Shiva Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === 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, 53β56, 280}}{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=426}}{{Sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=101β105}} but it treats the male as her equal and complementary partner.{{sfnm|Kinsley|1988|1pp=50, 103β104|Pintchman|2015|2pp=113, 119, 144, 171}} This partner is Shiva.{{sfn|Pintchman|2014|pp=85β86, 119, 144, 171}}{{Sfn|Coburn|1991|pp=19β24, 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=77β84}} 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: KΔlΔ« and KαΉαΉ£αΉa, 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=117β118}}</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> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page