Śiva

Śiva is also called Mahādeva, Rudra, Śaṃbhu, Śaṅkara, Nīlakaṇṭha, Pināki, Hara, Parameśvara and Sadāśiva. In the Śaiva Purāṇas he is the supreme Parabrahman: the source, the sustainer and the dissolver of all creation.

His liṅga form is the eternal pillar of consciousness that fills all worlds. He stands beyond all varṇa (class) and yajña (fire ritual). His grace gives moksha even to the most fallen person who comes to him with true bhakti (loving devotion).

Identity and supremacy

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa opens with a salutation to Śiva. At his command Brahmā creates, Bhagavān Vishṇu sustains, and Kāla-Rudra dissolves. The text calls him Pināki (bearer of the Pināka bow), Parameśvara and Sadāśiva throughout.

At the start, the ṛshi Lomaśa says: “Those who utter the two syllables ‘Śiva’ attain svarga (heaven) and moksha. Nothing else is needed.” (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 1)

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa says again and again that Śiva is Vishṇu and Vishṇu is Śiva. The base (pīṭhikā) of the Śivaliṅga is the form of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and the liṅga itself is the body of Mahādeva. They are one supreme tattva (reality) that appears in two forms, so that devotees can meditate on it. Śiva is both the ātmā (self) and the jagat (world): “All this moving and unmoving creation is Śiva. There is nothing apart from him.” (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7)

Names and epithets

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa uses many names for Śiva. Each shows one side of his nature.

  • Mahādeva: the supreme deva
  • Rudra: the fierce one; also the one who makes people weep (raudrāt)
  • Śaṃbhu: he who brings auspiciousness
  • Śaṅkara: he who gives śam (peace and prosperity)
  • Nīlakaṇṭha: Blue-throat, from swallowing the Kālakūṭa poison
  • Pināki: bearer of the Pināka bow
  • Sthāṇu: the unmoving pillar (Daksha mocked this name; the ṛshis praise it)
  • Vṛshadhvaja: he whose flag bears the bull (Nandī)
  • Kapardī: he whose matted hair is braided like a conch shell
  • Trilocana: the three-eyed one
  • Mahākāla: ruler of time and death
  • Tripurāntaka: destroyer of the three cities
  • Kālakālāntaka: destroyer of Kāla (death itself)

Nature and abode

Śiva lives on Kailāsa, the great mountain beyond the Himālaya, surrounded by his gaṇas (attendants). He sits in samādhi, or on the great throne (mahāsiṃhāsana) with Satī (Pārvatī) beside him.

His attendants include Nandī, Bhṛṅgi, Mahākāla, Caṇḍa, Muṇḍa, Vīrabhadra and countless gaṇas. Their looks are many and often frightening. His vāhana (mount) is the white bull Ṛshabha, who is Nandī.

He carries the triśūla (trident), the ḍamaru (drum) and the Pināka bow. As Bhaikshuka, the wandering mendicant, he carries only a begging bowl made from Brahmā’s skull. His body is smeared with vibhūti (sacred ash). He wears garlands of rudrāksha and carries Gaṅgā in his jaṭā (matted hair) and Candra (the moon) on his forehead. The Kālakūṭa that he swallowed stayed in his throat and turned it blue. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1, 5, 10)

The Daksha yajña

Daksha, the Prajāpati, insulted Śiva in public at Naimiśāraṇya because Śiva did not rise to greet him. Daksha called him unfit for yajñas and a dweller of cremation grounds.

Later Daksha left Śiva out of his great mahāyajña at Kanakhala. Śiva’s beloved Satī (Pārvatī) went there without an invitation. When Daksha abused Śiva in her presence, she gave up her body in the fire.

Nārada told Śiva what had happened. Śiva rose in fury and made Vīrabhadra and Kālikā from his jaṭā. They destroyed the yajña and cut off Daksha’s head.

Brahmā begged Śiva to forgive. Śiva brought Daksha back to life with a goat’s head and taught him: four kinds of people seek me, the distressed, the curious, the desirous and the wise. Of these, the jñānī (the wise one) is dearest to me. Śiva told Daksha to follow jñāna (knowledge) together with karma (action). (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–5)

The Dāruvana episode and the liṅga

After Satī’s death, Śiva wandered in the Dāruvana forest as a naked mendicant. The wives of the forest ṛshis were drawn to him and followed him. The jealous ṛshis pronounced a śāpa (curse) on his liṅga.

The liṅga fell and grew into an endless pillar that filled all worlds. Brahmā went up and Bhagavān Vishṇu went down, but neither could find its top or its base. This showed the liṅga to be the highest form of Parameśvara, with no beginning and no end.

Brahmā lied that he had seen the top. He used Surabhi and Ketakī as false witnesses. He received a śāpa for it. After this the devas set up the twelve Jyotirliṅgas as lasting holy forms of the Śivaliṅga across the cosmos. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6)

Swallowing the Kālakūṭa

At the samudra manthana (churning of the ocean), the Kālakūṭa poison of universal dissolution rose up and burned all three worlds to ash. Śiva swallowed it. He held it in his throat. He did not let it go down, because that would destroy him. He did not spit it out, because that would destroy the world.

His throat turned blue-black, and so he is Nīlakaṇṭha. By this act he took in what no one else could, to save all beings. It marks him as the supreme śaraṇya (refuge). (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 9–10)

Pārvatī and the marriage

After Satī gave up her body, Śiva entered deep tapas (austerity) and renunciation. Pārvatī was born to Himavān and Menā as the earthly form of Śakti. She did fierce tapas to win Śiva as her husband.

Śiva tested her. He took the form of a young vāṭu (celibate student) and spoke against Śiva in front of her. She stood firm, and he showed himself.

The wedding took place at Himavān’s home. All the devas, ṛshis and gaṇas came. Śiva’s procession had all kinds of terrifying beings in it. When Himavān’s court asked for Śiva’s kula and gotra (family line), Nārada explained that the question could not be answered, because Śiva is the source of all kulas and gotras. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 20–26)

Kārttikeya

Śiva’s retas (sacred energy) passed out during his union with Pārvatī and could not be held. It entered Agni. The devas received it and gave it to the Kṛttikā stars, who placed it in the Gaṅgā. From it Kārttikeya (Skanda, Murugan) was born. He became the general of the deva army and was to kill Tāraka. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27)

The burning of Kāla

In the account of Śveta-rāja, Kāla (Death in person) came for the devotee king. Śiva himself had told Kāla to come. Śiva then burned Kāla with his third eye and brought him back to life. He added a condition: from then on, Yama’s messengers must show full respect to the devotees of Śiva and the devotees of Vishṇu. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 32)

The advaita teaching to Yama

In Chapter 31, Śiva speaks to Yama and sets out the heart of advaita (non-duality). The ātmā is not the body, not the intellect and not the ego. It is the pure witness and is the same as Brahman.

Saṃsāra (the round of birth and death) comes from avidyā (ignorance) and from rāga-dvesha (attraction and dislike). Moksha comes through tattva-jñāna, the knowledge that the one ātmā fills all as Śiva-tattva. All actions and their fruits belong to the apparent ego. The ātmā is untouched. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 31)

Śiva’s grace to all beings

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa comes back again and again to Śiva’s grace toward the most unlikely devotees.

  • A wicked king is saved because he happens to say syllables that contain “Hara”.
  • A thief who climbs a Śivaliṅga is taken to Kailāsa.
  • A Kirāta hunter who offers only mouthfuls of water and wild game becomes a doorkeeper at Kailāsa.
  • A bird that happened to sweep the floor of a Śiva temple is born again as a king’s daughter with perfect bhakti.

Śiva says again and again: “Whoever says ‘Śiva’ even once, in desire, anger, curiosity or love, is freed.” (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 5, 7)

The Śivaliṅga

In this Purāṇa, Śiva’s final form is the Śivaliṅga, the pillar of fire and consciousness with no beginning and no end. The text says: “Since the whole universe lays into (laya) and comes out of it, it is called liṅga.”

The Bāṇaliṅgas are naturally formed oval stone liṅgas from the Narmadā river. They are especially holy. All the devas honour Śiva in the liṅga form. So do asuras, including Rāvaṇa, Bali, Prahlāda and Vibhīshaṇa. (Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 6–8)

Śiva in the Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa teaches several things about Śiva’s nature.

The doer of the five acts. Śiva alone does all five cosmic acts: sarga (creation), sthiti (sustaining), saṃhāra (dissolution), tirodhāna (concealment) and anugraha (grace that gives moksha). He gives the first four to Brahmā, Bhagavān Vishṇu, Rudra and Maheśa in that order. The highest act, anugraha, belongs to Śiva alone and is never given away. (Chapter 10)

The source of Oṃkāra. The sacred syllable Oṃ came from Śiva’s five faces.

  • The letter A came from the north face, Sadyojāta.
  • The letter U came from the west face, Vāmadeva.
  • The letter Ma came from the south face, Aghora.
  • The bindu came from the east face, Tatpurusha.
  • The nāda came from the central, upward face, Īśāna.

From this Oṃkāra came the Pañcāksharī (the five-syllable mantra), the alphabet, the Gāyatrī and all the Vedas. Śiva is therefore the source of the whole sacred tradition of sound. (Chapter 4)

The Liṅgodbhava. This is the most important appearance of Śiva. He appeared as an endless pillar of fire, a jyotir-liṅga, between Brahmā and Bhagavān Vishṇu to settle their dispute about who is supreme. Bhagavān Vishṇu went down as Varāha to find the base. Brahmā went up as Haṃsa to find the top. Neither could find the end of the pillar.

This appearance set up the liṅga as Śiva’s main form. It gave rise to the kshetra (holy ground) of Arūṇācala, set up Śivarātri, and led to the birth of Kālabhairava. (Chapters 6–9)

Śivaloka. Śiva’s highest abode is Jñāna-Kailāsa. It lies far beyond the fourteen Brahma-lokas, beyond Vaikuṇṭha, and beyond even Rudra’s Kailāsa. Only those who have reached sāyujya-mukti (union with Śiva) can enter, through five crore repetitions (japa) of the Pañcāksharī or through Śiva’s own anugraha. In its innermost shrine (garbha-gṛha) is the first Śivaliṅga. Nandīśvara sings the Pañcāksharī without end outside its outermost wall. (Chapter 18)

Mahābhārata: the Kirāta episode and the Pāśupatāstra

One of the best known Mahābhārata accounts of Śiva is the Kirāta episode in the Kairāta Parva of the Vana Parva.

Arjuna did hard tapas on the Himālaya to win divine weapons. Śiva came with Pārvatī to test him, dressed as a Kirāta (a tribal hunter). A rākshasa in the form of a boar attacked Arjuna. Arjuna and the Kirāta shot it at the same moment. The quarrel over who had killed it grew into a great battle.

Arjuna shot his whole quiver at the Kirāta and nothing happened. His bow Gāṇḍīva stopped working and broke, and his sword shattered. He threw rocks and tore up trees. He fought with his bare fists. Nothing worked. The Kirāta caught Arjuna’s fists in his own hands.

Beaten completely, Arjuna made a clay image of Śiva and offered flowers. When he looked up, the garland was on the Kirāta’s head. At that moment Śiva showed himself.

Arjuna sang the Mahādeva Stava, a stotra (hymn of praise) that calls Śiva Kapardī, Pinākī, Tryambaka, Śūlapāṇī, Bhava, Śaṅkara, Paśupati and many other names. Śiva was pleased with Arjuna’s strength of tapas, his unbroken spirit and his devotion. He gave Arjuna the Pāśupatāstra, the supreme weapon that can destroy the three worlds if it is misused. He gave it into Arjuna’s hands and told him plainly never to use it against a human enemy.

After Śiva left, the four lokapālas (guardians of the directions), Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera and Indra, came down one after another and gave Arjuna more weapons. Śiva’s Pāśupatāstra was the greatest gift of this episode. (Vana Parva, Chapters 37–41)

Mahābhārata: the Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda

The Anuśāsana Parva keeps a great dialogue on the greatness of Śiva and on dharma, the Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda. Nārada told it, and Bhīshma told it to Yudhishṭhira.

On Himavat, Pārvatī playfully covered Śiva’s eyes, and the whole cosmos fell into darkness. His two eyes are the sun and the moon. Śiva opened his blazing third eye on his forehead to light the worlds again. Its tejas (fire) burned Himavat, Pārvatī’s own father in person, to ashes. Śiva restored him a moment later out of love for her.

Pārvatī then asked about Śiva’s form and signs, and Śiva explained them.

  • His four faces came as he turned to follow the apsarā Tilottamā. Brahmā had made her from the finest part of every beautiful thing. She was walking around Śiva in devotion.
  • His blue throat (Śrīkaṇṭha) came from Indra’s vajra. Indra threw it at him in envy. It scorched his throat and went away.
  • His bull mount came from an event involving the calf of the divine cow Surabhī. Foam from the calf fell on Śiva’s body.
  • He loves the śmaśāna (cremation ground) more than the mansions of svarga (heaven). Here the śmaśāna is named as Vārāṇasī. He calls it the holiest spot on earth, fit for those who seek Brahman.

This exchange grew into a five-chapter discourse on dharma in which Śiva taught Umā these subjects:

  • the five-fold dharma of the gṛhastha (householder) and the dharma of each varṇa
  • the four grades of sannyāsa (renunciation), and the ṛshi-dharma of the Phenapas, the Vālakhilyas and the Cakracaras
  • vānaprastha-dharma (the dharma of forest life), and a detailed list of tapas-vratas (vows of austerity) with the exact fruit each gives after death
  • the teaching on moving between varṇas, ending with the statement that ācāra (conduct), not birth, makes a brāhmaṇa
  • the three pāśas (bonds) of karma, vāk (speech) and manas (mind), together with the teaching on āyus (life span)
  • how dāna (giving) and śīla (conduct) bring their results in later births, and the causes of blindness, disease and birth as a napuṃsaka

In Chapter 146, Śiva reversed the roles and asked Umā to teach him strī-dharma (the dharma of women). She first gave way to the sacred rivers and then gave the whole teaching herself.

In Chapter 147, the Purusha-māhātmya, Śiva told the gathered ṛshis that Vāsudeva Kṛshṇa is greater even than Brahmā. Brahmā came from Kṛshṇa’s navel, and Śiva himself came from Kṛshṇa’s head. Śiva said that ārādhanā of Kṛshṇa is the same as ārādhanā of Śiva and Brahmā together.

The account closes in Chapter 148. The vision ends, and the ṛshis travel to Kṛshṇa at Dvārakā. Bhīshma uses the whole account to comfort Yudhishṭhira after the war. (Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 140–148)

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 1–35
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 37–41
  • Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 140–148