In India, Shiva is still revered. God is eternal, personifying the beginning of everything. His religion is considered the oldest in the world. Then the masculine principle was considered passive, eternal and static, and the feminine - active and material.
In our article, we will take a closer look at the image of this ancient deity. Many have seen his images. But only a few people of Western culture know the details of his life.
Historical data
Researchers believe that the history of the god Shiva is rooted in Harappan civilization. This is the culture of the ancient Indians who lived in the lands of North India. They were supplanted by the Aryans, who came in the third millennium BC into the valley of the Indus River. Today, the ruins of their cities are found in the upper reaches, in Pakistan.
We know the seal of Pashupati and some lingams (we will talk about the meaning of this word later) of this period. They were among the finds in Monheggio Daro and Harappe.
With the advent of the Aryans, the formation of a new religion takes place. This process is comparable to the imposition of Christianity to the Gentiles in the first centuries of our era. Now a new image appears, with which Shiva merges - the god Rudra, the fierce and cruel patron of the storm, war and devastation.
Isn't history tending to repeat itself? Good pagan gods, such as the Greek Pan and satyrs, become unclean in the new and bright religion. The Aryans believed that it was not sinful to kill "worshipers of the Lingam."
In the Vedas, Shiva is mentioned in the Rigveda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. In total, the name of Rudra has more than five hundred repetitions.
However, there were also supporters of the old traditions, to which the opponents of the Brahmin difficulties joined. The point was to worship the gods all your life, if you did not receive an award for this even in the next rebirth? After all, the Vedas say that only brahmanas can achieve salvation.
It is noteworthy that in some sects of the new current (Shramans), one of the main attributes of the ritual was considered the skull of a murdered brahman.
In one of the Upanishads (comments on the Vedas) is the most complete and systematic content of the philosophy of Shaivism. This treatise consists of one hundred and thirteen texts and is called Svetasvatara.
Picture
How is Shiva portrayed? God in his most ancient incarnation had the form of a lingam with a tripundra (three white horizontal stripes). This sign designated the three prisons of the human soul or the three Huns that make up the Mayan world.
Shiva was later portrayed as sitting in a lotus position or dancing.
In the first version, he had pale skin, was with a blue neck and four arms. Usually a god sits in a lotus position on a tiger skin, and the skin of an elephant or a tiger is thrown over his shoulders. A third eye is always open in his forehead. In addition, there is a snake with him. She is thrown over her shoulder, hanging on her neck or in the form of bracelets on her arms and legs. Shiva has two different earrings. In one ear, male, and in the second female.
The second option is dancing Shiva. Nritya-Murthy (figurine) can have a different number of arms, be armed or peaceful, but there is always a defeated dwarf under the feet of a dancing god. This is the demon Apasmar Purush, symbolizing the illusory world in which we live.
Attributes
Like many other gods of the Hindu pantheon, Shiva has many attributes. Traveling around this country, you will see various images of deities. In order to better understand the culture of India, it is worth a little understanding of its symbolism.
Shiva has many weapons - Ajagawa (special bow), Bhindipala (dart), Gada (wand), Khadga (sword), Khatwang (club with a skull), Khetaka (shield) and many others.
Also an important attribute is the trident of the god Shiva - Trishula. It symbolizes the three stages of evolution, three gunas, three faces of time and other concepts.
There are a number of ritual objects. Chillum (special smoking pipe), Shankha (shell), Mudra (position of hands), Kaumudi (jug with immortal nectar), Kapala (bowl in the shape of a skull), Damaru (drum symbolizing the first vibration of the Universe from which everything came from), Akshamala (special rosary).
Shiva is also characterized by a number of energies: Agni (fire), Ganges (heavenly river, which he pacified) and Shakti (power). And some animals: Naga (snake), skins of an elephant and a tiger, Nandin (a white bull), Krishnamriga (doe) and Ankusha (elephant calved).
Thus, we see that Shiva has attributes of the spheres of knowledge, which are called to raise a person from our world to the highest.
A family
The Indian god Shiva originally married Sati, or Shakti, the daughter of Daksha. But there is a legend according to which the girl self-immolated due to resentment against her father.
But after she is reborn in a new incarnation. Now her name is Parvati (Goryanka) and her father is the Himalayan mountain range. It is she who is most often portrayed as the wife of the god Shiva.
They have two sons - Ganesha (the elephant-headed god of wisdom) and Skanda (the deity of war, who has six heads and twelve arms and legs), as well as the daughter of Manashi.
The names
In the western tradition, the Indian god Shiva is known only by this name. However, Hindus know more than a thousand words, which are the epithets of a deity.
Among them are “Terrible” and “Beautiful”, “Majestic” and “Tattered”, “King of Lingam”, “Overcoming Death”, “Lord of Creatures” and many others.
The most significant and famous are 108 of them. They are pronounced in the form of prayer and are designed to purify the requestor's thoughts, as well as contribute to his exaltation.
Functions, rituals, holidays
The many-armed god Shiva is the supreme deity in Shaivism. It is revered as the trinity of the evolution of the universe - birth, growth and death. It is also believed that it will destroy the present world at the end of the mahayuga so that a new one is created in its place.
He patronizes the healers, gave the people the Om mantra and Sanskrit. In addition, Shiva is always accompanied by a retinue of demons and spirits.
The two main rituals associated with this god are called the Panchabrahma Mantra and Rudra Sukta. They are held on the most significant holiday of the year, dedicated to Shiva. Mahashivaratri is celebrated at the end of February and means the night of the wedding of Shiva and Parvati.
Most famous temple
In the town of Bajnath at the beginning of the thirteenth century, the temple of the god Shiva was built. He is called one of his names - Vaidyanath (patron saint of doctors).
Once upon a time there was a sanctuary of God, but local merchants decided to perpetuate their names by constructing a magnificent building. The names of the merchants are Ahuk and Manyuk.
Today this temple is the main tourist attraction of the town. It is built in the best traditions of Nagar (North Indian architectural school). The building is surrounded by a wall and has two entrances.
Usually, the many-armed god Shiva inside the temple is depicted only in the form of a lingam. Moreover, he is considered svayambhu ("self-arising"). On the walls of the building are bas-reliefs of many deities, demons and other characters of the Hindu pantheon.
In front of the entrance is a statue of Nandi, a white bull. This animal is one of the most common vehicles of Shiva. It symbolizes pure dharma, as well as sincerity, devotion and courage.
Today, the Vaidyanath Temple attracts multimillion crowds of pilgrims and tourists.
Symbol of god
We have already mentioned the word lingam many times. It is with him that Shiva is associated. God was often simply denoted by this concept. What is it?
Lingam in Sanskrit means "sign, label." This is a cylindrical sculpture with a round, rarely hemispherical top. Many researchers tend to see in it a symbol of an erect phallus. The ancient Hindus considered the Lings an abstract image of a deity.
Often, he is not depicted by himself, but paired with a circle or square, which means “yoni” (vagina, womb). Today it is customary to consider these two subjects as the oldest reference to the unity of male and female principles. Only in Hinduism, the male was eternal and static, and the female temporary, volatile and material.
Some scholars see in Linga a prototype of Istanbul, a special sacrificial pillar. Cattle, which was preparing for slaughter, were tied to it.
There is a special ritual that includes washing the lingam, reciting mantras and offering sacrificial fruits, flowers, incense and other permitted objects.
The marriage of Shiva and Parvati
There is a legend in which the first wife of the god Shiva Shakti dies. This was due to rejection by her father.
The legend says the following. Once a divine couple returned from one ashram. Shiva in the forest bowed to the commoner. The wife was surprised at his behavior. Then God explained that this is the reincarnation of Vishnu. To verify this, Shakti takes the form of Sita, the wife of this commoner, and goes to him. Rama recognizes the goddess in her.
Seeing the new image of Shakti, Shiva ceases to perceive her as a wife, as she reminded him of her mother. The girl is sad and they get disagreement.
Just at that time, Shakti's father started a celebration, but did not invite the young because of disagreements with Shiva. The girl decides to go there herself. But Daksha turns away from her. With grief, Shakti rushes into the fire and dies.
Enraged, Shiva takes her body and begins to perform her dance of destruction. If Vishnu had not stopped him, he would have destroyed the universe.
After mourning, the god becomes an ascetic in the Himalayas, and Shakti is reborn in the form of Parvati, the daughter of the god of the mountains. In the end, the girl manages to persuade Shiva, and they get married.
In Hinduism, this holiday is called Mahashivaratri and is celebrated every year.
God of gods
As you have already seen, the person we are talking about in this article has many names. Among them is the god of gods, Mahadev, Shiva. The first two in December 2011 were chosen as the name for the television series. His series are filmed in India to this day.
The plot of the episodes is based on myths, legends and excerpts from the Upanishads. The main events are taken from Puran. In addition, when writing the script, the works of Devdatt Pattanaik, a famous Indian mythologist and religious scholar, were used.
The series has been translated into several southern languages of India. Today, more than one hundred and fifty episodes have been filmed. The music was written by the Bavra brothers.
"Devon ke Dev ... Mahadev" is also known in Russia. Fans of Indian culture can enjoy the series with subtitles.
Thus, today we met with you one of the oldest deities in history. We learned the attributes, names and other interesting details about Shiva.
Good luck, friends! Travel more often!