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Gods of India
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Shiva |
The Lord Shiva is
considered as the creator and destroyer of the universe. The
Lord Shiva, the third god of the Hindu triad, has three eyes,
the third eye between the eyebrows is usually closed, except
at the time of destruction. He has long hair and supports the
holy Ganga river on his head and the crescent moon on his
matted hair. He has two to four arms, holds a trident in his
hand, is naked except for a tiger-skin, besmears himself with
ash and is decorated with snakes on his head, neck and arms.
He is very fair but has a blue throat as he drunk
poison during the time of the churning of the ocean by the
gods. In his other hands he holds an axe, antelope, and an
hour-glass shaped drum called a ‘damru’. He wears a garland of
skulls and is also known as the lord of the cremation grounds.
The Lord Shiva lives on Mount Kailash with his wife Parvati
and two sons, the elephant-headed god Ganesh and the
six-headed Kartikkeya, who is known in south India as
Subrahmanayam. They form a model for the family life. His
vehicle is Nandi, the bull. He was not a Vedic god and in his
earlier forms he was known Rudra. |
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The Lord Shiva represents
destruction, austerity and the more malignant forces of life.
He is represented by different aspects of his own powers and
that of his consort. The Lord
Shiva is worshipped as Rudra,
Shambhu and Shankara. His spiritual ancestor, Rudra, was
ambiguous, benevolent and malevolent, and the
latter aspect gradually prevailed. The combination of the ideas of creation
and destruction is expressed in his late aspect as the Supreme
Being (Mahadeva). In this form he is frequently represented as
the phallic symbol (linga) which is worshipped in all the
Shaivite temples in India. The lingam represent the powers of
regeneration and procreation and also is a symbol of energy,
fertility and potency. Professor Wendy O’Flahert suggested
that the worship of the Siva linga can be traced back to the
pre-Vedic societies of the Indus valley civilization, but it
first appeared in Hindu iconography in the 2nd century BC.
From that time a wide variety of myths appeared to explain the
origin of linga worship. The myths surrounding the twelve
Jyotirlinga (linga of light) found at centers like Ujjain go
back to the 2nd century BC, and were clearly developed in
order to explain and justify linga worship. He is also widely
portrayed in sculpture and art, and most commonly as the
dancing Nataraja on the bronze, the Lord of the Cosmic Dance.
He is also shown as an ascetic, sitting among the mountain
peaks around Mount Kailasa, accompanied by his wife Parvati
and meditating on the nature of the universe. Shiva-ratri
(night of Shiva) is both a festival and a time to keep a vow.
It is celebrated in February or March all over the country and
the devotees spend the whole night singing devotional songs in
praise of Lord Shiva. The lingam is first washed with Ganga
water and then milk, curd, honey, ghee, flowers, etc., are
poured over it. Devotees on this day abstain from food and end
the fast with a meal of dates, fruits, nuts, sweet potatoes
and beaten rice. Special celebrations are held at important
Shiva Temples at Chidambaram, Kalahasti, Khajuraho, Varanasi
and Kashmir. |
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Nataraja |
Nataraja or the
Dancing Shiva is a very popular image of Lord Shiva. It
illustrates a legend in which Shiva, accompanied by Vishnu
disguised as a beautiful woman, set out to subdue ten thousand
holy men who were living in a nearby forest. The holy men
became angry and invoked a fierce tiger out of a sacrificial
fire but Shiva flayed it and wore its skin as a cape. Later,
he was attacked by a poisonous snake but Shiva tamed it and
wore it around his neck as a necklace. A dwarf was also sent
on whom Shiva put his foot and performed a dance which was so
brilliant that the holy men acknowledged Shiva as their
master. The symbolism of the dance, called Tandava, can be
interpreted in many ways. It may show Shiva as the moving
force of the universe and his five acts of creation,
preservation, destruction, embodiment and release (of the
souls of men from illusion). The last can be linked to the
fire of the cremation ground, perhaps symbolized by the ring
of flames round the dancer. In the image of Natraja, Shiva is
caught in the middle of the dance with one foot on the dwarf
and the other in the air. The dwarf is said to be the
embodiment of ignorance, the destruction of which is the
pre-requisite to enlightenment, true wisdom and release.
Shiva’s long hair fly out while he plays the drum. The drum
indicates that God is the source of sound, the Nada-Brahman.
The upper left hand carries the fire, the instrument for the
final destruction of the universe. The lower right hand
bestows protection. The lower left hand points to the left
foot, showing that his feet are the sole refuge of the
individual souls. The lifted foot stands for release from
illusion. |
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Nandi |
Nandi, the
bull is the vehicle of Lord Shiva and is normally
found in all Shiva temples either near the idol or
facing it from a distance. It is also placed at the
entrance of Shiva temples in a sitting or standing
posture. In paintings he is shown as pure white. He
has a round body, large brown eyes, heavy shoulders, a
shining coat and a black tail. The hump is like the
top of a snow-capped mountain. He has a golden girth
around his body and sharp horns with red points.
Originally, under the name of Nandikeshvara, Nandi
seems to have existed in human form as a sage (rishi)
who acted as Shiva’s door keeper before achieving
divine status. The reasons for the association may
have came from Shiva’s relationship with Rudra who was
sometimes referred to as the bull. This probably has
roots in the vast mythology and the symbols
surrounding bulls that are found in ancient cultures.
Nandi’s association with fertility is illustrated by
the custom of the devotees touching the feet and
testicles of the Nandi idol when entering a Shiva
temple. |
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Ganesha |
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The Lord
Ganesha or Ganesh is one of the most popular gods of
the Hinduism. He is represented as the elephant-headed
god in the Hindu mythology. The Lord Ganesha has an
elephant’s head, four to ten arms, a pot belly, and is
usually red or yellow in colour. His vehicle is a rat.
In his hands he holds a rope, axe, goad and dish of
sweet-balls. The fourth hand is in the boon giving
position. It is said that with the axe Ganesha cuts
off the attachment to worldly things of his devotees
and with the rope he pulls them nearer to the Truth.
It is also believed that his obesity contains the
whole universe, his trunk is bent to remove obstacles
and his vehicle, the rat can creep through small holes
to remove obstacles to reach religious ends. The Lord
Ganesha is known by various names in different parts
of India and also known as the Remover of Obstacles,
the god of domestic harmony and of success. He is the
most beloved and revered of all the Hindu gods.
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The
Lord Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Parvati.
Meetings, functions, special family gatherings,
rituals, opening up of any new company and building or
the beginning of a journey are said to be never
completed without the prayer to the Lord Ganesh.He is
endowed with a gentle and affectionate nature and also
known as a god of wisdom. His image can be seen on the
gateways and on the door lintels in every house with
his elephant head and pot belly, and also on the
outskirts of villages, as a guardian deity. The eight
incarnations of Lord Ganesha are Vakratunda, Ekadanta,
Mahodara, Gajaanana, Lambodara, Vikata, Vighnaraja and
Dhoomra Varna. There are various stories about the Lord Ganesha's
birth, how he got his elephant head, and about his
exploits and antics. According to one story, the
goddess Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva created him from
the scruff of her body to guard her door and when Lord
Shiva came there, the Ganesha refused to admit him and
the Lord Shiva defeated him in the battle and cut off
his head. On seeing this, Parvati was distressed.
Then, Lord Shiva promised to replace the head with
that of the first living being they will found. They
go into the forest and get the head of the first
animal they found that fit onto the boy's neck. They
found a little elephant, and it worked. Thus the Lord
Ganesha came into being. According to another story,
Ganesha was conjured out of a piece of cloth by Shiva
to produce a son for Parvati. Later Shiva brought
about the boy’s death by decapitation, and then in
order to please Parvati, he called on the gods to find
him a new head. After much searching they gave him an
elephant’s head. The tusk broke when it was cut from
the elephant’s body, therefore, Lord Ganesha is
normally shown with a broken tusk. The Ganesh
Chaturthi festival is observed all over India,
particularly in Maharashtra, in the month of August or
September to celebrate the birth of Ganesha. A clay
idol of Ganesha, sometimes eight metres high, is
brought in the house, worshipped for two to ten days
and then taken out in a procession and immersed in the
sea or lake. Coconuts and sweetened flour-balls are
offered to him. Devotees are advised not to look at
the moon on this day as it had behaved unbecomingly
towards Ganesha once. The moral interpretation of this
is that one should avoid contact with people who have
no faith in God and religion.
Manifestations of Ganesha
According to the Ganesha Purana, Lord Ganesha had four
manifestations. The manifestation Mahakota Vinayaka
has ten hands, he rides a lion and dazzles with
brilliance. The manifestation Shri Mayuresh has six
hands, fair complexion and rides a peacock. The
manifestation Shri Gajaanana has four hands, crimson
coloured and rides a mouse. The manifestation Shri
Dhoomaraketu has two hands, smoke-coloured complexion
and rides a horse. Lord Ganesha also has thirty-two
other manifestations. Some of these popular
manifestations are Vighnesh (remover of obstacles),
Ekadanta (one-toothed), Modakpriya (one who loves
sweets), and Ganapati (head of the semi-divine Ganas).
The most fearsome incarnation of Ganesha is that of
Vinayaka, who brings catastrophe, madness and
misfortune if he is displeased. |
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Kartikeya |
Kartikeya,
the god of war and general of the army of the gods, is
known for his extraordinary strength. He is yellow
skinned and usually has six heads. He holds a spear,
bow, arrow, noose, discus, cock, shield, conch-shell,
plough and sword in his hands. He has one hand in a
charitable position and the other in a protective
position. In many idols found in the Southern part of
India, he is shown as having twelve arms. His vehicle
is the peacock. His origin may has resulted from the
assimilation of a deity from the Southern parts of
India. In ancient times his worship was very
widespread and there are references about his images
in homes and temples. With the advent of Shiva, Kartikeya started losing his importance in Northern
India where he was sometimes relegated to the position
of a guardian deity in Shaivite temples. In the South
he is still popular, and is also associated with
deities like Murugan, Velam and Seyyan. In some texts
he is regarded as the son of Shiva and Parvati and is
therefore the brother of Ganesha. The reason for
having six heads can be found in one of the stories
relating to his birth. A passage in the Mahabharata
mentions Agni’s adulterous relationship with six wives
of the Rishis (ascetics), who represent the six stars
from the Indian Pleidaes in the constellation of
Tauraus. The relationship resulted in the birth of
Kartikeya. Because of six heads, all his six mothers
were able to suckle him at the same time. In the Hindu
month of Kartik, the clay image of Kartikeya is
worshipped and then immersed in the river. In the
Durga Puja also, his image is set up by her side. Many
women worship Kartikeya so that they may be blessed
with a male offspring. |
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