Information AboutShiva |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SHIVA | |
| destroyer gods | |
| hindu gods | |
| shaivism | |
| tamil deities | |
| triune gods | |
| sanskrit words and phrases | |
| aspects of shiva | |
This article is about the Hindu God Śiva. For other uses of the word, see Śiva (disambiguation) depicting Lord Shiva meditating]] Shiva ( transliteration, pronounced as "ʃιvə") is a form of Ishvara or God in the later Vedic scriptures of Hinduism . Śiva is the supreme God in Shaivism . , Rajas , and Tamas . In some views Śiva is the third form of God as one of the Trimurti (popularly called the "Hindu trinity"). In the Trimurti, Śiva is the destroyer, while Brahma and Vishnu are creator and preserver, respectively. However, even though he represents destruction, he is viewed as a positive force (The Destroyer of Evil ), since creation follows destruction. However, according to Saivism, Lord Shiva has five jobs-1.Creator, 2.Preserver, 3.destroyer, 4.hiding the sins, karma, etc. of life and, most importantly, 5.blessing. Other views contend that Śiva produces Vishnu who produces Brahma and thus creation begins, within which the cycle of the Trimurti exists. Śiva also assumes many other roles, including the Lord of Ascetics (Mahadeva), the Lord of Boon s ( Rudra ), and also the Universal Divinity (Mahesvara). Worshippers of Śiva are called Śaivite s who consider Śiva as representing the Ultimate Reality (see Ishta-Deva for fuller discussion). Śiva is usually represented by the ''Śiva linga'' (or Lingam ), usually depicted as a clay mound with three horizontal stripes on it, or visualised as a flaming pillar. In anthropomorphised images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation on Mount Kailash , his traditional abode. INTRODUCTION in Madurai , India is one of the most famous temples dedicated to Lord Siva.]] Shiva is referred to as ''the good one'' or the ''auspicious one''. Shiva - Rudra is considered to be the destroyer of evil and sorrow. Shiva - Shankara is the doer of good. Shiva is 'tri netra' or three eyed, and is 'neela kantha' - blue necked (having consumed poison, i.e., Halahala to save the world from destruction). Shiva - Nataraja is the Divine Cosmic Dancer. Shiva - Ardhanareshvara is both man and woman. He is both static and dynamic and is both creator and destroyer. He is the oldest and the youngest, he is the eternal youth as well as the infant. He is the source of fertility in all living beings. He has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva is the greatest of renouncers as well as the ideal lover. He destroys evil and protects good. He bestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. He is omnipresent and resides in everyone as pure consciousness. Shiva is inseparable from Shakti - Parvati the daughter of Himavaan - Haimavati. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva, the two are one - or the absolute state of being - consciousness and bliss. The five mantras that constitute Shiva's body are ''Sadyojaata, Vaamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha'' and ''Eesaana''. ''Eesaana'' is Shiva not visible to the human eye, ''Sadyojaata'' is Shiva realized in his basic reality (as in the element earth, in the sense of smell, in the power of procreation and in the mind). The Vishnudharmottara Purana of the 6th century CE assigns a face and an element to each of the above mantras. (Sadyojaata - earth, Vaamadeva - water, Aghora - fire, Tatpurusha - air and Eesaana - space). The names of the deified faces with their elements are Mahadeva (earth), Bhairava (fire), Nandi (air), Uma (water) and Sadasiva (space). , Delhi ]] In Shiva temples, Navagraha (9 planets), Ganesh, Skantha, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Vishnu, Brahma, Ashtathig balar, Durga, Bairava, and all the other Hindu gods will have the place, denoting the entire gods are uniquely said to Lord Shiva, so that only he is in a shapeless form (i.e. in linga form). There are five different avataras of Shiva: # Bhairava भैरव # Nataraja नतरज # Dakshinamurthy दक्षिनमुर्थ्य् # Somaskandha सोमस्कन्ध # Pitkchadanar पित्क्चदनर् In most of the South Indian temples, we can see all the five suprems in a Shiva temple. All the five characteristics in a single face is said to be Sadashiva. Śiva is not limited to the personal characteristics as he is given in many images and can transcend all attributes. Hence, Śiva is often worshipped in an abstract manner, as God without form, in the form of Linga . This view is similar in some ways to the view of God in Semitic religions such as Islam or Judaism , which hold that God has no personal characteristics. Hindus, on the other hand, believe that God can transcend all personal characteristics yet can also have personal characteristics for the grace of the embodied human devotee. Personal characteristics are a way for the devotee to focus on God. Śiva is also described as ''Anaadi'' (without beginning/birth) and ''Ananta'' (without end/death). According to the , will be born and this aspect is identical to Him. The tale about Lord Śiva being born and immediately splitting into two halves of male and female indicates the origin of the Ardhanarishvara - the union of substance and energy, the Being and his Shakti (force). Śiva is the supreme , the Bull. His attendant is named Bhadra . Śiva is usually represented by the ''Śiva linga'' (or Lingam ), usually depicted as a clay mound with three horizontal stripes on it, or visualised as a flaming pillar. In anthropomorphised images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation on Mount Kailash (reputed to be the same as the Mount Kailash in the south of Tibet , near Manasarovar Lake) in the Himalaya , his traditional abode. SHIVA: SUPREME GOD OF ALL IN SAIVISM , Hampi ]] Śiva is the supreme God of Śaivism , one of the four main branches of Hinduism today (the others being Vaishnavism , Shaktism and Smartism ). Śiva is usually represented by the ''Śiva linga'' (or Lingam ), usually depicted as a clay mound with three horizontal stripes on it, or visualised as a flaming pillar. In anthropomorphised images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation on Mount Kailash (reputed to be the same as the Mount Kailash in the south of Tibet , near Manasarovar Lake) in the Himalaya , his traditional abode. Lord Shiva is the God of all and is worshipped by all, from Devas such as Brahma , Indra , by Asuras like Bana , Ravana , by humans like Adi Shankara , Nayanars , by creatures such as Jatayu , an eagle, Vali , a monkey, and the list goes on and on. Furthermore, the site states that a variety of people of different backgrounds and qualities worship the Lord shiva, with many temples having histories of even cranes, bees, elephants, (see Kalahasti ), spiders, snakes, worshipping the Lord and getting blessed and concludes by stating that the Lord as the Supreme blesses anyone who worships in sincere devotion as there is no discrimination on who the seeker is. Major deities, Rishis , planets, worshipped Shiva and also established Shivalingas in various places in India. # Lord Ganesh at Pillayar patti (100 km from Madurai, India) # The four Vedas worshipped Shiva at Thirumaraikaadu (i.e., Vedaaranyam near Tanjore) # Lord Skanda at Thiruchendur (200 km from Madurai, India) # Lord Rama (avatar of Vishnu) in Rameswaram (India) # Lord Vishnu at Kancheepuram (Kacheeswarar Temple) # Lord Parasuramar (avatar of Vishnu) at Sreesailam, Karnataka and also at Chennai (Lord Parasurama at Lingeshwara Temple, Iyanavaram ) # Goddess Lakshmi (wife of Vishnu) at Tirupachethi (50 km from Madurai). # Lord Sun at Srivilliputhur (Vaidhyanathaar Temple 100 km from Madurai) # Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu at Tiruvannamalai (180 km from Chennai) # Lord Brahma at Vrinchipuram (155 km from Chennai, 15 km from Vellore) # Lord Raagu and Lord Kethu at Kaalahasthi (50 km from Tirupathi, AP, India) # Lord Indra at Madurai (Soma Sundareeswar Temple) # The Rishi Agastya at Papanasam (100 km from Tirunelveli, TN, India) # Goddess Parvati at Kancheepuram (Ekambeeswarar Temple, 70 km from Chennai, India) # Lord Shani at Thirnallar (near Kaaraikal, Pondicherry) # Lord Moon at Thingalur (near Tanjore) # Lord Shiva and Sani at Thirvidaimaruthoor (near Kumbakonam) # Lord Brahma at Kumbakoonam (Kumbeeswarar, near Tanjore) CONSORTS, AND THE BURNING OF KAMADEVA ]] Śiva's consort is ) to win over Śiva's attention. Her penance brought Kamadeva and his consort Rati to the scene, whereupon they attempted to interrupt Shiva's meditation with Kamadeva's arrow of passion. It caused Śiva to break his Samadhi , but he was so infuriated by Kamadeva's assault that he burned the Deva of passion to ashes on the spot with his glare. It was only after Rati's pleading that Śiva agreed to reincarnate Kamadeva. Parvati would try again without Kamadeva's aid to win over Shiva, and this time, through her devotion and the persuasion of other rishis, yogis, and devas, he eventually accepted her. THE SONS OF SHIVA Śiva and Parvati are the parents of Karttikeya and Ganesha . Ganesha, the elephant-headed God of wisdom, acquired his head by offending Śiva, by refusing to allow him to enter the house while Parvati was bathing. Śiva sent his ganas to subdue Ganesha, but to no avail. As a last resort, he bade Vishnu confuse the stalwart guardian using his powers of Maya_(Hinduism) . Then, at the right moment, Śiva hurled Trishula and cut Ganesha's head from his body. Upon finding her guardian dead, Parvati was enraged and called up the many forms of Shakti to devour Shiva's ganas and wreak havoc in Swargaloka. To pacify her, Śiva brought forth an elephant's head(from North direction) from the forest and set it upon the boy's shoulders, reviving him. Shiva then took Ganesha as his own son and placed him in charge of his ganas. Thus, Ganesha's title is Ganapati , Lord of the Ganas. In another version, Parvati presented her child to Shani (the planet Saturn ), whose gaze burned his head to ashes. Brahma bade Śiva to replace with the first head he could find, which happened to be that of an elephant. Karttikeya is a six-headed god and was conceived to kill the demon Tarakasura , who had proven invincible against other gods. Tarakasura had terrorised the devas of Swargaloka so thoroughly that they came to Śiva pleading for his help. Shiva thus assumed a form with five faces, a divine spark emanating from the third eye of each. He gave the sparks to Agni and Vayu to carry to Ganga and thereupon release. In Ganga's river, the sparks were washed downstream into a pond and found by the Karittikas , five forest maidens. The sparks transformed into children and were suckled by the Karttikas, When Śiva, Parvati, and the other celestials arrived on the scene, there was a debate of who the child belonged to. Further, Parvati, who was the most likely to care for the child, was puzzled as to how she would suckle five children. Suddenly, the child merged into a single being and Shiva blessed him with five separate names for his five sets of parents to settle the debate. The child, despite having been born from five sparks, had a sixth head, a unifying principle which brought together the five aspects of his father's power into a single being. From here, the campaign in which Karttikeya would vanquish Tarakasura and liberate Swargaloka began. ATTRIBUTES OF LORD SHIVA The Third Eye: The third eye of Shiva on his forehead is the eye of wisdom. It is the eye that looks beyond the obvious. The third eye of Shiva also popularly associated with is untamed energy which destroys the evil doers and sins. The Cobra Necklace: Shiva is beyond the powers of death and is often the sole support in case of distress. He swallowed the poison kalketu for the wellbeing of the Universe. The deadly cobra represents that “death” aspect whom Shiva has thoroughly conquered. The cobras around his neck also represent the dormant energy, called Kundalini, the serpent power. Matted hair (Jata): The flow of his matted hair represents him as the lord of wind or Vayu, who is the subtle form of breath present in all living beings. Thus it is Shiva which is the lifeline for all living being. He is Pashupatinath. Crescent: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the fifth day (panchami) moon. This is placed near the fiery third eye and this shows the power of Soma , the sacrificial offering, which is the representative of moon. It means that Shiva possesses the power of procreation along with the power of destruction. The moon is also a measure of time; thus Crescent also represent his control over time. Sacred Ganga: Ganga, the holiest of the holy rivers, flows from the matted hair of Shiva. Shiva allowed an outlet to the great river to traverse the earth and bring purifying water to human being (See: Origin Of Ganga ). The flowing water is one of the five elements which compose the whole Universe and from which earth arises. Ganga also denotes fertility one of the creative aspect of the Rudra. The Drum: The drum in the hand of Shiva is the originator of the universal word ॐ which is the source of all the language and expression. The Vibhuti: Vibhuti is a three line of ashes drawn on the forehead that represents the essence of our Being, which remains after all the malas (impurities of ignorance, ego and action) and vasanas (likes and dislikes, attachments to one's body, world, worldly fame, worldly enjoyments, etc.) have been burnt in the fire of knowledge. Hence vibhuti is revered as the very form of Shiva and signifies the Immortality of the soul and manifested glory of the Lord. The Ashes: Shiva smears his body with cemetery ashes points the philosophy of the life and death and the fact that death is the ultimate reality of the life. Tiger skin: The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti , the goddess of power and force. Shiva is beyond and above any kind of force. He is the master of Shakti. The tiger skin that he wears symbolises victory over every force. Tiger also represent lust. Thus sitting on Tiger skin, Shiva indicates that he has conquered lust. The Elephant & Deer Skin: Shiva also wears elephant skins. Elephants represent pride. Wearing elephant skin, Shiva indicates that he has conquered pride. Similarly deer represent the jumping of minds (flickering mind). Shiva wears deer skin which indicates that he has controlled the mind perfectly. Rudraksh: Lord Shiva wears wrist bands of Rudraksha which are supposed to have medicinal properties. The Trident: The three head of Shiva’s Trishul symbolizes three functions of the triad – the creation, the sustenance and the destruction. The Trident, in the hand of Shiva indicates that all the three aspects are in his control. As a weapon the trident represents the instrument of punishment to the evil doer on all the three planes – spiritual, subtle and physical. Another interpretation of the three headed trident is its head represent the past, the present and the future. The trident in the hand of Rudra indicates his control over the present the past and the future. OTHER FORMS AND LEGENDS , Rajas , and Tamas . Additionally, Śiva can also mean, "the Auspicious One." He is often depicted as the husband of Uma or Parvati . In the process of manifestation, Lord Shiva is the primeval consciousness and creates the other members of the Trimurti . He is symbolized by the wisdom of the Serpent. He has many other names, for example ''Shankara'' and ''Mahadev''. Śiva gave ) Pashupata , with the stipulation of using it against someone of equal strength, for the weapon would otherwise lay waste to the mortal realm. According to the foundation of Kaalism, the goddess Kali came into existence when Śiva looked into himself. She is considered his mirror image, the divine Adi-shakti or primordial energy while he is the primordial substance. In another version, she had gone out to destroy the Asuras storming Swargaloka, but became enraged and erratic. To calm her, Śiva went and lay down on the ground in front of her path. When she stepped on him, she looked down and realized that she had just stepped on Śiva. Taken aback by his actions, she bit her tongue and calmed her fury. As Nataraja , Śiva is the Lord of the Dance, and symbolises the dance of the Universe, with all its heavenly bodies and natural laws complimenting and balancing each other. At times, he is also symbolized as doing his great dance of destruction, called Tandava , at the time of ''pralaya'', or dissolution of the universe at the end of every Kalpa . Some Hindus, especially Smartas , believe Śiva to be one of many different forms of the universal Atman , or Brahman . Others see him as the one true God from whom all the other deities and principles are emanations. This view is usually related to the Bhakti sects of Śaivism. Although he is defined as a destroyer (or rather re-creator), Śiva, along with Vishnu, is considered the most benevolent God. One of his names is ''Aashutosh'', he who is easy to please, ''or'', he who gives greatly in return for little. Unlike Vishnu , Śiva does not traditionally have Avatar s. However, several persons have been claimed as embodiments of him, such as Adi Shankara , and there are instances in many legends and teachings where Śiva manifests spontaneously to intervene in human events. Some people also consider Hanuman to be an aspect of Śiva. Shiva is the ultimate reality who is the nature of Bliss itself and all complete in Himself. He is beyond description, beyond all manifestation, beyond limitation of form, time and space. He is eternal, infinite, all pervading, all knowing and all powerful. SCHOOLS AND VIEWS OF ŚAIVISM statue depicts Śiva (on the left) and his wife Uma (on the right}. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. ]] Nayanars (or Nayanmars), saints from Southern India , were mostly responsible for development of Śaivism in the first millennium. Of the schools today, many Śaivite sects are in Kashmir and Northern India, with Lingayat s and Virasaivas from Southern India. The Saiva Siddhanta is a major Śaivite theory developed in Southern India . Śiva's life is often depicted in short stage dramas to help his devotees (particularly nayanmars) better understand his aspects. This is greatly explained in the Thiruvilayadalpuram . This form is especially prevalent in South India, particularly Tamil Nadu . In , is ascribed to him. This Tantra , contemporarily available only in parts, is praised in chapter 3 of the Kularnava Tantra as 'the secret of secrets'. Śiva is an icon of , especially with the linga as the icon of fertility, piety and the power of Siva. Apart from Shaivism , Śiva also inspires Shaktism in Hinduism, which is strong in Assam and West Bengal , the eastern states of India. Shakti is the root power, force of Śiva. Shakti, his prime consort, is the female half of the Supreme Godhead. It is the root of the life force of every living being, and the entire Universe . The bond of absolute love, devotion and passion which embodies the existence of Śiva and Shakti, is considered the Ultimate Godhead form by itself, that a man is an incomplete half without a woman, who is the Ardhangini , (the Other Half) of his existence and power. The pilgrimage to Amarnath (just over the Chinese line of the Himalayas, deep in the highest mountains of the world, on Mount Kailash ) and Anantnag in Kashmir are the most difficult and dangerous, yet exalted pilgrimages for Hindus of all sects, ethnic origins and classes. The glaciers in sacred caves forms the Sivalinga or the natural embodiment of his linga. ORIGIN THEORIES Śiva does not occur in the Vedic hymns as the name of a god, but as an adjective in the sense of "kind", or "auspicious". One of his synonyms, however, is the name of a Vedic deity, the attributes and nature of which show a good deal of similarity to the post-Vedic Rudra , the god of the roaring Storm , usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents, as a fierce, destructive deity, terrible as a wild beast, whose fearful arrows cause death and disease to men and cattle. He is also called Bapardin (wearing his hair spirally braided like a shell), one of the synonyms of Śiva. The Atharva Veda mentions several other names of the same god, some of which appear even placed together, as in one passage where Bhava , Sarva , Rudra and Pasupati are conjunct. Some were possibly the names under which the same deity was already worshipped in different parts of Northern India. This was certainly the case in later times, since it is expressly stated in one of the later works of the Brahmana period that Sarva was used by the Eastern people and Bhava by a Western tribe. It is also worthy of note that in the same work, composed at a time when the Vedic triad of Agni, Indra-Vayu and Surya was still recognized, attempts are made to identify the Śiva of many names with Agni; and that in one passage in the Mahabharata it is stated that the Brahmin s said that Agni was Śiva. Chola Statue of Nataraja at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art , New York City]] It is in his character as destroyer that Śiva holds his place in the triad, and in this he is identified with the Vedic Rudra. Another very important function appears, however, to have been assigned to him early on. In his modern worship, the role of a destroyer is especially exhibited in his consort Mahakali, whereas Śiva becomes a generative power, symbolized in the, ( Lingam ). The non-Aryans had worshipped the linga as a phallic symbol, but its relation to the Vedic Rudra is less certain. Plausible conjecture has been put forth that linga symbol was originally prevalent among the non-Aryan population and later introduced into the worship of Śiva due to similarities. On the other hand, there can be little doubt that Śiva, in his generative faculty, is the representative of another Vedic god whose nature and attributes account for this particular feature of the modern deity Pushan . The Vedic Śiva was frequently invoked as the lord of nourishment, to bestow food, wealth and other blessings. With the divine ). Additionally, he has the epithet Bapardin, as has Rudra and the later Śiva, and is called Par Upa, or guardian of cattle, whence the latter derives his name Parupati. Parupa is a powerful and even fierce deity, who with his goad or golden spear, smites the foes of his worshipper, and thus in this respect offers some similarity to Rudra, which may have favored the fusion of the two gods into a monotheistic conception of God as Śiva. In the mid 20th century, scholars like Ragula Sangiruthiyayan attempted to show how the various ancient religious practices were consolidated together by the rigorous effort of the Rishi Chanakya during the Gupta Dynasty . According to this school of thought, Rudra and other hunter and forest divinities were collectively brought into the charecteristics of one Godly personage: Śiva. This God was then accepted as originating from Brahman. Similarly, various other smaller gods of southern and western india were related to one single God, namely Vishnu whom then related to Rama of Aryan tribes who also was accepted as created by Brahma. There is however, the matter of the Pashupati (Lord of the Beasts) emblem on a seal discovered in Mohenjodaro , a major city-state in the Indus Valley Civilization . It puts forward a strong case for Shiva to be a God not of Indo-Aryan roots, but rooted in the people of the Indus valley, and the indigenous Dravidian and tribal peoples who inhabited the subcontinent. Shiva occupies an exalted, supreme position in Hinduism , making the case that Hinduism is not an Aryan religion, but a synthesis of Aryan, Dravidian and other influences. Also see: Jyotirlinga References to Śiva as female may have these origins:- (1) Europeans guessing wrong from the ''-a'' on the end of his name. (2) Sometimes, his Consort Pārvatī is called Shivā (with the end vowel long). NAMES OF <!--ŚIVA-->SHIVA The Shiva Purana lists 108 names for Lord Śiva and the Shiva Sahasranama lists 1008 names. Each of his names, in Sanskrit , signifies a certain attribute of his. Some of his names are listed below
SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|