Friday, April 24, 2009

Aspects of Lord Siva


Tandavamurthy: Lord Siva is a master of dance forms. He is the author of all dance forms. The science of dance ( Natyasasthra) dealing with the 108 types of classical Indian dance forms said to have originated from him just as all the yogic postures. In case of Lord Siva all dance is a form of expression, which he uses either to relieve the tensions in the world or alleviate the sufferings of his devotees. Sometimes he also entertains the gods or his wife or his devotees with his dance. About nine forms of Siva in dancing mode are described, of which the most popular form is Nataraja (the king of dance). Though we have a number of icons of Siva as Nataraja, he is rarely worshipped in this form either in the temples or in the households. His other dance forms include, Ananda-tandava-murhty, dancing in a pleasant and cheerful mood, Uma-tandava-murhty, dancing in the company of Parvathi, Tripura-tandava-murthy, dancing while slaying Tripurasura and Urdhva-tandava-murhty, dancing in the air.

Symbolism of Nataraja:

Nataraja literally means lord of the dance. Siva is the lord, the ultimate and effective cause of all creation and the dance is his act of creation, a dynamic rhythmic movement. His dance is a guided action, under his complete mastery, not an act of chaotic, random movements. The lord and the dance together constitute the projection of the Paramasiva, the highest eternal and formless Nirguna Brahman on the canvas of his own awakened state as Saguna Brahman.

Every aspect in the image of Nataraja represent an aspect of creation. The lord is surrounded on all sides by a circular ring of fire. The ring represents the whole of creation. It is finite, cyclical and filled with energy or shakti shown here as flames. It ensues from the hands and limbs of the Lord suggestive of the fact that he is the primal and effective cause of creation.

Nataraja holds a tongue of flame in his upper left hand. The fire represents the energy that is responsible for creation and also the dissolution of the worlds at the end of creation. As a creator he creates, upholds and also destroys the worlds.

The upper right hand holds a drum or damaru which is a musical instrument that produces rhythmic sounds. It is suggestive of the sound of breath, the sound of life, the vibrations underlying all currents of creation and manifestation. It also represents the vibrations that arise from our thoughts, emotions, mental activity, movement of the senses and the very samsara in which the jivas continue their existence till they find an escape.

The lower left hand is held in an assuring mode (abhaya-mudra) suggesting that the jivas need not have to despair and that they can escape from the impurities of samsara (anava, karma and maya) and achieve sameness (saujya) with Siva through his grace (anugraha) and intervention. The second right hand is shown pointing towards the downside with the palm upside drawing our attention to the figure lying beneath his feet suggesting that the lord is not holding anything back but revealing the knowledge of creation and the secrets of our bondage so that jivas can find means of escape through the assurance they find in his lower left hand.

The matted hair of Siva is shown as flying high and flowing in all directions. These are the symbols of divinities or the higher gods who live in the higher realms and participate in the cosmic dance enacted by Lord Siva. The tiger skin worn by the deity suggests that even God has respect for the rules of right conduct and the dharma he has established in the manifest creation for the guidance of the souls. The snake around his waist enjoying the dance with a raised hood is suggestive of the kundalini-shakti that remains ever awakened in Siva and is in unison with him.

The dwarf lying at the feet of the dancing nataraja is known as apasmara-murthy. It symbolically represents the jiva that has forgotten about its own infiniteness and its Siva nature because of the impurity of anava which makes it believe it to be a dwarf or anu (atomic or minute or finite being) and become a subject of the dance of creation.

Thus we can see that the image of nataraja is an iconic representation of the whole Saiva Siddhanta philosophy one of the most ancient schools of Saivism. The various aspects of the image represent the nature of Siva, the act of creation, the state of the jivas and the means of liberation. By creating it or serving it or by contemplating upon it one can initiate the process of liberation through the grace of Siva.


Dakshinamurthy: This is Siva in his aspect as the universal teacher, teaching the secrets of yoga, tantras, yantras, alchemy, magic, occult knowledge, arts and sciences, ancient history or knowledge of the future to the sages and saints, gods and goddesses and his highly qualified devotees. He is called Dakshinamurthy, because he does his teachings sitting on the snowy mountains of Himalayas and facing towards the Indian subcontinent, which is in the southerly direction. The images of Dakshinamurthy, depict Siva in his pleasant mood, seated on a high seat, with one leg folded while the other rests on the Apasmarapurusha, the deluded self. Two of his arms hold a snake or rosary or both in one hand and fire in the other. The snake is a symbol of tantric knowledge and the fire symbol of enlightenment. Of the remaining two one is in abhayamudra (posture of assurance) and the other holds a scripture in gnanamudra (posture of presenting knowledge).


Lingodhbhava-murthy: This image signifies the importance of Siva in the form of Linga as the Supreme Self, without a beginning and without an end. According to Hindu mythology, Siva once revealed his infinity to Brahma and Vishnu in the form of a pillar of fire that could not be scaled by either of them from one end to the other. As Lingodhbava-murthy, Siva appears seated in the heart of a Linga, with four arms, while Brahma and Vishnu adore him from the two sides.

Bhikshatana-murthi. This is Siva in his ascetic aspect, wandering from place to place, with a begging bowl made of human skull, doing penance or lost in his own thoughts. Even today we can see some followers of Siva going around the villages in India in this form. Some of them even do a little magic to attract our attention or scare away the trailing children.

Hridaya-murthy: This is Siva in a mood of reconciliation and friendship with Vishnu. Also known as Harihara or Sankaranarayana. The images show the right half of Shiva on the right side of the image and the left half of Vishnu on the left side.

Ardhanariswara: This Siva and Parvathi together in one form signifying the unity of Purusha and Prorate. The feminine left half of Parvathi is fused with the masculine right half of Siva in one continuous form, sometimes standing with the Bull Nandi in the background, or sitting on a pedestal and blessing the worlds, with eyes open or closed.

Minor Deities of Siva: The minor deities are part of Siva's Retinue. Among them the most important are Nandi, Bhringi, Virabhadra and Chandesvara.

Nandi: It is interesting to note that unlike the Vedic people who regarded the cow as sacred animal, the followers of Siva venerate the bull! It is because Nandi, the Bull, is Siva's vehicle. Nandi is invariably found sitting right infront of the sanctum sanctorum in every siva temple facing the image and looking at him all the time. In fact no one is supposed to see the chief deity in a siva temple without paying homage first to the seated Nandi and looking at Siva from afar through the space between the ears and the top of his head. There are some temples in India which are exclusively built for him like the famous Nandiswara temple in Karnataka. Nandiswara in his anthromorphic form appears just like Siva, with three eyes and four hands of which two are permanently dedicated to the veneration of Siva while the other two carry his weapons. Symbolically Nandi represents the animal or the tamasic qualities in man which Siva rides and transforms with his energies. As we have already noted, Nandi is well versed in all scriptural knowledge and spiritual knowledge and imparted knowledge of devotion to Hanuman. It is a tradition in many parts of rural India to let a Bull roam free in each village as a mark of respect to Nandi and to inseminate the cows in the village.

Bhringi: He was originally a demon named Andhaka, who was transformed by Siva into a humble devotee and admitted into his force as a commander of his armies. Bhringisa was so loyal to Siva that in his state of devotion he would not offer his worship to any one including Parvathi. It is said that when he saw once Siva in his Ardhanariswara form, he tried to bore through the middle of the body in the form of a bee to complete his obeisance to only the Siva side of the form, much to the annoyance of Parvathi. Bhringi who got his name thus was made to realize his mistake and change his behavior by Lord Siva.

Virabhadra He is Siva in his ferocious mood. Siva manifested himself as Virabhadra, when Daksha, his father in law, ill treated and insulted his wife Sati, Daksha's own daughter, infront of a large gathering. Unable to cope with the insult, Sati immolated herself. This angered Siva so much, that he descended upon the place of Daksha with his large army and beheaded Daksha's. The images of Virabhadra depict the anger and ferocity of Siva in that destructive mood, wearing a garland of skulls, and with four arms holding four different kinds of weapons. Virabhadra is a warrior god who was worshipped during wars in ancient and medieval periods. He is also the principal deity of Virasaiva movement and still worshipped by many in the Karnataka region of India.

Chandesvara He is an aspect of Chandi in human form later elevated to the status of divinity, to signify the connection between Siva and Chandi, or Durga. Chandesvara is a ferocious god, holding weapons of war and ready to do battle for a divine cause. His images are generally found in a corner in all the Siva temples. As in case of Nandi, devotees usually visit him and pay their respects before going to see the Sivaling in the sanctum sanctorum.

by http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/siva.asp


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