Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva

Shiva (also Siva) (pronounced /ˈʃiːvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva; IPA: [ˈɕiʋə]; meaning "Auspicious one"), is a major Hindu deity, and one aspect of Trimurti.[2] In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God.[3]

Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[4] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Shakti are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.[3]

Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.

The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, śiva) is an adjective meaning "auspicious, kind, gracious".[5][6] As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One", used as a euphemistic name for Rudra.[6] In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. The adjective śiva, meaning "auspicious", is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.[7] In the Rig Veda, Indra uses this word to describe himself several times. (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3)

The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect.[8] It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.[9]

Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", or "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."[10] 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".[11]

The name Shiva, in one interpretation, is speculated to have derived from the Dravidian or Tamil word Siva, meaning "to be red", as a loan translation of Rudra, "the red".[dubious – discuss][12]

Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great God"; mahā = Great + deva = God),[13][14] Maheśhvara ("Great Lord"; mahā = Great + īśhvara = Lord),[15][16] and Parameśhvara ("Supreme Lord").[17]

There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva.[18] The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradition.[19] Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (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.[20][21]

Historical development
For the early history, see Rudra.

The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[22][23] Some 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.[24] How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented.[25] Axel Michaels explains the composite nature of Shaivism as follows:

Like Vişņu, Śiva is also a high god, who gives his name to a collection of theistic trends and sects: Śaivism. Like Vaişņavism, the term also implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.[26]


An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.[27] The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri.[28] Khandoba has been assimilated as a form of Shiva himself,[29] in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam.[27][30] Khandoba's varied associations also include an identification with Surya [27] and Karttikeya.[31]
[edit] The Pashupati seal
Seal discovered at Mohenjodaro shows a seated figure surrounded by animals.

A seal discovered during the excavation of Mohenjo-daro has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure.[32] This Pashupati (Lord of animal-like beings)[33] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.[34] 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. However, this claim is not without its share of critics, with some academics like Gavin Flood[32][35] and John Keay[36] characterizing them as unfounded.
[edit] Rudra
Main article: Rudra
Three-headed Shiva, Gandhara, 2nd century CE

Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra[37], 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 and 1100 BCE based on linguistic and philological evidence.[38] 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.[39] 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, but the term Shiva is used as a epithet for Indra, Mitra and Agni many times.

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.[40]

Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)[41], and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.[42] This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.[43] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means "to injure" or "to kill"[44], and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness".[43] The names Dhanvin ("Bowman")[45] and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")[45][46] also refer to archery.
[edit] 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.[47]
[edit] Agni

Rudra and Agni have a close relationship.[48][49] 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.[50] 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."[51] 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.[52]

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.[53] Agni is said to be a bull[54], and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned.[55][56] In medieval sculpture, both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.[57]
[edit] Indra

The Indologist Koenraad Elst proposes that Shiva of Puranic Hinduism is a continuation of the Vedic Indra.[citation needed] He gives several reasons for his hypothesis. Both Shiva and Indra are known for having a thirst for Soma. Both are associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the Aum sound, and the Supreme Self. In the Rig Veda, the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3,[58] 6.45.17,[59][60] and 8.93.3 [61])

* Third eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes.[62] There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name Tryambakam (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in many scriptural sources.[63] 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".[64] 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.[65][66] 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.[67] Other related translations have been "having three wives or sisters" or were 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.[68]

* Crescent moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon.[69] The epithet Chandraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = "moon", śekhara = "crest, crown")[70][71][72] 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.[73] 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.[74]

* Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma).[75] 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.[76] These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.[77] One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.[78]

* Matted hair: Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair"[79], and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair"[80] or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion".[81] A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly.[82]

* Blue throat: The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit नीलकण्ठ; nīla = "blue", kaṇtha = "throat")[83][84] refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.[85][86] (See Halāhala.) The Hari Vanśa Purana, on the other hand, attributes the colour of Shiva's throat to an episode in which Vishnu compels Shiva to fly after taking him by the throat and nearly strangling him.[87]

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

* Sacred Ganga: The Ganga river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gaṅgādhara ("bearer of the river Gaṅgā") refers to this feature.[88][89] The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair.[90]

* Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin,[75] an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.[91]

* Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.[92]

* Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula): Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.[75]

* Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (Sanskrit: ḍamaru).[93][94] This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation[95] known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum.[96] This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.[97]

* Nandī: Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana).[98][99] Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati, or Pashupati (Sanskrit: पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle"[100] and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.[101]

* Gaṇa: The Gaṇas (Devanagari: गण) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. 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".[102]

* Mount Kailāsa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode.[75] In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.[103]

* Varanasi: Varanasi (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.[104]

[edit] Forms and depictions

According to Gavin Flood, "Śiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox," whose attributes include opposing themes.[105] The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.
[edit] Destroyer versus benefactor
Shiva carrying the corpse of his first consort 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."[106] In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror", as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance.[107] 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".[108] 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".[109] R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "terrible".[110] 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."[111] Kramrisch translates it as "the ravisher".[86] Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "time", and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "great time", which ultimately destroys all things.[112][113][114] Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "terrible" or "frightful"[115], is a fierce form associated with annihilation.[116]

In contrast, the name Śaṇkara (Sanskrit: शङ्कर), "beneficent"[43] or "conferring happiness"[117] reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher Śaṇkara (c. 788-820 CE), who is also known as Shankaracharya.[118][119] The name Śambhu (Sanskrit: शम्भु), "causing happiness", also reflects this benign aspect.[120][121]