[interpretation] Siva, one of the three great gods of India

Editor's button:Brahma and Vishnu (Emperor Shitian) of the three Indian gods have become the guardians of Buddhism. What about Shiva? He is the most widely followed and powerful of the three gods. Don't hurry, do you know that the Buddhist god who protects the Dharma is at ease, enters the sky, Yishi that day, and Moya's first Luo Tian are all based on Shiva? How, do you think it is not famous enough? Do you know that the snake rope on the curved moon on the dark sky shows the inseparable relationship between him and Siva? If you think it's not strong enough, the editor whispers to you, does Guanyin know? As for the secret, I will talk about it later.

Come on, Shiva, get to know it first.

WorkAs one of the three main gods of Hinduism, Siva is more complex and diverse than the other two. There are also different opinions about the origin of Shiva, and there is no final conclusion.

A popular view is that Siva's prototype is a primitive Indo-European cultural god, homologous to the Greek wine god Dionysos, both of which are related to nature, animals, reproduction and intense emotions.

Another widely accepted view is that Siva, the god of destruction, mixes two traces of Indian indigenous culture and foreign Aryan civilization. Long before the Aryans entered India, yoga sitting images similar to the image of Siva appeared on the seal of the Indian River Valley civilization.

(Indian Valley Seal, circa 2600-1900 BC)

In the rig Veda, the word "iva" is used to describe different gods, as well as with Rudra, the god of the storm: the violence represented by Rudra has a cruel and destructive side, but Rain Water also has the function of nourishing all things. Accordingly, later generations of Siva also had two sides of terror and kindness. Some scholars have pointed out that Rudra-Siva is actually an indigenous non-Aryan god. For thousands of years, as the god of storm and death, Siva maintained its natural attribute. When the Aryans were forced to give in under pressure from indigenous folk religions, it was only when Rudra-Siva first United with Sat Sati, the daughter of the Aryan creator Dak Dharma-Prajama pati, to seek the integration of two races that were socially and religiously distinct.

However, this integration is not plain sailing. Shiva mainly represents the spirit of advocating nature and abandoning asceticism, dissociating from the mainstream civilization. He lived in a cemetery, covered with ashes and wearing only a piece of animal skin, wandered freely in the woods, begged for food, and was used to making bowls out of skulls. His ornaments are skull crowns and skull necklaces, often accompanied by a group of dogs considered unclean by Vedic religions.

(the marriage scene of Siva in the Indian TV series God of the Gods, with ashes on her body, cobra around her neck, Trident and drum in hand.)

The living master represents the elements of civilization, and it is said that the etiquette system of human society comes from his creation. Therefore, when the father-in-law held a great sacrifice, his son-in-law Shiva was rejected and was not invited. Siva came to the altar angrily and created a terrible creature out of his anger, Vladirabhadra, to destroy the sacrifice. Finally, Shiva was able to share the sacrifice. However, his wife Sadie felt humiliated, angrily committed suicide, was reincarnated as the daughter of the Himalayan god, and later became Shiva's wife again in the name of Polipatti. At this point, Shiva completed the Aryanization and even achieved the same status as Vishnu. However, because the Rudra in the rig Veda represents the uncivilized, wild and dangerous side of nature, Siva mixes the attributes of Rudra and can only become the god of destruction in the triphasic gods.

(Shiva and Bori Bhatti, Orissa, circa 13th century, now in the British Museum)

In the era of Sanskrit and Upanishads (circa 800,300BC), a series of other gods of similar nature merged with Rudra-Siva, resulting in the great Mahhabdeva (Great Heaven). The destructive side of the heavens is shown as Rudra (roar), death (death) and Hara (plunderer), while the good side is shown as Siva (benevolent) or Sankara (Salvation). As the sacrifice to the gods developed into remembering, meditating and praying for them, Siva merged with the great freedom of God as the supreme personality, so that he also acquired the attributes of Brahma and Vishnu. The unity of opposites of destruction and rebirth in Siva also has something in common with the philosophical system of number theory, which advocates dualism.

In today's Hinduism, Shiva is both masculine, feminine and neutral. His androgynous form (semi-female freeness) is combinatorial, and there is a tendency of opposites in him. There are also different legends about the origin of the hermaphroditic form. First, there was a time on the earth where creatures did not reproduce and the world was in danger of falling back into its original state. So Shiva divided herself into two: the right half of the body takes the image of a man and the left half of the body takes the image of a woman. Then, through this androgynous body, Shiva created everything in the world. Another theory is that Siva's followers only worshiped Shiva, completely ignoring his spouse Polibatti, who was extremely angry. Shiva merged himself and his wife into one, thus ensuring that his wife had the same venerable status as himself.

(semi-female statue of freedom, Tamil Nadu, circa 11th century)

The performance of the "God of the Gods" against half of the girls.

In principle, Shiva, who lacks the corresponding negative akti, is unthinkable. Only under the influence of sexual force can Shiva become active and creative. Otherwise, he is like an inanimate body. In order to create all things, Siva, as absolute and neutral, is divided into two complementary halves. All life came into being from the union of the male god and the goddess. The principle of bisexual reproduction is also embodied through other symbols-Linga and Joni-and is worshipped in the Linga sect.

(Lingayoni, a common souvenir on the streets of India)

Linga is regarded as the basic form of Siva. This cylindrical symbol without the image of Shiva is worshipped as the unidolized Shiva. Sometimes, Linga is engraved with the head of Shiva (Mukhali Buddha ga) as a decoration.

(four pieces of Linga, about the 10th century, are now in the Museum of Asian Art in San Francisco)

The most popular image of Shiva is as a great ascetic: wearing only a tiger skin or elephant skin apron, a skeleton necklace around his blue neck and a body painted with ash. The hair is woven into an ascetic bun, with a crescent moon on the bun, like a crown. With a cobra wrapped around his neck. As the prototype of ascetics and the "founder" of yoga school, Siva sat on the skin of a tiger and fell into meditation. This image of ascetics embodies religious energy.

(the meditative image of Siva in the Gods)

Related to the image of the great ascetic is the scripture of Siva: far away from all mundane affairs, he has reached the highest state of consciousness and preached the essence of scripture to the gods and saints. Shiva sits under the banyan tree and the students (immortals) surround him. This image of Shiva is the master of wisdom (J wisdom na-Dak I wisdom-M wisdom rti).

(Shiva speaks to the Seven Immortals and Shiva believers in the God of the Gods)

Another popular image of Shiva is as a Na dancer of the universe (King of Dance), dancing with intoxicated people in a dance of bliss, representing the destruction of the world and the liberation of the soul. In India, dance is regarded as a kind of magic. In the dance, the role of the dancer has changed and the superhuman energy has been released. Dance symbolizes five cosmic activities: creation, maintenance, destruction, revelation and liberation. Hindus see Shiva as an impersonal, ever-changing life energy that becomes the image of a dancer. In statues, the king of dance often has four arms, and his typical instruments are drum and fire. Drum symbolizes the origin of the word or the word itself, the primitive elements of all life, represents creation, while fire symbolizes destruction, and every fire will engulf the world. Shiva's lower left arm bends in front of her body and makes the gesture of an elephant; the lower right hand is raised to make a fearless seal. The Dance King stepped on the dwarf demon with one leg, liberating mankind from ignorance and guiding the way to freedom from the shackles of all beings. The other leg is raised, which is said to symbolize redemption. The swirling braids of the hair and the flying ribbons of the buttocks highlight the dynamics of the king of the dance. A fire wheel rises from the lotus constellation and surrounds the statue. This halo represents the sacred syllable OM, the basic syllable of creation.

(Shiva, the king of dance, circa the 11th century, is now in the National Museum of New Delhi, India)

Siva is characterized by both creation and destruction, friendliness and viciousness. When showing the friendly side of Shiva, he is often accompanied by his wife and children, reflecting the transformation from an ascetic to the head of the family. In this regard, one of the most representative images is "carrying Uma (another name for Polibatti) Shijiantuo (Hindu god of war, son of Siva and Boribatti)" (Sommerskanda).

(with Uma room to build Tuoxiang, circa the 11th century, now in the Museum of Calcutta, India.)

On the ferocious side, Shiva often embodies the characteristics of Rudra, the unsacrificed god of the storm. Different from the thought of incarnation (down to earth) of the Vishnu school, the thought of split incarnation is mainly popular in the Shiva school. In a state of extreme anger, Shiva can separate a terrible monster from her anger. The theory of separation is very common in the folk myths of South India, where the Shiva sect is popular. The most important of these are Varirabhadra and Bhairava. When his father-in-law Dasha did not invite Siva to participate in the sacrifice, Siva was divided into Varapadra to destroy the sacrifice; and when Brahma, the creator, claimed to be the supreme god, Siva, who was offended and angry, was divided into Varova and cut off one of his heads.

(Varova, modern, Kathmandu, Nepal)

Many folktales tell about Siva's achievements, one of which is the destruction of the three cities of Asura. Asura received a favor from Brahma through penance: their three cities-the Golden City in the sky, the Silver City in the sky and the Iron City on the ground-will last for thousands of years and will merge into a city every thousand years and become an empire covering the three realms. The power of Asura was so powerful that it posed a threat to the gods. As a result, the gods led by Brahma and Vishnu passed on their divine power to Siva, who shot an arrow from the bow, and the three cities were destroyed by fire. From this, Shiva is also known as the three cities destroyer (Tripurntaka).

(statue of the Destroyer of the three cities, Central India, 11th-12th Century, now in TibetMuseum of Asian Art in San Francisco)

Undertaking the fall of the Ganges is another great achievement of Siva. In Mahli balipura, Tamil Nadu, India, a group of cultural relics has been declared as a World Heritage site, including a huge relief carved on one side of the rock wall, which tells the story of the Ganges River falling to earth. In Indian mythology, the Ganges was originally a sacred river in heaven. The ancestors of Bordeira were turned to ashes by fairies because of their mistakes and were unable to die in heaven. In order to save the souls of his ancestors, he practiced asceticism and asked the Ganges to fall to earth in order to cleanse the ancestors of their sins and purify their souls. A thousand years later, Brahma appeared to remind him: if the water of the Ganges flows directly from the sky, it will produce huge potential energy, and if the earth cannot bear it, it will be washed away. Only Shiva can solve this problem. So after another thousand years of penance, Shiva appeared and promised to let the Ganges flow through his hair, slow down the impulse, and then flow to the earth. It is said that the Ganges flows above Shiva's towering bun. Due to being blocked, the water slows down and then flows slowly to the world. Because of this story, Shiva is named "Ga holding the Ganges". There is a kind of statue called holding the Ganges, which is a statue of the goddess of the Ganges in her hair or hands. In the portrait of Shiva, there will also be a torrent flowing from his bun.

(relief of Hercules, Tamil Nadu, circa 7th century)

(Ganges River down to earth, ditto)

In this rock sculpture, the seventh century artist is ingenious and vividly portrays the main plot of the story on the rock. There is a big gap in the middle of the stone carving. When it rains, or at festivals, water will flow from above, vividly simulating the scene and momentum of the Ganges water from the sky. The gap is also engraved with three dragon kings with seven heads, three heads and one head, with hands clasped together. When the water of the Ganges began to fall, it flowed right through the dragon. Dragons are animals in the water. Welcome to the Ganges. On both sides of the gap are carved images of many gods, flying apsaras, monkeys, giant elephants, deer, leopards, and other animals in the forest, all cheerfully running forward to enjoy the miracle. The picture is symmetrical, and the center of gravity and focus are in the middle of the Ganges River. On the stone wall on the right side of the gap, in addition to depicting all kinds of creatures who came to observe the miracles, it also explained the austerities of Brahma and the appearance of Brahma and Siva. At the bottom of the picture is Bordeira meditating, so Brahma emerges from the temple. Then Bordeira stood on one leg and raised her arms to carry out more severe austerities. So Siva, who holds the Trident, also showed up and bestowed favors. In the whole picture, Siva is bigger than other gods and creatures (except the giant elephant), which also reflects the important role he played in this miracle.

As the god of destruction, Siva often bears the responsibility of fighting the powerful Asura. In addition to destroying the three cities of Asura, he also defeated such things as Gajura sura, Andhaka, Jala holding dhara and so on. These stories have been vividly described in Purana literature and spread widely among the people, and there are also corresponding statues to express these artistic motifs.

In Hinduism, the faction of Shiva as the main god is Shiva. The popularity of the Shiva school is closely related to Master Sankara, the founder of Advaita Vedanta. He believes that the world and all its representations are purely based on illusion and work through illusory forces. Everything is subject to time and is always in the process of change. Most Siva followers believe in the pantheistic doctrine of monism. For them, knowledge (J moral na) is superior to all hypocritical moral behavior. In order to make the theory closer to the public, Sankara also absorbed the elements of folk belief and integrated it into the mythological system of Shiva School, which promoted the popularity of Shiva School.

The content of this article is rewritten from the relevant part of the World of Indian Gods ([de] Schlerberg, translated by Fan Jingjing, Chinese and Western Books, 2016).