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| Written by Web Master | |
| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
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The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[20][21] Modern historians believe that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built-up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure.[22] How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well-documented.[23] Axel Michaels explains the composite nature of Shaivism as follows: Like Vişņu, Śiva is also a high god, who gives his name to a collection of theistic trends and sects: Śaivism. Like Vaişņavism, the term also implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.[24] An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.[25] The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri.[26] Khandoba has been assimilated both as a name for Karttikya[27] and also as a form of Shiva himself[28] in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam.[29][30] Shakti M. Gupta clarifies the possible confusion between these two identifications by explaining that one of Kartikeya's functions is as the patron deity of thieves[citation needed], and it is in this capacity that the tribe called Ramoshis, who are thieves by profession, worship Khandoba.[31] Khandoba's varied associations also include an indentification with Surya.[32] The derivation of the name Khandoba has been variously interpreted, and M. S. Mate says that the most commonly-held belief is that it was a distorted form of Skanda, but also notes alternate theories.[33] The Pashupati sealA seal discovered during excavation of the Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the Indus Valley has drawn attention as a possible representation of a "proto-Shiva" figure.[34] This "Pashupati" (Lord of Animals,or Lord of Beings Sanskrit paśupati)[35] seal shows a seated figure, possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals.[36] Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva, and have described the figure as having three faces, seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined. This claim has not fared well with some modern academics. Gavin Flood characterizes these views as "speculative", saying that while it is not clear from the seal that the figure has three faces, is seated in a yoga posture, or even that the shape is intended to represent a human figure, it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull.[37][38] Historian John Keay is more specifically dismissive, saying: ...there is little evidence for the currency of this myth. Rudra, a Vedic deity later identified with Shiva, is indeed referred to as pasupati because of his association with cattle; but asceticism and meditation were not Rudra's specialties, nor is he usually credited with an empathy for animals other than kine. More plausibly, it has been suggested that the Harappan figure's heavily horned headgear bespeaks a bull sect, to which numerous other representations of bulls lend substance.[39] RudraShiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra[40] and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity. The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700–1100 BCE based on linguistic and philological evidence.[41] A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33 he is described as the "Father of the Maruts", a group of storm gods.[42] Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred hymns of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas, and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances. The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains: To what extent Śiva's origins are in fact to be sought in Rudra is extremely unclear. The tendency to consider Śiva an ancient god is based on this identification, even though the facts that justify such a far-reaching assumption are meager.[43] Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva)[44] and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra.[45] This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.[46] The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill"[47] and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness".[48] The names Dhanvin ("Bowman")[49] and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands")[50][51] also refer to archery. Identification with Vedic DeitiesShiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.[52] AgniRudra and Agni have a close relationship.[53][54] The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva.[55] The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the Nirukta, an important early text on etymology, which says "Agni is called Rudra also".[56] The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch: The fire myth of Rudra-Śiva plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination.[57] In the Śatarudrīa, some epithets of Rudra such as Sasipañjara ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and Tivaṣīmati ("Flaming bright") suggest a fusing of the two deities.[58] Agni is said to be a bull[59] and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned.[60][61] In medieval sculpture both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.[62] INDRA The Indologist, Koenraad Elst proposes that Shiva of Puranic Hinduism is a continuation of the Vedic Indra. He gives several reasons for his hypothesis. Both Shiva and Indra are known for having a thirst for Soma. Both are associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the Aum sound, the Supreme Self. In the Rig Veda the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3,[63] 6.45.17,[64][65] and 8.93.3.[66]) Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull.[67][68] In the Rig Veda, Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.[69]
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