The many-armed god Shiva. Lord Shiva: History

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 was considered passive, eternal and static, and female - active and material.

In this article, we will get to know more closely the image of this ancient deity. Many saw 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 goes back to the Harappan civilization. This is the culture of ancient Indians living on the lands of Northern India. They were replaced by arias, which came in the third millennium BC in the valley of the Indus River. Today, the ruins of their cities are found in the upper reaches, on the territory of Pakistan.

We know the seal of Pashupati and some lingams (about the meaning of this word we will talk later) of this period. They were among the finds in Monjejo-Daro and Harappa.

With the arrival of the Aryans, the formation of a new religion is taking place. This process is comparable with the spread of Christianity to pagans in the first centuries of our era. Now there is a new image, with which merges Shiva - the god Rudra, the violent and cruel patron of the storm, war and destruction.

Is not it true that history has the property of repeating itself? Kind pagan gods, like the Greek Pan and satyr, become an evil spirit in a new and bright religion. The Arians believed that it was not sinful to kill "worshipers of the lingam."

In the Vedas, Shiva is mentioned in the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. In total, the name Rudra has more than half a thousand repetitions.

However, there were also supporters of the old traditions, to which the opponents of Brahmin complexities joined. The meaning was to worship the whole life of the gods, if you did not receive the reward for this even in the next rebirth? It is said in the Vedas that only brahmanas can attain salvation.

It is noteworthy that in some sects of the new current (Shramany), one of the main attributes of the ritual was the skull of the murdered brahmana.

In one of the Upanishads (commentaries on the Vedas) there is the most complete and systematized content of the philosophy of Shaivism. This treatise consists of one hundred and thirteen texts and is called "Shvetashvatara".

Picture

How is Shiva portrayed? God in his oldest form had the form of a lingam with a tripodra (three white horizontal stripes). This sign denoted three prisons of the human soul or the three Huns that make up the world of the Maya.

Later, Shiva began to be portrayed sitting in a lotus pose or dancing.
In the first variant he had pale skin, was with a blue neck and four arms. Usually, God sits in a lotus position on the tiger skin, and on the shoulders is wrapped the skin of an elephant or a tiger. He always has a third eye in his forehead. In addition, with it there is a snake. It is thrown over your shoulder, hanging around your neck or in the form of bracelets on your arms and legs. Shiva has two different earrings. In one ear is male, and in the second female.

The second option is the dancing Shiva. Nritya-Murthy (statuette) can have a different number of hands, be armed or peaceful, but always under the feet of the dancing god is a defeated dwarf. 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 different 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), Khatwanga (club with skull), Khetka (shield) and many others.

Also an important attribute is the trident of the god Shiva - Trishula. It symbolizes three stages of evolution, three gunas, three faces of time and other concepts.

There are a number of ritual objects. Chilum (special smoking pipe), Shankha (shell), Mudra (the position of the hands), Kaumudi (jug with the nectar of immortality), Kapala (a skull-shaped bowl), Damaru (a drum symbolizing the first vibration of the universe from which everything happened) Akshamala (special beads).

Also Shiva is characterized by a series of energies: Agni (fire), Ganga (the heavenly river that he subdued) and Shakti (power). And some animals: Naga (snake), elephant and tiger skins, Nandin (white bull), Krishnamriga (doe) and Ankusha (elephant twitching).

Thus, we see that Shiva has attributes of spheres of knowledge, which are called to raise a person from our world to the higher.

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 made self-immolation because of insult to her father.

But after it is reborn in a new incarnation. Now her name is Parvati (grapnel) and her father is the mountain range of the Himalayas. It is she who is most often portrayed as the wife of the god Shiva.

They have two sons - Ganesha (the elephant god of wisdom) and Skanda (the deity of the war, with six heads and twelve arms and legs), and the daughter of Manasi.

Names

In the Western tradition, the Indian god Shiva is known only under this name. However, Hindus know more than a thousand words, which are the epithets of a deity.

Among them there are "Terrible" and "Beautiful", "Majestic" and "Oborvanets", "King of the Lingam", "Overcoming Death", "Lord of the Beasts" and many others.

The most significant and famous are 108 of them. They are uttered in the form of prayer and are called to purify the thoughts of the supplicant, and also to promote his exaltation.

Functions, rituals, holidays

The multi-handed god Shiva is the supreme deity in Shaivism. He is revered as the triune unity of the evolution of the universe - birth, growth and death. It is also believed that he will destroy the present world at the end of the Mahayuga, so that a new one is created in its place.

He protects the healers, gave people the mantra of Om and Sanskrit. In addition, Shiva is always accompanied by a suite of demons and spirits.

The two main rituals associated with this god are called 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 wedding night of Shiva and Parvati.

The most famous temple

In the town of Baijnath in the beginning of the thirteenth century the temple of Lord Shiva was built. He is called one of his names - Vaidyanath (patron of healers).

Once upon a time there was a sanctuary of the god, but local merchants decided to perpetuate their names by erecting a majestic building. The names of the merchants are Ahuk and Manjuk.

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 as a lingam. And it is considered svayambhu ("self-evolved"). On the walls of the building there are bas-reliefs of many deities, demons and other characters of the Hindu pantheon.

In front of the entrance there is a statue of Nandi, a white bull. This animal is one of the most common means of transportation of Shiva. It symbolizes pure dharma, as well as sincerity, devotion and courage.

Today, the Vaidyanath temple attracts many millions 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 is often simply denoted by this concept. What is it?

Lingam in Sanskrit means "sign, label". It is a cylindrical sculpture with a round, rarely hemispherical top. Many researchers tend to see in it the symbol of an erect phallus. The ancient Hindus considered the lingam an abstract image of the deity.

Often, he is portrayed not in itself, but in a pair with a circle or square, which stands for "yoni" (vagina, womb). Today, it is common to consider these two objects as the oldest mention of the unity of the male and female beginnings. Only in Hinduism, the masculine was eternal and static, and feminine is temporary, changeable and material.

Some scholars see in the lingam the prototype of the stambha, a special sacrificial pillar. To him were tied the cattle, which was preparing for the slaughter.

There is a special ritual that includes washing the lingam, reading mantras and offering sacrificial fruits, flowers, incense and other permitted objects.

Marriage of Shiva and Parvati

There is a legend in which the first wife of the god Shiva Shakti perishes. This was due to the rejection of her father.

The legend says the following. Once upon a time the divine couple returned from one ashram. Shiva in the forest bowed to the commoner. His wife was surprised at his behavior. Then God explained that this is the reincarnation of Vishnu. Shakti, in order to verify this, takes the form of Sita, the wife of this commoner, and goes to him. Rama recognizes her as a goddess.

Seeing the new image of Shakti, Shiva ceases to perceive her as a wife, as she reminded him of his mother. The girl is sad and they get a disagreement.

Just at this time, Father Shakti starts a festival, but does not invite young people because of disagreements with Shiva. The girl decides to go there herself. But Daksa 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 did not stop him, he would destroy the universe.

After mourning, God becomes an ascetic in the Himalayas, and Shakti is reborn in the image of Parvati, the daughter of the god of the mountains. In the end, the girl manages to persuade Shiva, and they marry.

In Hinduism this holiday is called Mahashivaratri and is celebrated every year.

God of the gods

As you have already seen, the person we are talking about in this article has many names. Among them is the god of the gods, Mahadev, Shiva. The first two in December 2011 were chosen as the title for the television series. His series are filmed in India to this day.

The plot of the episodes is based on myths, legends and passages from the Upanishads. The main events are taken from the Puranas. In addition, when writing the script, the works of Devdatt Pattanaik, a well-known Indian mythologist and religious scholar, were used.

The series was translated into a number of southern languages of India. Today, more than a hundred and fifty episodes have been filmed. The Bavra brothers wrote music to them.

"Devon ke Dev ... Mahadev" is also known in Russia. Fans of Indian culture can enjoy the series with subtitles.

Thus, today we have met one of the oldest deities in history. They learned the attributes, names and other interesting details about Shiva.

Good luck, friends! Travel more often!