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Shiva (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), or
Siva, is
one of the main Deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the paramount
lord by the Saivite sects of India. Shiva is one of the most
complex
gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities.
He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the
symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the
wrathful avenger.
Shiva was originally known as Rudra, a minor deity addressed
only three times in the Rig Veda. He gained importance
after absorbing some of the characteristics of an earlier
fertility god and became
Shiva, part of the trinity, or trimurti, with
Vishnu and Brahma.
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The Cult
of Shiva
Shaivism, or Saivism, is one of the most popular Hindu cults.
It embraces many theological practices, although all agree on
three principles: pati. or God; pasu, or
individual soul; and pasa, or bonds that confine the soul
to earthly existence. The aim of Shaivites is to rid their
souls of bondage and achieve shivata, the "nature of
Shiva". They achieve this through ascetic practices and
penances, with an emphasis on yoga and renunciation. Many
Shaivites become wandering sadhus, or hold men. Shiavites mark
their foreheads with three horizontal marks representing the
three aspects of
Shiva.
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Shiva wears a snake coiled around his upper arms and neck
symbolizing the power he has over the most deadly of creatures.
Snakes are also used to symbolize the Hindu dogma of
reincarnation. Their natural process of molting or shedding
their skin is symbolic of the human souls transmigration of
bodies from one life to another.
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Thiruvalangadu,
north of Madras, is associated with the dance contest between
Shiva and his consort in the form of
Kali. According to legend,
Shiva danced vigorously, and to subdue
Kali, threw up his leg in the rhythm of the dance. Being a
lady,
Kali could not repeat this feat and stood dismayed. This
dance and the subjugation of
Kali, are described in the hymns of the female saint-poet
Karaikkal Ammai. |
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He
often holds a trident, which represents the Hindu trinity of
Brahma,
Shiva and
Vishnu. It is also said to represent the threefold
qualities of nature: creation, preservation and destruction,
although preservation is usually attributed to Vishnu.
As
the destroyer
Shiva is dark and terrible, encircled with serpents and a
crown of skulls.
In
the pictures to the right and left
Shiva wears sacred Rudraksha beads, perhaps a reference to
his earlier name Rudra. |
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The crescent moon
Shiva wears on his crown, besides being a symbol of Kama the
goddess of nightly love, also represents the bull, Nandi, a
fertility symbol.
Shiva holds a skull that represents samsara, the cycle of
life, death and rebirth. Samsara is a central belief in
Hinduism.
Shiva himself also represents this complete cycle because he
is Mahakala the Lord of Time, destroying and creating all
things.
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Shiva is represented in a variety of forms. One such form
is as a lingam. The ovoid shape is a representation of the
absolute perfection of
Lord Shiva - if that which is beyond form had to be given
form, the lingam would be the closest form to the mystical
experience of the absolute perfection of
Shiva.
The Story of
the Shiva Lingam:
Shiva saw not sense in the transitory pleasures of life, so
he rejected samsara, smeared his body with ash, closed his eyes
and performed austerities.
Shiva's tapas generated so much heat that his body
transformed into a pillar of fire - a blazing lingam that
threatened to destroy the whole world. The gods did not know
how to control Shiva's fire.
Suddenly there appeared a
yoni - the divine vessel of the mother-goddess. It caught the
fiery lingam and contained its heat, thus saving the cosmos from
untimely destruction. |
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Shiva also takes the form of Ardhanari, his androgynous
form. The right side of the sculpture is
Shiva and the left side is
Parvati. The attributes of each are split directly down the
middle.
Another example of
Shiva's apparent synthesis of male and female attributes is
seen in his earrings. He wears one earring in the style of a
man and the other as a female as shown in the two different
earrings
Shiva wears.
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In
the picture to the left you can clearly see
Shiva's third eye. The third eye is a symbol of higher
consciousness. It is also something with which he can destroy
his enemies "with fire." He can also kill all the gods and other
creatures during the periodic destruction of the universe.
Shiva's third eye first appeared when
Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes,
therefore plunging the world into darkness and putting it in
danger of destruction.
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