Today I am posting the first of a series of short articles on various deities. I started with Shiva after synchronistically coming across a statuette of him in the days following my decision to research the Hindu pantheon first. As I am not a Hindu myself, I would appreciate any feedback from Hindus.
Shiva and the Trimurti
Shiva (also spelled Siva), is the destructive or transformative aspect of the Trimurti (Three Forms), the Hindu concept of the three-fold process of life, which also includes Brahma (the creator) and Vishnu (the preserver). He is a benevolent male deity but is synonymous with Rudra, his destructive aspect.
There are two versions of the story in which Shiva first makes his appearance. In both, Brahma and Vishnu are surprised by the appearance of a huge, luminous lingam (a phallic object). Brahma transforms himself into a bird while Vishnu takes the form of a foraging boar in an attempt to find the tip and root of this huge penis. In one version, the search fails and Shiva then emerges from the cleft lingam, the other two deities recognising his importance. In the alternative version, Brahma succeeds in reaching the tip and throws insults as Shiva who reacts by severing one of his five heads. As punishment, Shiva has to become a beggar for twelve years.
The oldest Hindu sect, the Saivites, regard Shiva as the supreme deity.
Sex and abstinence: A paradoxical deity
As is clear from the above tale, sex and fertility are important associations of Shiva but unlike other well-known phallic gods (e.g. Pan, Dionysus, etc.), Shiva also embodies the ascetic lifestyle, often depicted deep in meditation. In fact, one of his alternative names is Yogesvara, meaning ‘Prince of the Ascetics’.
The tale of Shiva, Parvati and the demon Taraka
While Shiva is portrayed as an unkempt, drug-taking philanderer, his wife, Sati, is a model of perfection. Her father, Daksa, hates Shiva and, in despair she commits suicide. Shiva withdraws into profound meditation but, unbeknown to him, Sati (within Parvati, the mountain woman) reincarnates alongside him.
While Shiva is meditating, Brahma creates a demon, Taraka, who can only be destroyed by a son of Shiva. To rouse him, Kama, the god of love , is called. After 60 million years , Kama fires an arrow at Shiva who retaliates by destroying him with his fearsome third eye. However, the interruption to his meditation enables Shiva to discover the presence of Parvati. The inevitable happens and Kumara is born, the pair’s only natural child, and he destroys Taraka.
Why Ganesha has an elephant’s head
After Shiva’s awakening, Sati decides to create an artificial son, Ganesha (Ganapati) to protect the door to her retreat. But Shiva spies on his wife as she bathes and Ganesha attacks him. Vishnu came to Shiva’s aid by sending Maya (the illusory appearance of the dualistic world – my attempt at a definition) to confuse Ganesha. Shiva takes the opportunity to relieve his assailant of his head but, not unsurprisingly, Sati raises a thousand goddesses to petition the gods for its return. Shiva relents but requests that he be allowed to use the head of the first living thing he encounters. This turns out to be an elephant (below).
This is just a brief introduction to the character and stories of Shiva and I may add more detail at a later stage.
Do you have any personal experience of or interest in Shiva or Hinduism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.
References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):
Comte, F. (1991) ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology’, Wordsworth, Kent
Image attributions
Shiva image licensed under Creative Commons Sharealike 2.0 Generic license by Thejas Panarkandy
Ganesha image is in the public domain
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Coming next: The Hindu Deities: Brahma
[...] father to Sati, hates her husband Shiva (below left) and in despair she commits suicide by throwing herself into a fire. Shiva withdraws [...]