ender of Tripura," refers to this important story.<ref>For the {{IAST|Tripurāntaka}} form, see: Sivaramamurti 1976, 34 </ref>
  
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*The '''Kapalikas''' centred around bhakti devotion to Bhairava. Recapitulating the mythology of Bhairava themselves, Kapalikas carried out the Mahavratin, penance for the murder of a Brahman, and carried a skull with them wherever they roamed. Members of this sect were linked with a number of bizarre ritual practices, including meat-eating, intoxication, orgies, and even cannibalism, all in an effort to satisfy the horrifying god to whom they were devoted.  
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===Lingam===
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[[Image:108shivalingas.jpg|right|thumb|250px|108 shiva [[linga]]s carved on the rock at the banks of river Tungabhadra, [[Hampi]]]]
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Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a ''lingam'' is also important.<ref>Michaels, 216.</ref><ref>Flood 1996, 29.</ref> These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column.
  
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*The '''Kalamukhas''' (or "black-faced"), meanwhile, are often closely linked to the Kapalikas, although their practices were more congruent with the Bramanical tradition than opposed to it. Information on this sect, culled mostly from epigramatic inscriptions on temples, suggests that the Kalamukhas existed in ''mathas'', monastic organizations centered around a temple.
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In [[Shaivism]], Shiva is the God of all and is worshipped by all, from Devas (gods) such as [[Brahma]], [[Indra]], by Asuras (demons) like Bana, [[Ravana]], by humans like [[Adi Shankara]], Nayanars, by creatures as diverse as ''Jatayu,'' an [[eagle]], and ''Vali,'' an [[ape]]. Furthermore, people of different backgrounds and qualities worship Shiva with many [[temple]]s having histories of even [[crane (bird)|crane]]s, [[bee]]s, [[elephant]]s, [[spider]]s, [[snake]]s, worshipping Shiva and getting blessed. It concludes that the Good Lord blesses anyone who worships him with sincere devotion as there is no discrimination based on the seeker. Although Lord Shiva loves His devotees equally and does not ignore the meditation even of demons such as the [[rakshasa]]s and [[asura]]s, He always finds ways to protect [[dharma|righteousness]] and never allows any evil to triumph over good.
  
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*The '''[[Nayanars]]''', an exalted group comprised of sixty-three poet-saints that arose in South India during the seventh century C.E., were among the first proponents of the vernacular [[bhakti]] tradition. The hymns penned by these saints communicate deep emotional love for Shiva in his personal form.
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In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the [[Five elements|five elemental substances]]:
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# Tiruvannamalai, as [[fire]]
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*'''Kashmir Shaivism''' is a name given to a number of diverse and influential sects which thrived in the northern Indian region of  Kashmir during the second half of the ninth century CE.  Among these groups were the dualistic Shaiva Siddhantas (see below) and the monists, comprised of the Trika and Krama traditions.
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# Chidambaram, as [[ether]]
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# Srikalahasti, as [[air]]
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# Tiruvanaikal, as [[water]]
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# Conjeeveram, as [[earth]]
  
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*'''Shiva Siddhanta''' is a tradition which seems to have originated as early as the sixth century CE in Kashmir and central India, <ref>Keay, 62.</ref> although it also flourished in South India. Between the eleventh or twelfth centuries CE Shaiva Siddhanta was well-established in this region, particularly in Tamil Nadu.<ref>Flood (2003), 217.</ref> Shaiva Siddhanta upholds the older Pashupata distinction between three eternal substrates: souls, God, and the physical world.
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==Names of Shiva== 
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[[Image:statueofshiva.JPG|right|thumb|200px|A statue of Shiva near Indira Gandhi International Airport, [[Delhi]]]]
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In [[Hinduism]], deities are called by many names, which describe them in different ways. These names often refer to specific stories about the deities, functions they perform, or ways of thinking about them. Study of these names is helpful to understanding deities from multiple points of view. Some names are used by more than one deity, so looking for names that ''uniquely'' describe a deity is one way to pinpoint their functions.
  
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*'''Virashaivism''' ("heroic Shaivism", also known as the Lingayats or "bearers of the linga") is a reformist Shaivite sect with approxiamately six million adherents located in the South India state of Karnataka at present.<ref>Padoux, "Virashaivas", 12.</ref> The movement originated along the border regions of Karnataka and Maharashtra in the mid-12th century. As is evident by their alternative moniker, the linga represents the most important religious symbol for this group, and so members must pay homage to this symbol at least twice every day.  
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His role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets ''{{IAST|Mahādeva}}'' ("great god"; ''{{IAST|mahā}}'' = great + ''deva'' = god), ''{{IAST|Maheśvara}}'' ("great lord"; ''{{IAST|mahā}}'' = great + ''{{IAST|īśvara}}'' = lord), and ''Parameśvara'' ("Supreme Lord").  
  
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===Temples===
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There are at least eight different versions of the ''Shiva Sahasranama,'' devotional [[hymn]]s ''(stotras)'' listing many names of Shiva.<ref>Sharma 1996, viii-ix.</ref> Shiva also has ''DashaSahasranamas'' (10,000 names) that are found in the ''Mahanyasa.'' The ''Shri Rudram Chamakam,'' also known as the ''Śatarudriya,'' is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.<ref>Kramrisch, 71-74.</ref>
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There are innumerable temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva throughout India, each of which is based upon the instructions for temple construction delineated in one of the twenty-eight volumes which make up the Agamas. The architecture and layout, locations of the images, and directions for methods of worship are all prescribed in the chosen Agama, and no deviation from these directions is permitted. Shiva temples have a number of common features, including a tall multi-storied gopuram, which rises tower-like at the temple entrance and is enclosed within a high wall. The linga usually resides deep within the temple compound of buildings, courtyards and gardens; the linga and the special structure that houses it are placed in such a way that they face the compound entrance directly. Only the guru may enter this [[sanctum sanctorum]]. Every Siva temple has at least one path encircling its sacred space, around which a procession may walk as part of the devotional service. A stone statue of Siva as Teacher, the ''Dakshinamurthy'', faces south. These images of Shiva are commonly accompanied by images and icons dedicated to those closely related to him in his mythology, including sons [[Ganesha]] and [[Skandha]], as well as [[Shakti|Śakti]] with whom he is often in the form of Ardhanarishvara.  
 
  
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===Ritual===
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Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as [[Avatar]]s. [[Adi Shankara]], the eighth-century philosopher of non-dualist [[Vedanta]] was named "Shankara" after Lord Shiva and is considered to have been an incarnation of Shiva.<ref>''Padma Purana'' 6.236.7-11</ref> In the ''Hanuman Chalisa'' [[Hanuman]] is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva.<ref>Goswami Tulsidas, ''Hanuman Chalisa'' (Chennai, India: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1985, ISBN 8171200869), 5.</ref>
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''Shivacharyas'' ("teachers of Shiva") conduct Shiva worship services. The usual service proceeds with the anointing of the image of the diety with [[oil]], water, [[milk]], [[ghee]], [[honey]], [[curd]], [[sandalwood]] paste, and a number of other substances before being showered with blossoms. The idol is then adorned with jewels and flower garlands. Incense is burned, and then a food offering is made, typically consisting of rice. [[Camphor]] and lamps of various designs are lit and presented to the image of the deity. The burning camphor is then carried to the congregation. The worshippers reverentially place their palms over the flame before placing them over their eyes; some say this gesture signifies that the devotion is as precious to the worshipper as his or her own sight. Finally sacred ash and [[Kumkum|kungumam]] (powdered turmeric mixed with slaked lime) are distributed into the upraised palms of the worshippers, who touch this mixture to their foreheads. The worshippers then progress along the path of circumambulation around the diety at least once before prostrating in prayer to the sacrosanct linga, singing and reciting verses from the holy texts. These services are held daily, with as many as six occurring each day depending on the resources and the popularity of the temple.
 
  
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===Festivals===
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==Relationship to Vishnu==
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[[File:Vishnu and Shiva in a combined form, as "Hari-hara,".jpg|thumb|right|200px|Vishnu (blue) and Shiva (white) in a combined form, as "Hari-hara"]]
  
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The foremost festival dedicated to Shiva is that of Shiva Ratri, which celebrates the day the god drank the Halahala poison, thereby saving humanity. The event takes place on fourteenth day of the waning moon in the month of Falgun (February- March). On this day, Shaivite Temples are elaborately decorated, with hordes of devotees lining up to offer obeisances to Shiva. <ref>[http://www.vmission.org/hinduism/festivals/shivratri.htm]</ref> In honour of Shiva's insouciant attitude toward the phenomenal world, for this occassion devotees become intoxicated by a drink called Thandai made from cannabis, almonds, and milk. This beverage is consumed as [[prasad]] while singing devotional hymns and dancing to the rhythm of the drums. <ref>[http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa022001a.htm]</ref>
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During the Vedic period, both Vishnu and Shiva (as identified with Rudra) played relatively minor roles, but by the time of the Brahmanas (c. 1000-700 B.C.E.) both were gaining ascendance.<ref>For relatively minor position in Vedic times, and rise in progress by 1000-700 B.C.E..E. see: Zimmer, 1946, 125, note 2.</ref> By the Puranic period both deities had major sects that competed with one another for devotees.<ref>For the rise in popularity of Shiva and Vishnu, and the role of Puranas in promoting sectarian positions, see: Flood 1996, 110-111.</ref> Many stories developed showing different types of relationships between these two important deities.
  
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==Notes==
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Sectarian forces each presented their own preferred deity as supreme. Vishnu in his myths "becomes" Shiva.<ref>For Visnu becoming Shiva in [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] myths, see: Zimmer 1946, 125.</ref> The ''Vishnu Purana'' (fourth c. C.E.) shows Vishnu awakening and becoming both {{IAST|Brahmā}} to create the world, and Shiva to destroy it.<ref>For Vishnu Purana dating of fourth c. C.E. and role of Vishnu as supreme deity, see: Flood 1996, 111.</ref> Shiva also is viewed as a manifestation of Vishnu in the ''Bhagavata Purana.''<ref>For identification of Shiva as a manifestation of Vishnu see: ''Bhagavata Purana'' 4.30.23, 5.17.22-23, 10.14.19.</ref> In Shaivite [[myth]]s, on the other hand, Shiva comes to the fore and acts independently and alone to create, preserve, and destroy the world.<ref> For predominant role of Shiva in some myths, see: Zimmer 1946, 128.</ref> In one Shaivite myth of the origin of the lingam, both Vishnu and {{IAST|Brahmā}} are revealed as emanations from Shiva's manifestation as a towering pillar of flame.<ref>For the ''lingodbhava'' myth, and Vishnu and Brahmā as emanations of Shiva, see: Zimmer 1946, 128-129.</ref> The ''Śatarudrīya,'' a Shaivite [[hymn]], says that Shiva is "of the form of Vishnu". Difference in viewpoints between the two sects is apparent in the story of Śarabha (also spelled "Sharabha"), the name of Shiva's incarnation in the composite form of man, bird, and beast. Shiva assumed that unusual form to chastise Vishnu in his hybrid form as [[Narasimha]], the man-lion, who killed Hiranyakashipu, an ardent devotee of Shiva.<ref>For {{IAST|Śarabha}} as an "animal symplegma" form of Shiva, see: Kramrisch, 481.</ref><ref>For incarnation in composite form as man, bird, and beast to chastise Narasimha, see: Chakravarti, 49.</ref>
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Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. ''Harihara'' is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu ''(Hari)'' and Shiva ''(Hara).''<ref>Chakravarti, 54-55.</ref> This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the [[Mahabharata]].<ref>For Harirudra citation to Mbh. III.39.76f see: Hopkins, 221.</ref> An example of a collaboration story is one given to explain Shiva's epithet {{IAST|Mahābaleśvara}}, "Lord of Great Strength" (''Maha'' = great, ''Bala'' = strength, {{IAST|Īśvara}} = Lord). This name refers to story in which [[Ravana|{{IAST|Rāvaṇa}}]] was given a ''[[linga]]'' as a boon by Shiva on the condition that he carry it always. During his travels, he stopped near the present Deoghar in Bihar to purify himself and asked Narada a devotee of Vishnu in the guise of a [[Brahmin]] to hold the ''linga'' for him, but after some time Narada put it down on the ground and vanished. When Ravana returned, he could not move the ''linga,'' and it is said to remain there ever since.<ref>For the story of {{IAST|Rāvaṇa}} and the {{IAST|Mahābaleśvara}} ''linga'' see: Chakravarti, 168.</ref>
  
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== Notes ==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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*Bhandarkar, Ramakrishna Gopal. ''Vaisnavism, Śaivism, and Minor Religious Systems'', Third AES reprint edition. 1913 New Delhi: Asian Educational Services,  1995. ISBN 81-206-0122-X
+
*Apte, Vaman Shivram. ''The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary,'' Fourth rev. and enlarged ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers,  1965. ISBN 8120805674. 
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*Brown, Robert L. ''Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God''. Albany: State University of New York, 1991. ISBN 0791406571
+
*Arya, Ravi Prakash, and K.L. Joshi. ''Ṛgveda Saṃhitā: Sanskrit Text,'' English Translation. Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2001. ISBN 8171101387 (Set of four volumes).
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*Chakravarti, Mahadev. ''The Concept of Rudra-Shiva Through the Ages.'' Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986. ISBN 8120800532
+
*Chakravarti, Mahadev. ''The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through The Ages,'' Second Rev. ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1994. ISBN 8120800532. 
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*Courtright, Paul B. ''Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. ISBN 0195057422
+
*Chidbhavananda, Swami. ''Siva Sahasranama Stotram (with Navavali)''. Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, 1997. 
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*Doniger, Wendy. ''Asceticism and eroticism in the mythology of Śiva''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. ISBN 0197135730
+
*Courtright, Paul B. ''Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. ISBN 0195057422.
−
*Flood, Gavin. ''An Introduction to Hinduism''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0521438780
+
*Dallapiccola, Anna L. ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend.'' Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 0500284024.
−
*Flood, Gavin (Editor). ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism''. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-4051-3251-5
+
*Flood, Gavin. ''An Introduction to Hinduism.'' Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0521438780. 
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*Goldberg, Ellen. ''The Lord Who Is Half Woman: Ardhanarisvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective''. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0791453261
+
*Flood, Gavin (ed.). ''The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism.'' Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1405132515. 
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*Keay, John. ''India: A History.'' New York: Grove Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8021-3797-0  
+
*Goldberg, Ellen. ''The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective.'' Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2002. ISBN 079145326X. 
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*Klostermaier, Klaus K. ''Hinduism: A Short History.'' Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. ISBN 1-85168-213-9
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*Griffith, T.H. ''The Hymns of the Ṛgveda,'' (New Rev. ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,  1973. ISBN 812080046X. 
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*Lorenzen, David. ''The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas: Two Lost Saivite Sects''. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1972. ISBN 81-208-0708-1
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*Gupta, Shakti M. ''Karttikeya: The Son of Shiva.'' Bombay: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1988. ISBN 8170391865. 
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*Mukundan, A.P. ''Unto Shiva Consciousness''. New Delhi: Samkaleen Prakashan, 1992. ISBN 81-7083-109-1
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*Hopkins, E. Washburn. ''Epic Mythology.'' New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969. 
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*Padoux, Andre. "Saivism: Virasaivas." ''Encyclopedia of Religion''. Edited by Mercia Eliade. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987, 12-13. ISBN 0029098505
+
*Jansen, Eva Rudy. ''The Book of Hindu Imagery.'' Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications BV, 1993. ISBN 9074597076. 
 +
*Keay, John. ''India: A History.'' New York: Grove Press, 2000. ISBN 0802137970. 
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*Kramrisch, Stella. ''The Presence of Śiva.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981. ISBN 0691019304.  
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*Macdonell, Arthur Anthony. ''A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary.'' New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1996. ISBN 8121507154.
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*Michaels, Axel. ''Hinduism: Past and Present.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. ISBN 0691089531. 
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*Sarup, Lakshman. ''The Nighaṇṭu and The Nirukta.''  Reprint: Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2002. ISBN 8120813812.
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*Sharma, Ram Karan. ''Elements of Poetry in the Mahābhārata,'' Second ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988. ISBN 8120805445. 
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*Sharma, Ram Karan. ''Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva.'' Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1996. ISBN 8170813506.
 +
*Shashi, Shyam Singh. ''Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes.'' New Delhi: reprint Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1994. ISBN 8170418364.
 +
*Stutley, Margaret. ''The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography.'' First Indian Edition: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2003. ISBN 8121510872.
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*Tulsidas, Goswami. ''Hanuman Chalisa.'' Chennai, India: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1985. ISBN 8171200869.
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*Zimmer, Heinrich. ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1946. ISBN 0691017786. 
  
  
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[[Category: Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category: Religion]]
 
[[Category: Religion]]
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[[Category: Hinduism]]
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Latest revision as of 20:31, 21 April 2021

Shiva
A statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating
A statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating
Devanagari: शिव
Sanskrit Transliteration: Śiva
Abode: Mount Kailāsa
Mantra: Aum Namah Sivaya
Weapon: Trident (Trishul)
Consort: Parvati or Sati or Shakti or Durga
Mount: Nandi (bull)

Shiva (from Sanskrit: शिव, meaning "Auspicious one") is a principal deity of Hinduism who is especially revered among the cluster of Hindu groups known as Shaivites. Widely worshiped by Hindu communities throughout India and the world, Shiva is an ancient Hindu deity that is associated with the paradoxical motifs of destruction and regeneration, eroticism and asceticism, sexuality and celibacy. Hindu religious iconography and mythology simultaneously describe him as a great ascetic as well as co-generator of the universe along with Shakti (the female principle of creation).

In images and sculpture, Shiva is often represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance. Shiva is usually worshiped as the Shiva linga, the phallic symbol (representing the male sexual organ) that symbolizes Shiva's creative regenerative power, potentiality, and, paradoxically, his ascetic restraint. Due to the symbol's sexual associations, however, it has often been seen as controversial and criticized by outsiders.

Shiva also plays a central role in the teachings of Tantra, whereby the interaction of Shiva and Shakti represent the renewal of the cosmos through the ongoing interplay of male-female sexual energy.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word śiva or Shivam (Devanagari िशव) is an adjective meaning kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious.[1] As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One," used as a euphemistic name for the vedic god Rudra.[2] In simple English transliteration, it is written either as Shiva or Siva. Pronunciation is written in the International Phonetic Alphabet as IPA: [ɕivə]. In the Rig Veda, Indra uses this word to describe himself several times. (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3)

In the Tamil language, Siva literally means "the supreme one." The renowned Hindu philosopher Adi Sankara interprets Shiva to mean either "The Pure One," (i.e., the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name."[3] Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means the One who is eternally pure, or the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas [4]

The name Shiva may have derived from the Dravidian word “Siva” meaning “to be red,” making it the equivalent of Rudra, “the red” Rig Veda.[5]

Historical Development

The Pashupati seal

An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed pashupati.

A seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure.[6] This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals, or Lord of Beings Sanskrit paśupati)[7] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals. Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.

This claim has not fared well with some modern academics. Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative," saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a yoga posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.[8][9] Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying:

"…there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull sect, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance."[10]

Rudra

Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra[11] and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.

The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700–1100 B.C.E. based on linguistic and philological evidence. A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33 he is described as the "Father of the Maruts," a group of storm gods. Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred hymns of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas, and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances.

The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains:

"To what extent Śiva's origins are in fact to be sought in Rudra is extremely unclear. The tendency to consider Śiva an ancient god is based on this identification, even though the facts that justify such a far-reaching assumption are meager."[12]

Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)[13] and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.[14] This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, (list of a thousand names) and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.[15] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill"[16] and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness". The names Dhanvin ("Bowman") and Bāṇahasta ("Archer," literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")[17]

Identification with Vedic deities

Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.

Agni

Rudra and Agni have a close relationship.[18][19] The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva.[20] The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the Nirukta, an important early text on etymology, which says "Agni is called Rudra also". The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch:

"The fire myth of Rudra-Śiva plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination."[21]

In the Śatarudrīa, some epithets of Rudra such as Sasipañjara ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and Tivaṣīmati ("Flaming bright") suggest a fusing of the two deities.[22] Agni is said to be a bull[23] and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned.[24][25] In medieval sculpture both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.[26]

Indra

There are several similarities between the Vedic god Indra and Shiva; both deities are known for having a thirst for an herb with narcotic properties called Soma. Moreover, each is associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the Aum sound, the Supreme Self. In the ]]Rig Veda\\ the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3,[27] 6.45.17,[28][29] and 8.93.3.[30])

Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull.[31][32]

Indra is likened to a white elephant named 'Airavat' instead of the bull.

However, in the Rig Veda, Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.[33]

As a result of these multifarious precursors, modern historians believe that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built-up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure.[34]

Attributes of Shiva

Shiva with Parvati. Shiva is depicted three-eyed, with crescent moon on his head, the Ganga flowing through his matted hair, wearing ornaments of serpents and a skull necklace, covered in ashes and Trisula and Damaru are seen in the background.
Shiva Bearing the Descent of the Ganges River as Parvati and Bhagiratha, and the bull Nandi look, folio from a Hindi manuscript by the saint Narayan, circa 1740
  • Third Eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes.[35] There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name Tryambakam (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in many scriptural sources.[36] In classical Sanskrit the word ambaka denotes "an eye," and in the Mahabharata Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "Having Three Eyes".[37] However, in Vedic Sanskrit the word ambā or ambikā means "mother," and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation "Having Three Mothers" that was used by Max Müller and Arthur Macdonell.[38] Since no story is known in which Shiva had three mothers, E. Washburn Hopkins suggested that the name refers not to three mothers, but to three Mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikās.[39] Other related translations have been "having three wives or sisters," or based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared with the goddess Ambikā.[40]
  • Blue Throat: The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit नीलकण्ठ; nīla = blue, kaṇtha = throat)[41] refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.[42]
  • Crescent Moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the moon.[43] The epithet Chandraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = Moon, śekhara = crest, crown)[44] refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva.[45] The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly emplored, and in later literature Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the Moon.[46]
  • Matted Hair: Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "The One with matted hair"[47] and Kapardin, "Endowed with matted hair"[48] or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion".
  • Sacred Ganga: The Ganga river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gaṅgādhara ("Bearer of the river Gaṅgā") refers to this feature. The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair. The legend of Bhagiratha states that when the sage of that name invoked the gods to send the divine Ganges to earth to relieve a drought and purify the remains of his ancestors, he was warned that the earth had not the capacity to withstand the descent of the Ganges from heaven, in pursuit of which he propitiated Siva to receive the Ganges upon her descent from heaven and release her with diminished force. Siva agreed to trap the youthful and mischievous Ganges in his matted locks and release her to the earth. It was thus, according to Hindu legend, that the Ganges came to be trapped in Siva's locks, and to be portrayed as flowing therefrom, in all representations of Siva.
  • Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy.[49] These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.[50] One epithet for Shiva is "Inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin) referring to this connection.[51]
  • Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honor reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.
  • Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.
  • Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula) Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.
  • Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (Sanskrit: ḍamaru). This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation[52] known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.
  • Nandi, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana).[53][54] Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati or Pashupati (Sanskrit पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "Lord of cattle"[55] and by Kramrisch as "Lord of Animals," who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.[56]
  • GanaGaṇa : In Hinduism, the Gaṇas (Devanagari: गण) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa. They are often referred to as the Boothaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their Lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the Lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title gaṇa-īśa or gaṇa-pati, "lord of the gaṇas".[57]
  • Mount Kailāsa in the Himalayas is his traditional abode.[58] In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, the penis representing the center of the universe.[59]
  • Varanasi (formerly Benares) is considered as the city specially-loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.[60]

Mythology

According to Gavin Flood, "Śiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox," whose attributes include opposing themes.[61] The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.

Destroyer versus benefactor

Shiva carrying the corpse of his consort दाक्षायनि (सती) Dakshayani (Sati).

In the Yajurveda two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terrific (Sanskrit: rudra) and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit: śiva) forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that "all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Śiva sect of later ages are to be found here."[62] In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror," as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance.[63] The duality of Shiva's fearful and auspicious attributes appears in contrasted names.

The name Rudra (Sanskrit रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name Rudra is derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl."[64] Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the Wild One" or "the Fierce God."[65] R.K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "Terrible".[66] Hara (Sanskrit हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the Shiva Sahasranama, where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "One who captivates," "One who consolidates," and "One who destroys."[67] Kramrisch translates it as "The Ravisher".[68] Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "Time," and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "Great Time," which ultimately destroys all things.[69][70][71] Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "Terrible" or "Frightful"[72] is a fierce form associated with annihilation.[73]

In contrast, the name Śaṇkara (Sanskrit शङ्कर), "Beneficent"[74] or "Conferring Happiness"[75] reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher Śaṇkara (c. 788-820 C.E.), who is also known as Shankaracharya.[76][77] The name Śambhu (Sanskrit: शम्भु), "Causing Happiness," also reflects this benign aspect.[78][79]

Ascetic versus householder

An illustration of the family of Shiva, consisting of Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha and Skanda (Kartikeya)

He is depicted as both an ascetic yogin and as a householder, roles which are mutually exclusive in Hindu society.[80] When depicted as a yogin he may be shown sitting and meditating.[81] His epithet Mahāyogin (The Great Yogi: Mahā = great, Yogin = one who practices Yoga) refers to his association with yoga.[82] While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism, became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts.[83]

As a family man and householder he has a wife, Parvati (also known as Umā), and two sons, Ganesha and Skanda. His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama.[84] Umā in epic literature is known by many names, including Pārvatī.[85][86] She is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother, and with Shakti (divine energy).

Shiva and Parvati are the parents of Karthikeya and Ganesha. Karthikeya is worshipped in southern India (especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) by the names Subrahmanyan, Shanmughan, Swaminathan and Murugan, and in northern India, is better known by the names Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.[87]

Manifestations

Nataraja

Bronze Chola Statue depicting Shiva dancing as Nataraja. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Tamil: நடராஜா, Sanskrit: naṭarāja, "Lord of Dance") is popular.[88][89] The names Nartaka ("Dancer") and Nityanarta ("Eternal Dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama.[90] His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period.[91] In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: nṛtyamūrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu (in southern India) in particular.[92]

Dakṣiṇāmūrti

Dakṣiṇāmūrti (Sanskrit: दक्षिणामूर्ति)[93] literally describes a form (mūrti) of Shiva facing south (dakṣiṇa). This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras.[94] This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from Tamil Nadu.[95] Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.[96]

Mruthyunjaya

Literally translated as 'victor over death', this is an aspect of Shiva worshipped as the conqueror of Death as manifested in the Hindu lord of death, Yama. The particular legend in question deals with the sage Markandeya, who was fated to die at the age of 16. On account of the sage's worship and devotion to Shiva, the Lord vanquished Yama to liberate his devotee from death. Shiva is often worshipped as Mruthyunjaya by the aged or ill, to ward off death and mitigate its harshness when it does occur. He is worshipped as such at the temples of Thirupainyeeli, near Trichinopoly, and at a shrine in Thirukadaiyur, near Chidambaram.

Ardhanarishvara

Chola bronze from the eleventh century. Shiva in the form of Ardhanarisvara.

An iconographic representation of Shiva called Ardhanarishvara shows him with one half of the body as male, and the other half as female.[97] According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form, (Ardhanārīśvara) is best translated as "the lord who is half woman," and not as "half-man, half-woman".[98]

Tripurāntaka

Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras.[99] Shiva's name Tripurāntaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरान्तक), "Ender of Tripura," refers to this important story.[100]

Lingam

108 shiva lingas carved on the rock at the banks of river Tungabhadra, Hampi

Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam is also important.[101][102] These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column.

In Shaivism, Shiva is the God of all and is worshipped by all, from Devas (gods) such as Brahma, Indra, by Asuras (demons) like Bana, Ravana, by humans like Adi Shankara, Nayanars, by creatures as diverse as Jatayu, an eagle, and Vali, an ape. Furthermore, people of different backgrounds and qualities worship Shiva with many temples having histories of even cranes, bees, elephants, spiders, snakes, worshipping Shiva and getting blessed. It concludes that the Good Lord blesses anyone who worships him with sincere devotion as there is no discrimination based on the seeker. Although Lord Shiva loves His devotees equally and does not ignore the meditation even of demons such as the rakshasas and asuras, He always finds ways to protect righteousness and never allows any evil to triumph over good.

In South India, five temples of Shiva are held to be particularly important, as being manifestations of him in the five elemental substances:

  1. Tiruvannamalai, as fire
  2. Chidambaram, as ether
  3. Srikalahasti, as air
  4. Tiruvanaikal, as water
  5. Conjeeveram, as earth

Names of Shiva

A statue of Shiva near Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

In Hinduism, deities are called by many names, which describe them in different ways. These names often refer to specific stories about the deities, functions they perform, or ways of thinking about them. Study of these names is helpful to understanding deities from multiple points of view. Some names are used by more than one deity, so looking for names that uniquely describe a deity is one way to pinpoint their functions.

His role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("great god"; mahā = great + deva = god), Maheśvara ("great lord"; mahā = great + īśvara = lord), and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").

There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva.[103] Shiva also has DashaSahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.[104]

Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as Avatars. Adi Shankara, the eighth-century philosopher of non-dualist Vedanta was named "Shankara" after Lord Shiva and is considered to have been an incarnation of Shiva.[105] In the Hanuman Chalisa Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva.[106]

Relationship to Vishnu

Vishnu (blue) and Shiva (white) in a combined form, as "Hari-hara"

During the Vedic period, both Vishnu and Shiva (as identified with Rudra) played relatively minor roles, but by the time of the Brahmanas (c. 1000-700 B.C.E.) both were gaining ascendance.[107] By the Puranic period both deities had major sects that competed with one another for devotees.[108] Many stories developed showing different types of relationships between these two important deities.

Sectarian forces each presented their own preferred deity as supreme. Vishnu in his myths "becomes" Shiva.[109] The Vishnu Purana (fourth c. C.E.) shows Vishnu awakening and becoming both Brahmā to create the world, and Shiva to destroy it.[110] Shiva also is viewed as a manifestation of Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana.[111] In Shaivite myths, on the other hand, Shiva comes to the fore and acts independently and alone to create, preserve, and destroy the world.[112] In one Shaivite myth of the origin of the lingam, both Vishnu and Brahmā are revealed as emanations from Shiva's manifestation as a towering pillar of flame.[113] The Śatarudrīya, a Shaivite hymn, says that Shiva is "of the form of Vishnu". Difference in viewpoints between the two sects is apparent in the story of Śarabha (also spelled "Sharabha"), the name of Shiva's incarnation in the composite form of man, bird, and beast. Shiva assumed that unusual form to chastise Vishnu in his hybrid form as Narasimha, the man-lion, who killed Hiranyakashipu, an ardent devotee of Shiva.[114][115]

Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara).[116] This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.[117] An example of a collaboration story is one given to explain Shiva's epithet Mahābaleśvara, "Lord of Great Strength" (Maha = great, Bala = strength, Īśvara = Lord). This name refers to story in which Rāvaṇa was given a linga as a boon by Shiva on the condition that he carry it always. During his travels, he stopped near the present Deoghar in Bihar to purify himself and asked Narada a devotee of Vishnu in the guise of a Brahmin to hold the linga for him, but after some time Narada put it down on the ground and vanished. When Ravana returned, he could not move the linga, and it is said to remain there ever since.[118]

Notes

  1. ↑ Vaman Shivram Apte, The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1965, ISBN 8120805674), 919.
  2. ↑ Arthur Anthony Macdonell, A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1996, ISBN 81-21507154), 314.
  3. ↑ Sri Vishnu Sahasranama, Ramakrishna Math edition, 47 and 122.
  4. ↑ Swami Chinmayananda's translation of Vishnu sahasranama, 24, (Central Chinmaya Mission Trust).
  5. ↑ Shyam Singh Shashi, Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes (New Delhi: Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1994, ISBN 8170418364), 190.
  6. ↑ Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN 0521438780), 28-29.
  7. ↑ For translation of paśupati as "Lord of Animals" see: Axel Michaels, Hinduism: Past and Present. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004, ISBN 0691089531), 312.
  8. ↑ Flood 1996, 28-29.
  9. ↑ Gavin Flood (ed.), The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003, ISBN 1405132515), 204-205.
  10. ↑ John Keay, India: A History (New York: Grove Press, 2000, ISBN 0802137970), 14.
  11. ↑ Michaels, 216.
  12. ↑ Michaels, 217.
  13. ↑ For Śarva as a name of Shiva see: Apte, 910.
  14. ↑ For archer and arrow associations see Stella Kramrisch, The Presence of Śiva (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981, ISBN 0691019304). Chapter 2, and 32.
  15. ↑ Ram Karan Sharma, Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva (Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1996, ISBN 8170813506), 306.
  16. ↑ For root śarv- see: Apte, 910.
  17. ↑ Swami Chidbhavananda, Siva Sahasranama Stotram (with Navavali) (Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, 1997), 33.
  18. ↑ For general statement of the close relationship, and example shared epithets, see: Sivaramamurti, 11.
  19. ↑ For an overview of the Rudra-Fire complex of ideas, see: Kramrisch, 15-19.
  20. ↑ For quotation "An important factor in the process of Rudra's growth is his identification with Agni in the Vedic literature and this identification contributed much to the transformation of his character as Rudra-Śiva." see: Chakravarti, 17.
  21. ↑ Kramrisch, 18.
  22. ↑ For "Note Agni-Rudra concept fused" in epithets Sasipañjara and Tivaṣīmati see: Sivaramamurti, 45.
  23. ↑ Rig-Veda, Book 6: HYMN XLVIII. Agni and Others Sacred Texts. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  24. ↑ For the parallel between the horns of Agni as bull, and Rudra, see: Chakravarti, 89.
  25. ↑ RV 8.49; 10.155.
  26. ↑ For flaming hair of Agni and Bhairava see: Sivaramamurti, 11.
  27. ↑ For text of RV 2.20.3a as स नो युवेन्द्रो जोहूत्रः सखा िशवो नरामस्तु पाता । and translation as "May that young adorable Indra, ever be the friend, the benefactor, and protector of us, his worshiper" see: Ravi Prakash Arya, and K.L. Joshi, Ṛgveda Saṃhitā (Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2001, ISBN 8171101387), 48, volume 2.
  28. ↑ For text of RV 6.45.17 as यो गृणतामिदासिथापिरूती िशवः सखा । स त्वं न इन्द्र मृलय ॥ and translation as "Indra, who has ever been the friend of those who praise you, and the insurer of their happiness by your protection, grant us felicity" see: Arya & Joshi 2001, 91, volume 3.
  29. ↑ For translation of RV 6.45.17 as "Thou who hast been the singers' Friend, a Friend auspicious with thine aid, As such, O Indra, favour us" see: T.H. Griffith, The Hymns of the Ṛgveda (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973, ISBN 812080046X), 310.
  30. ↑ For text of RV 8.93.3 as स न इन्द्रः सिवः सखाश्चावद् गोमद्यवमत् । उरूधारेव दोहते ॥ and translation as "May Indra, our auspicious friend, milk for us, like a richly-streaming (cow), wealth of horses, kine, and barley" see: Arya & Joshi 2001, 48, volume 2.
  31. ↑ For the bull parallel between Indra and Rudra see: Chakravarti, 89.
  32. ↑ RV 7.19.
  33. ↑ For the lack of warlike connections and difference between Indra and Rudra, see: Chakravarti, 8.
  34. ↑ Keay, xxvii.
  35. ↑ For Shiva as depicted with a third eye, and mention of the story of the destruction of Kama with it, see: Flood 1996, 151.
  36. ↑ For a review of theories about the meaning of tryambaka, see: Chakravarti, 37-39.
  37. ↑ For usage of the word ambaka in classical Sanskrit and connection to the Mahabharata depiction, see: Chakravarti, 38-39.
  38. ↑ For vedic Sanskrit meaning and "having three mothers" as the translation of Max Müller and Macdonell, see: Chakravarti, 37-38.
  39. ↑ For discussion of the problems in translation of this name, and the hypothesis regarding the Ambikās see: E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Mythology (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969), 220.
  40. ↑ For the Ambikā variant, see: Chakravarti, 17, 37.
  41. ↑ Sharma 1996, 290
  42. ↑ Flood 1996, 78.
  43. ↑ For the moon on the forehead see: Chakravarti, 109.
  44. ↑ For śekhara as crest or crown, see: Apte, 926.
  45. ↑ For the moon iconography as marking the rise of Rudra-Shiva, see: Chakravarti, 58.
  46. ↑ For discussion of the linkages between Soma, Moon, and Rudra, and citation to RV 7.74, see: Chakravarti, 57-58.
  47. ↑ Chidbhavananda, 22.
  48. ↑ Sharma 1996, 279.
  49. ↑ Flood 1996, 92, 161.
  50. ↑ Flood 1996, 161.
  51. ↑ Chidbhavananda, 23.
  52. ↑ Eva Rudy Jansen, The Book of Hindu Imagery (Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications BV, 1993, ISBN 9074597076), 44.
  53. ↑ For a review of issues related to the evolution of the bull (Nandin) as Shiva's mount, see: Chakravarti, 99-105.
  54. ↑ For spelling of alternate proper names Nandī and Nandin see: Margaret Stutley, The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography Munshiram Manoharlal, 2003, ISBN 8121510872), 98.
  55. ↑ Sharma 1996, 291
  56. ↑ Kramrisch, 479.
  57. ↑ Anna L. Dallapiccola, Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend (Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0500510881).
  58. ↑ Flood 1996, 151.
  59. ↑ For identification of Mount Kailāsa as the central linga, see: Stutley 1985, 62.
  60. ↑ Keay, 33.
  61. ↑ Flood 1996, 150.
  62. ↑ For quotation regarding Yajur Veda as containing contrary sets of attributes, and marking point for emergence of all basic elements of later sect forms, see: Chakravarti, 7.
  63. ↑ Sharma 1988, 20-21.
  64. ↑ For rud- meaning "cry, howl" as a traditional etymology see: Kramrisch, 5.
  65. ↑ M. Mayrhofer, Concise Etymological Sanskrit Dictionary s.v. "rudra," is provided in: Kramrisch, 5.
  66. ↑ Sharma 1996, 301.
  67. ↑ Sharma 1996, 314.
  68. ↑ Kramrisch, 473.
  69. ↑ For translation of Mahākāla as "Time beyond time" see: Kramrisch, 476.
  70. ↑ For the name Kāla translated as "time; death," see: Kramrisch, 474.
  71. ↑ The name Kāla appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, where it is translated by Ram Karan Sharma as "(The Supreme Lord of) Time." See: Sharma 1996, 280.
  72. ↑ For भैरव as one of the eight forms of Shiva, and translation of the adjectival form as "terrible" or "frightful" see: Apte, 727, left column.
  73. ↑ For Bhairava form as associated with terror see: Kramrisch, 471.
  74. ↑ Sharma 1996, 306
  75. ↑ Kramrisch, 481.
  76. ↑ For adoption of the name Śaṇkara by Shankaracarya see: Kramrisch, 481.
  77. ↑ For dating Shankaracharya as 788-820 C.E. see: Flood 1996, 92.
  78. ↑ For translation of Śambhu as "Causing Happiness" see: Kramrisch, 481.
  79. ↑ For speculation on the possible etymology of this name, see: Chakravarti, 28 (note 7), and 177.
  80. ↑ Flood 1996, 150-151.
  81. ↑ For Shiva's representation as a yogin, see: Chakravarti, 32.
  82. ↑ For name Mahāyogi and associations with yoga, see, Chakravarti, 23, 32, 150.
  83. ↑ For the ascetic yogin form as reflecting Epic period influences, see: Chakravarti, 32.
  84. ↑ For Umāpati, Umākānta, and Umādhava as names in the Shiva Sahasranama literature, see: Sharma 1996, 278.
  85. ↑ For Umā as the oldest name, and variants including Pārvatī, see: Chakravarti, 40.
  86. ↑ For Pārvatī identified as the wife of Shiva, see: Kramrisch, 479.
  87. ↑ For regional name variants of Karttikeya see: Shakti M. Gupta, Karttikeya: The Son of Shiva (Bombay: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1988, ISBN 8170391865), Preface.
  88. ↑ For description of the nataraja form see: Jansen, 110-111.
  89. ↑ For interpretation of the naṭarāja form see: Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1946, ISBN 0691017786), 151-157.
  90. ↑ For names Nartaka (Sanskrit नर्तक) and Nityanarta (Sanskrit नित्यनर्त) as names of Shiva, see: Sharma 1996, 289.
  91. ↑ For prominence of these associations in puranic times, see: Chakravarti, 62.
  92. ↑ For popularity of the nṛtyamūrti and prevalence in South India, see: Chakravarti, 63.
  93. ↑ For iconographic description of the Dakṣiṇāmūrti form, see: Sivaramamurti 1976, 47.
  94. ↑ For description of the form as representing teaching functions, see: Kramrisch, 472.
  95. ↑ For characterization of Dakṣiṇāmūrti as a mostly south Indian form, see: Chakravarti, 62.
  96. ↑ For the deer-throne and the audience of sages as Dakṣiṇāmūrti, see: Chakravarti, 155.
  97. ↑ Ellen Goldberg, The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2002, ISBN 079145326X), 1.
  98. ↑ Goldberg specifically rejects the translation by Frederique Marglin (1989) as "half-man, half-woman," and instead adopts the translation by Marglin as "the lord who is half woman" as given in Marglin 1989, 216; Goldberg, 1.
  99. ↑ For evolution of this story from early sources to the epic period, when it was used to enhance Shiva's increasing influence, see: Chakravarti, 46.
  100. ↑ For the Tripurāntaka form, see: Sivaramamurti 1976, 34
  101. ↑ Michaels, 216.
  102. ↑ Flood 1996, 29.
  103. ↑ Sharma 1996, viii-ix.
  104. ↑ Kramrisch, 71-74.
  105. ↑ Padma Purana 6.236.7-11
  106. ↑ Goswami Tulsidas, Hanuman Chalisa (Chennai, India: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1985, ISBN 8171200869), 5.
  107. ↑ For relatively minor position in Vedic times, and rise in progress by 1000-700 B.C.E. see: Zimmer, 1946, 125, note 2.
  108. ↑ For the rise in popularity of Shiva and Vishnu, and the role of Puranas in promoting sectarian positions, see: Flood 1996, 110-111.
  109. ↑ For Visnu becoming Shiva in Vaishnava myths, see: Zimmer 1946, 125.
  110. ↑ For Vishnu Purana dating of fourth c. C.E. and role of Vishnu as supreme deity, see: Flood 1996, 111.
  111. ↑ For identification of Shiva as a manifestation of Vishnu see: Bhagavata Purana 4.30.23, 5.17.22-23, 10.14.19.
  112. ↑ For predominant role of Shiva in some myths, see: Zimmer 1946, 128.
  113. ↑ For the lingodbhava myth, and Vishnu and Brahmā as emanations of Shiva, see: Zimmer 1946, 128-129.
  114. ↑ For Śarabha as an "animal symplegma" form of Shiva, see: Kramrisch, 481.
  115. ↑ For incarnation in composite form as man, bird, and beast to chastise Narasimha, see: Chakravarti, 49.
  116. ↑ Chakravarti, 54-55.
  117. ↑ For Harirudra citation to Mbh. III.39.76f see: Hopkins, 221.
  118. ↑ For the story of Rāvaṇa and the Mahābaleśvara linga see: Chakravarti, 168.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Apte, Vaman Shivram. The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, Fourth rev. and enlarged ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1965. ISBN 8120805674.
  • Arya, Ravi Prakash, and K.L. Joshi. Ṛgveda Saṃhitā: Sanskrit Text, English Translation. Delhi: Parimal Publications, 2001. ISBN 8171101387 (Set of four volumes).
  • Chakravarti, Mahadev. The Concept of Rudra-Śiva Through The Ages, Second Rev. ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1994. ISBN 8120800532.
  • Chidbhavananda, Swami. Siva Sahasranama Stotram (with Navavali). Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, 1997.
  • Courtright, Paul B. Gaṇeśa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. ISBN 0195057422.
  • Dallapiccola, Anna L. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 0500284024.
  • Flood, Gavin. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 0521438780.
  • Flood, Gavin (ed.). The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1405132515.
  • Goldberg, Ellen. The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2002. ISBN 079145326X.
  • Griffith, T.H. The Hymns of the Ṛgveda, (New Rev. ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973. ISBN 812080046X.
  • Gupta, Shakti M. Karttikeya: The Son of Shiva. Bombay: Somaiya Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1988. ISBN 8170391865.
  • Hopkins, E. Washburn. Epic Mythology. New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969.
  • Jansen, Eva Rudy. The Book of Hindu Imagery. Havelte, Holland: Binkey Kok Publications BV, 1993. ISBN 9074597076.
  • Keay, John. India: A History. New York: Grove Press, 2000. ISBN 0802137970.
  • Kramrisch, Stella. The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981. ISBN 0691019304.
  • Macdonell, Arthur Anthony. A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1996. ISBN 8121507154.
  • Michaels, Axel. Hinduism: Past and Present. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. ISBN 0691089531.
  • Sarup, Lakshman. The Nighaṇṭu and The Nirukta. Reprint: Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2002. ISBN 8120813812.
  • Sharma, Ram Karan. Elements of Poetry in the Mahābhārata, Second ed., Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988. ISBN 8120805445.
  • Sharma, Ram Karan. Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of Śiva. Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1996. ISBN 8170813506.
  • Shashi, Shyam Singh. Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes. New Delhi: reprint Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 1994. ISBN 8170418364.
  • Stutley, Margaret. The Illustrated Dictionary of Hindu Iconography. First Indian Edition: Munshiram Manoharlal, 2003. ISBN 8121510872.
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  • Zimmer, Heinrich. Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1946. ISBN 0691017786.

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