Who is Shiva?
Shiva is one of the most important gods in Hinduism, capable of creating or destroying whatever he wishes, because he is considered to dominate various supernatural forces in the cosmos.
The god Shiva represents destruction and universal transformation. His name derives from the Sanskrit siva and means “the benevolent one.” He is also known as the lord of destruction, lord of beasts, god of chaos, god of nature, god of knowledge and god Rudra.
In Hindu tradition, Shiva fulfills the function of destroyer god in the Trimurti (three-forms) or Hindu Triad, composed of the gods Brahma and Vishnu. However, he also has the ability to regenerate from death which, understood in Hinduism, represents a change in the way of life and not non-existence.
As a destroying god, Shiva destroys everything that exists so that the new can emerge and life and the universe can be regenerated. In the field of spirituality, destruction is necessary to evolve, hence he is also considered the most important yogi or god of yoga.
Likewise, Shiva is the revered god of Shaivism, one of the oldest and most influential beliefs in Hinduism.
Characteristics and attributes of Shiva
In Hinduism, Shiva is one of the most powerful gods because he has the ability to create and destroy in order to achieve spiritual renewal and balance the universe. Therefore, Shiva has various physical characteristics and attributes that differentiate him from other gods.
Characteristics (physical)
His skin is represented as grayish blue since he took the poison created to destroy all beings in the universe, which he saved. It is a nectar created by the gods to make themselves immortal. Her skin is depicted as covered in ash, representing life and death as a reality of life. Her hair is matted. The waves of his hair represent him as the god of the wind (Vaiu), and the form of breath that is present in all living beings. From his head and hair flows the River Ganges, which represents the purification of his and her sins. his ancestors. He has three eyes, one of them is located in the middle of his forehead. It is said that his eyes can see the past, present and future. He has four arms. In one he holds a trident which, for Shaivism, represents the attributes he possesses as a creator, destroyer and regenerator god. In another arm he holds an hourglass-shaped drum.
Attributes
On his forehead he has the moon in the crescent phase, near the third eye. The moon serves as a measure of time, so Shiva is also represented as the master of time. On his forehead, he also has three lines of ash (vibhuti) drawn, which represent the essence of our being (ego, impurities of ignorance, likes and dislikes). On his neck he wears a cobra. Shiva had ingested kalketu poison to protect the well-being of the universe, but it is believed that his wife Parvati tied a cobra to him to retain the poison in his throat, and that is why he turned blue. He has a bead necklace that represents extinction and generation of humanity. He dresses in elephant skin that symbolizes pride, and deer skin that symbolizes the control of the mind to perfection. On his wrists he has wooden bands to which medicinal powers are attributed. He is sitting on a skin tiger, which symbolizes victory over any force, and represents its conquest over desire.
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the oldest and most practiced Hindu beliefs. Worship only Shiva as supreme godwhich represents destruction and renewal to achieve the purification of the universe.
It is a fairly broad belief, so it encompasses various monistic and dualistic philosophical positions about the origin of the universe, as well as myths, rituals, and yoga practices.
Shaivism is based on the sacred texts of the Vedas (four books of Indian literature) and the Agamas (Buddhist, Hindu and Jain literature). In the Vedic texts Shiva is referred to as Rudra or Maheshwaram.
Shiva is usually worshiped as:
a supreme god of the Trimurti, (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva), god of reproduction, whose symbol is called lingam (phallus), destroyer god, so he can be called as Kāla, in his various human forms, as Nataraja or Natarash (dancer) or Dakshina-murti (image of a teacher who teaches the absolute truth to four sages).
Those who practice Shaivism are called Shaivaists or Shaivas, for worshiping Shiva as the creator, destroyer and preserver god. This belief is mainly practiced in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, although it has spread around the world.
The veneration of Shiva is carried out both in temples and on altars made in homes.
History of Shiva
The main sources of information on Hindu mythology are the ancient texts Vedas, Puranas and Tantras, which collect and describe the stories, epics and traditional myths about the gods of Hinduism and date back to at least the 2nd millennium BC.
In these stories, Shiva’s story is neither clear nor has a coherent narrative thread. For example, the name of the god Shiva does not appear in the Vedic texts, but to increase his veneration he was associated with the god Rudra, who does appear in the Rig-veda (the oldest text of Vedic tradition).
In the oldest beliefs of India, the only deity with great destructive potential is Rudra, god of “terrible” strength, who was later identified as Shiva “the benevolent.” Both gods have the same qualities in the Vedic scriptures, and are recognized as the same god by experts.
For its part, in the Purana texts Shiva is referred to as Siva, Linga, Skanda and Agnim. But in none of these texts or myths is his origin clarified, although he stands out as one of the main gods of Hinduism.
However, it is known that Shiva is part of the Trimurti or Hindu Triad, made up of the three great gods of Hinduism. Shiva represents the destroyer god, Brahma the creator god and Vishnu is the preserver god. In this way, the cycle of creation, preservation and destruction is completed.
It is indicated that his home is on Mount Kailasa, an image that can be seen in the background when he is represented doing the Mahāyogī yoga posture, and where he has lived with his wives.
Main myths of Shiva
Shiva and Sati
Satí, goddess of marital happiness and longevity, daughter of Daksha and Prasuti, was the first wife of Shiva. Satí was born from the reincarnation of the goddess Adi Parashakti, of whom her parents were devotees and whom she warned could not mistreat her daughter because it would cause her death.
Satí married Shiva, but Daksha did not approve of the union. She held a party to which he invited all the gods except her daughter Satí and Shiva. Satí insisted Shiva go, but he did not want to. Satí went to confront her father, who yelled at her and forbade her entry, which caused her to commit suicide by setting herself on fire.
Upon finding out, Shiva was enraged to Dashka’s house, whom he killed along with thousands of innocents through the dance of destruction or his representation of Shiva Nataraja.
Finally, Shiva brought back to life all those he had killed, took Satí’s charred body and walked through the universe. Various parts of Satí’s body fell in various places that are now considered sacred in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and other Asian countries.
Shiva and Parvati
Shiva had as his second wife Parvati (also called Uma), with whom he lived on Mount Kailasa, his home. Parvati is the reincarnation of Satí.
Parvati represents the cosmic energy that allows renewal, transformation and regeneration. She also appears in other stages of Shiva’s life as Durga and the goddess Kali. Shiva and Parvati form a complementary pair of universal forces.
Together they had a deep love story, and they represent the search for the loved one from our own being. In Hindu tradition, Parvati represents the feminine principle and Shiva the masculine principle.
Together they formed a cosmic family with three children:
Aiapa (female incarnation of Vishnu). Kartikeia (god of war or violence), has six faces. Ganesha (elephant-headed god), represents intelligence.
Shiva Nataraja
Shiva Nataraja or Lord of Dance is the representation of the dancing god Shiva. Generally, it is represented in stone or metal sculptures that give shape to the dance of fury, used by Shiva in order to destroy something and then make it reborn.
Shiva Nataraja is represented dancing in a circle of fire and on Apasmara (a dwarf who represents ignorance).
It shows a dynamic posture in which it rests on its right leg, while the left leg is raised and crossed. Her hair is moving and all four of her arms are outstretched.
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Shiva and yoga
Shiva is considered the god and spokesperson of yoga or Great Yogi. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental discipline, whose objective is to free the material ties of the soul. In yoga, spiritual purification is necessary to evolve.
Shiva is considered the most important yogi because he symbolizes creative and destructive energy. His teachings serve as a bridge for human beings to understand themselves and everything that surrounds them, in order to live a better existence without attachments, developing inner strength and mental concentration.
One of the most common representations of Shiva in yoga is that of Mahāyogī, in which he appears seated, in front of Mount Kailasa, on the skin of a tiger in the perfect posture or lotus posture. The third eye on his forehead represents the energy of wisdom.
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