Shiva

== Position within Hinduism ==
[[File:Lingothbhavar.jpg|thumb|[[Lingodbhava]] is a Shaiva sectarian icon where Shiva is depicted rising from the [[Lingam]] (an infinite fiery pillar) that narrates how Shiva is the foremost of the [[Trimurt]]i; [[Brahma]] on the left and [[Vishnu]] on the right are depicted bowing to Shiva in the centre.]]

=== Shaivism ===
{{Main|Shaivism}}
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of [[Hinduism]], the others being [[Vaishnavism]], [[Shaktism]] and the [[Smarta Tradition]]. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas", revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=65}}{{Sfn|Issitt|Main|2014|pp=147, 168}} He is not only the creator in Shaivism, but he is also the creation that results from him, he is everything and everywhere. Shiva is the primal Self, the pure consciousness and [[Brahman|Absolute Reality]] in the Shaiva traditions.{{Sfn|Sharma|2000|p=65}} Shiva is also Part of 'Om' (ॐ) as a 'U' (उ). <ref>{{Cite web |title=Devi bhagwat Purana Skandh 5 Chapter 1 Verse 22-23 |url=https://archive.org/details/devi-bhagavata-with-hindi-translation/Devi%20Bhagavata%20with%20Hindi%20Translation%20Vol%201%20%28Gitapress%29%202010/page/n540/mode/1up?view=theater |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/devi-bhagavata-with-hindi-translation/Devi%20Bhagavata%20with%20Hindi%20Translation%20Vol%201%20%28Gitapress%29%202010/page/n540/mode/1up?view=theater}}</ref>

The Shaivism theology is broadly grouped into two: the popular theology influenced by Shiva-Rudra in the Vedas, Epics and the Puranas; and the esoteric theology influenced by the Shiva and Shakti-related Tantra texts.{{Sfn|Michaels|2004|p=216}} The Vedic-Brahmanic Shiva theology includes both monist (''Advaita'') and devotional traditions (''Dvaita''), such as Tamil [[Shaiva Siddhanta]] and [[Lingayatism]]. Shiva temples feature items such as linga, Shiva-Parvati iconography, bull Nandi within the premises, and relief artwork showing aspects of Shiva.{{Sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=216–218}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Surendranath Dasgupta|title=A History of Indian Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aohGsuUuXuMC |year=1973|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-81208-04166|pages=17, 48–49, 65–67, 155–161}}</ref>

The [[Tantra|Tantric]] Shiva (''[https://hi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5 "शिव]''") tradition ignored the mythologies and Puranas related to Shiva, and depending on the sub-school developed a variety of practices. For example, historical records suggest the tantric [[Kapalika]]s (literally, the 'skull-men') co-existed with and shared many Vajrayana Buddhist rituals, engaged in esoteric practices that revered Shiva and Shakti wearing skulls, begged with empty skulls, and sometimes used meat as a part of ritual.<ref>{{cite book|author=David N. Lorenzen|title=The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas: Two Lost Śaivite Sects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4hm-k6fKs4C|year=1972|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520-018426|pages=2–5, 15–17, 38, 80|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131703/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4hm-k6fKs4C|url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, the esoteric tradition within [[Kashmir Shaivism]] has featured the ''Krama'' and ''Trika'' sub-traditions.<ref name=patil125>{{cite book|author=Narendranath B. Patil|title=The Variegated Plumage: Encounters with Indian Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3C1GWkeyXnQC |year=2003|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-8120819535|pages=125–126}}</ref> The Krama sub-tradition focussed on esoteric rituals around Shiva-Kali pair.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark S. G. Dyczkowski|title=The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices Associated with Kashmir Shaivism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QXn5n4gdfcIC|year=1987|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0887064319|page=9|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131652/https://books.google.com/books?id=QXn5n4gdfcIC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Trika sub-tradition developed a theology of triads involving Shiva, combined it with an ascetic lifestyle focusing on personal Shiva in the pursuit of monistic self-liberation.<ref name=patil125 />{{Sfn|Michaels|2004|pp=215–216}}<ref>David Lawrence, [http://www.iep.utm.edu/kashmiri/#SH1d Kashmiri Shaiva Philosophy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312172048/http://www.iep.utm.edu/kashmiri/#SH1d |date=12 March 2017 }}, University of Manitoba, Canada, IEP, Section 1(d)</ref>

=== Vaishnavism ===
The Vaishnava (Vishnu-oriented) literature acknowledges and discusses Shiva. Like Shaiva literature that presents Shiva as supreme, the Vaishnava literature presents [[Vishnu]] as supreme. However, both traditions are pluralistic and revere both Shiva and Vishnu (along with Devi), their texts do not show exclusivism, and Vaishnava texts such as the ''Bhagavata Purana'' while praising [[Krishna]] as the Ultimate Reality, also present Shiva and Shakti as a personalized form an equivalent to the same Ultimate Reality.<ref>Edwin Bryant (2003), Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Penguin, {{ISBN|978-0141913377}}, pp. 10–12, Quote: "(...) accept and indeed extol the transcendent and absolute nature of the other, and of the Goddess Devi too"</ref><ref>Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3447025225}}, p. 23 with footnotes</ref><ref>EO James (1997), The Tree of Life, Brill Academic, {{ISBN|978-9004016125}}, pp. 150–153</ref> The texts of Shaivism tradition similarly praise Vishnu. The Skanda Purana, for example, states:

{{Blockquote|
Vishnu is no one but Shiva, and he who is called Shiva is but identical with Vishnu.
|Skanda Purana |1.8.20–21<ref>Gregor Maehle (2009), Ashtanga Yoga, New World, {{ISBN|978-1577316695}}, p. 17; for Sanskrit, see: [https://archive.org/stream/SriSkandaPuranam-SankaraSamhitaPart1#page/n31/mode/2up Skanda Purana] Shankara Samhita Part 1, Verses 1.8.20–21 (Sanskrit)</ref>}}

Both traditions include legends about who is superior, about Shiva paying homage to Vishnu, and Vishnu paying homage to Shiva. However, in texts and artwork of either tradition, the mutual salutes are symbolism for complementarity.<ref>{{cite book|author=Saroj Panthey|title=Iconography of Śiva in Pahāṛī Paintings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUBXNueBQo0C|year=1987|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-8170990161|page=94|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131652/https://books.google.com/books?id=GUBXNueBQo0C|url-status=live}}</ref> The Mahabharata declares the unchanging Ultimate Reality (Brahman) to be identical to Shiva and to Vishnu,<ref>{{cite book|author=Barbara Holdrege|editor=Hananya Goodman|title=Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XF_a3cfrcLQC&pg=PA122|year=2012|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1438404370|pages=120–125 with footnotes}}</ref> that Vishnu is the highest manifestation of Shiva, and Shiva is the highest manifestation of Vishnu.<ref>{{cite book|author=Charles Johnston|title=The Atlantic Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SGACAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA835|volume=CXII|year=1913|publisher=Riverside Press, Cambridge|pages=835–836}}</ref>

=== Shaktism ===
[[File:Khajuraho Ardharnareshvar.jpg|thumb|Ardhanarishvara sculpture, [[Khajuraho]], depicting Shiva with goddess [[Parvati]] as his equal half.{{sfn|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=43}} In the [[Ardhanarisvara]] concept, the icon is presented as half-man and half woman.]]
The goddess-oriented Shakti tradition of Hinduism is based on the premise that the Supreme Principle and the Ultimate Reality called Brahman is female ([[Devi]]),{{Sfn|Coburn|2002|pp=1, 53–56, 280}}{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=426}}{{Sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=101–105}} but it treats the male as her equal and complementary partner.{{sfnm|Kinsley|1988|1pp=50, 103–104|Pintchman|2015|2pp=113, 119, 144, 171}} This partner is Shiva.{{sfn|Pintchman|2014|pp=85–86, 119, 144, 171}}{{Sfn|Coburn|1991|pp=19–24, 40, 65, Narayani p. 232}}

The earliest evidence of the tradition of reverence for the feminine with Rudra-Shiva context, is found in the Hindu scripture ''[[Rigveda]]'', in a hymn called the Devi Sukta.{{Sfn| McDaniel |2004|p=90}}{{Sfn| Brown |1998|p=26}}{{Sfn| McDaniel |2004|p=90}}{{Sfn| Brown |1998|p=26}}<ref name="Hymn 125">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ|title = The Rigveda|isbn = 978-0190633394|last1 = Jamison|first1 = Stephanie|last2 = Brereton|first2 = Joel|date = 2020|publisher = Oxford University Press|access-date = 17 September 2020|archive-date = 10 October 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231010004628/https://books.google.com/books?id=1LTRDwAAQBAJ|url-status = live}}</ref>

The ''[[Devi Upanishad]]'' in its explanation of the theology of Shaktism, mentions and praises Shiva such as in its verse 19.{{Sfn|Brown|1998|p=77}}{{Sfn|Warrier|1967|pp=77–84}} Shiva, along with Vishnu, is a revered god in the ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'', a text of Shaktism considered by the tradition to be as important as the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|p=193}}<ref>{{cite book|author=David R. Kinsley|title=The Sword and the Flute: Kālī and Kṛṣṇa, Dark Visions of the Terrible and the Sublime in Hindu Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ih1By08_Yj0C |year=1975|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0520026759|pages=102 with footnote 42}}, Quote: "In the Devi Mahatmya, it is quite clear that [[Durga]] is an independent deity, great in her own right, and only loosely associated with any of the great male deities. And if any one of the great gods can be said to be her closest associate, it is Visnu rather than Siva".</ref> The [[Ardhanarisvara]] concept co-mingles god Shiva and goddess Shakti by presenting an icon that is half-man and half woman, a representation and theme of union found in many Hindu texts and temples.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gupteshwar Prasad|title=I.A. Richards and Indian Theory of Rasa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hmy5cnSbsWYC&pg=PA117 |year=1994|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-8185431376|pages=117–118}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jaideva Vasugupta|title=The Yoga of Delight, Wonder, and Astonishment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVc5JCnO1VgC|year=1991|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0791410738|page=xix}}</ref>

=== Smarta tradition ===
{{Main|Panchayatana puja}}
[[File:Traditional Indian Print by Artist Raja Ravi Varma.jpg|thumb|Oleograph by [[Raja Ravi Varma]] depicting a Shiva-centric Panchayatana. A bearded Shiva sits in the centre with his wife Parvati and their infant son Ganesha; surrounded by (clockwise from left upper corner) Ganesha, Devi, Vishnu, and Surya. Shiva's mount is the bull Nandi below Shiva.]]
In the [[Smarta tradition]] of Hinduism, Shiva is a part of its [[Panchayatana puja]].<ref name="Bühnemann2003p60">{{cite book|author=Gudrun Bühnemann|author-link=Gudrun Bühnemann|title=Mandalas and Yantras in the Hindu Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQf2m8VaC_oC&pg=PA60|year=2003|publisher=Brill Academic|isbn=978-9004129023|page=60|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-date=16 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116175701/https://books.google.com/books?id=kQf2m8VaC_oC&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> This practice consists of the use of icons or anicons of five deities considered equivalent,<ref name="Bühnemann2003p60" /> set in a [[quincunx]] pattern.<ref name="Harle1994p141">{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent| url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300062175|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/140 140]–142, 191, 201–203}}</ref> Shiva is one of the five deities, others being Vishnu, [[Devi]] (such as [[Parvati]]), [[Surya]] and [[Ganesha]] or [[Kartikeya|Skanda]] or any personal god of devotee's preference ([[Ishta Devata]]).{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/17 17]}}

Philosophically, the Smarta tradition emphasizes that all idols ([[murti]]) are icons to help focus on and visualize aspects of Brahman, rather than distinct beings. The ultimate goal in this practice is to transition past the use of icons, recognize the Absolute symbolized by the icons,<ref>{{cite book|author=J. N. Farquhar|title=Outline of the Religious Literature of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lwggjSPrjxUC |year=1984|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-8120820869|page=180}}</ref> on the path to realizing the [[Advaita Vedanta|nondual]] identity of one's Atman (Self) and the Brahman.<ref>{{cite book|author=Edwin F. Bryant|title=Krishna: A Sourcebook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2n4VDAAAQBAJ |year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199724314|pages=313–314}}</ref> Popularized by [[Adi Shankara]], many Panchayatana mandalas and temples have been uncovered that are from the [[Gupta Empire]] period, and one Panchayatana set from the village of Nand (about 24 kilometers from [[Ajmer]]) has been dated to belong to the [[Kushan Empire]] era (pre-300 CE).{{sfn|Williams|1981|pp=1–4}} The Kushan period set includes Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Brahma and one deity whose identity is unclear.{{sfn|Williams|1981|pp=1–4}}

=== Yoga ===
Shiva is considered the Great Yogi who is totally absorbed in himself – the transcendental reality. He is the Lord of [[Yogi]]s, and the teacher of [[Yoga]] to sages.{{sfn|Kramrisch|1981|p=[https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram/page/22 22]}} As Shiva Dakshinamurthi, states Stella Kramrisch, he is the supreme [[guru]] who "teaches in silence the oneness of one's innermost self (''atman'') with the ultimate reality (''brahman'')."{{sfn|Kramrisch|1981|p=[https://archive.org/details/manifestationsof00kram/page/23 23] }} Shiva is also an archetype for ''samhara'' ({{lang-sa|संहार}}) or ''dissolution'' which includes transcendence of human misery by the dissolution of ''[[Maya (religion)|maya]]'', which is why Shiva is associated with [[Yoga]].<ref name="inv07">{{cite book|first1=Krishnan|last1=Ramaswamy|first2=Antonio|last2=de Nicolas|first3=Aditi|last3=Banerjee|title=Invading the Sacred|page=59|isbn=978-8129111821|publisher=Rupa Publication|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/samhara|title=Samhara, Saṃhāra: 18 definitions|date=3 August 2014|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=12 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812235650/https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/samhara|url-status=live}}</ref>

The theory and practice of Yoga, in different styles, has been a part of all major traditions of Hinduism, and Shiva has been the patron or spokesperson in numerous Hindu Yoga texts.<ref name=shivayoga1 /><ref name=shivayoga2 /> These contain the philosophy and techniques for Yoga. These ideas are estimated to be from or after the late centuries of the 1st millennium CE, and have survived as Yoga texts such as the ''Isvara Gita'' (literally, 'Shiva's song'), which [[Andrew J. Nicholson|Andrew Nicholson]] – a professor of Hinduism and Indian Intellectual History – states have had "a profound and lasting influence on the development of Hinduism".<ref>{{cite book|author=Andrew J. Nicholson|title=Lord Siva's Song: The Isvara Gita|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IAEvAwAAQBAJ|year=2014| publisher= State University of New York Press|isbn= 978-1438451022|pages= 1–2}}</ref>

Other famed Shiva-related texts influenced [[Hatha Yoga]], integrated monistic (''Advaita Vedanta'') ideas with Yoga philosophy and inspired the theoretical development of [[Indian classical dance]]. These include the ''Shiva Sutras'', the ''Shiva Samhita'', and those by the scholars of Kashmir Shaivism such as the 10th-century scholar [[Abhinavagupta]].<ref name=shivayoga1>[a] {{cite book|author1=Vasugupta|author2=Jaideva|title=Śiva Sūtras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4SOIISR9PUC|year=1979|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-8120804074|pages=xv–xx}};<br />[b] {{cite book|author=James Mallinson|title=The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hlQRnDOr178C|year=2007|publisher=Yoga|oclc= 76143968 |isbn=978-0971646650|pages=xiii–xiv}}</ref><ref name=shivayoga2>[a] {{cite book|author=Jaideva Vasugupta|title=The Yoga of Delight, Wonder, and Astonishment: A Translation of the Vijnana-bhairava with an Introduction and Notes by Jaideva Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVc5JCnO1VgC|year=1991|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0791410738|pages=xii–xvi}};<br />[b] {{cite book|author1=Vasugupta|author2=Jaideva|title=The Yoga of Vibration and Divine Pulsation: A Translation of the Spanda Karika with Ksemaraja's Commentary, the Spanda Nirnaya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQwtCrGERjkC |year=1980|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0791411797|pages=xxv–xxxii, 2–4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=David Smith|title=The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fTLlcGlkdjkC&pg=PA237 |year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521528658|pages=237–239}}</ref> Abhinavagupta writes in his notes on the relevance of ideas related to Shiva and Yoga, by stating that "people, occupied as they are with their own affairs, normally do nothing for others", and Shiva and Yoga spirituality helps one look beyond, understand interconnectedness, and thus benefit both the individual and the world towards a more blissful state of existence.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Jaideva Vasugupta|author2=Mark S. G. Dyczkowski|title=The Aphorisms of Siva: The Siva Sutra with Bhaskara's Commentary, the Varttika|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o6-n4ulAsdIC|year=1992|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0791412640|pages=7–8}}</ref>

=== Trimurti ===
{{Main|Trimurti}}
The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of [[Brahma]] the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.<ref>For quotation defining the Trimurti see Matchett, Freda. "The {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Purāṇas}}", in: {{harvnb|Flood|2003|p=139}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ralph Metzner|title=Opening to Inner Light: The Transformation of Human Nature and Consciousness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ke0RAQAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=J.P. Tarcher|isbn=978-0874773538|page=61}};<br />{{cite book|author=David Frawley|title=Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti: Secrets of Mantras, Deities and Meditation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6Vp_rTWkAAC&pg=PA25|year=2009|publisher=Lotus|isbn=978-0940676503|page=25}}</ref> These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad"<ref>For definition of Trimurti as "the unified form" of Brahmā, {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Viṣṇu}} and Śiva and use of the phrase "the Hindu triad" see: {{harvnb|Apte|1965|p=485}}.</ref> or the "Great Triple deity".<ref>For the term "Great Trinity" in relation to the Trimurti see: {{harvnb|Jansen|1993|p=83}}.</ref> However, the ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism feature many triads of gods and goddesses, some of which do not include Shiva.<ref>The Trimurti idea of Hinduism, states [[Jan Gonda]], "seems to have developed from ancient cosmological and ritualistic speculations about the triple character of an individual god, in the first place of ''Agni'', whose births are three or threefold, and who is threefold light, has three bodies and three stations". See: {{harvnb|Gonda|1969|pp=218–219}}; Other trinities, beyond the more common "Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva", mentioned in ancient and medieval Hindu texts include: "Indra, Vishnu, Brahmanaspati", "Agni, Indra, Surya", "Agni, Vayu, Aditya", "Mahalakshmi, Mahasarasvati, and Mahakali", and others. See: [a] David White (2006), Kiss of the Yogini, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226894843}}, pp. 4, 29<br />[b] {{harvnb|Gonda|1969}}</ref>
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