The above verse from Rigveda [7.59.12], known as the Mahamritunjaya or the Death-conquering Mantra is dedicated to Lord Shiv. Ironically, it is Shiva Himself who is revered as the harbinger of the final Destruction of the World!
Who is Shiva? What are the origins of this mighty god in Hindu religion and what are the different facets of His personality? In this post, let us try to analyze this enigmatic god and learn what it means to be the Lord of Destruction..
In their mistaken belief, some scholars argue that Shiva had a pre-Aryan origin because he was worshiped in the Indus Valley. But, as mentioned in the page {Hindu History} of the blog, the Aryan Civilization, if not earlier, was at the very least contemporary to the Indus-Saraswati Civilization and Vedic scriptures, more likely than not, reflect the literally aspect of the same.
That the Mahabharat follows the Indus perception of Shiva again shows that the two developed same imagery and that this penultimate battle between Good and Evil occurred around the same time as the Indus-Saraswati Civilization! In an article titled {The Riddle of India’s Ancient Past}, the French proto-historian Michel Danino believes there are strong links between Vedas and the Harappan culture.
‘We find statues and seals depicting yogis and yogic postures, we find a Shiva-like deity, worship of a mother-goddess, fire altars, all of which are suggestive of Vedic culture. Harappan symbols include the Trishul, the Swastika, the Conch shell, the Peepal tree, all of which are central to Indian culture. The Rig-Veda itself is full of references to fortified cities and towns, to oceans, sailing, trade and industry, all of which are found in the Harappan civilization.’
The Pashupati seal (2700 BCE) shows a three-headed figure sitting in a Yogic posture surrounded by animals, sometimes with an erect phallus, and more likely than not is an iconic representation of Shiva-Rudra. Exactly similar description arises in the Mahabharat, where the Lord is referred to as Trishira (having three heads); Digvasas (without clothes); Urddh-linga (with upward erect phallus), and Yogadhyaksha, or the Lord of Yoga.
As you probably know from my other posts, I love to find out the similarities between the mythologies from different parts of the world. Keeping up with the tradition, I here share with you the image of the horned god Cernunnos worshiped in Europe around 1st century CE.
Just like Shiva, Cernunnos is believed to be the god of Nature and Fertililty and is still revered in Celtic mythology as the ‘Lord of Animals’ (quite similar to the Indus Pashupati!). Whatever the connection between the two, it is not easy to understand Shiva completely as He is described variously at various places with completely opposite attributes.
In Yajurveda, the contrary attributes are referred to as Rudra, the terrifying and Shiva, the auspicious (Sanskrit Shiv = Shubh). Some scholars believe Rudra to be the older form which was merged later with a ‘Non-Aryan’ god Shiva or Pashupati in later times. But do the scriptures support such a hypothesis?
Rudra, the Destroyer of Creation
The story of Rudra’s birth is very interesting and is identically revealed in many Puranas.
As I had earlier mentioned in the post {Creation by Brahma}, inspite of Brahma’s efforts at populating the world, the early sons of Brahma chose to follow the path of Spirituality instead of procreation and Brahma was sorely disappointed. His first creations, the Sanat Kumars, in fact abhorred entering the Samsar Chakra so much that they continue living the form of 5 year old kids and never attain puberty!
This, however, frustrated Brahma so much that from his forehead, (the region of the third eye) emerged a dark red/blue child bawling at the top of his voice. This angry baby was named Rudra (The Howler)!
Mahashivratri is also believed to be the night when Shiva appeared in the form of a Lingam of Fire and challenged the gods Brahma and Vishnu’s contest for supremacy. That was the night Lord Vishnu‘s magnanimity came to fore while Brahma‘s cheating led to Shiva putting the curse that he would never be worshiped.
We see now a reason why Shiva would have invoked belligerence in his father-in-law Daksha Prajapati. After all, Daksha was the eldest Manas-putra of Brahma and could not have taken kindly to this denigration of his father’s position from the Head-of-the-Trinity to its bottom! Perhaps, that was also the reason, that he balked at the idea of his most favored daughter Sati, falling in love with the man he so heartily despised!!
Mahadev’s anger gives birth to Veerbhadra
Virbhadra, born from Shiva’s locks beheads Daksha
This is what makes Shiva more relatable to us humans.. it shows that even at the highest level of spirituality, the bonds of affection may cause a person to slip and plunge into gloom or anger.
Shiva carries the corpse of Sati on His shoulder lamenting His loss till Lord Vishnu uses His Chakra to disintegrate the body. Each part of the body falling on Earth provides a Divine foundation and thus are formed the 51 Shaktipeeths (Seats-of-Energy)!
While both Shiva and Shakti represent the Male and Female forms, their vehicles also represent their innate attributes. Shiva’s vehicle Nandi, the bull, represents magnificence, virility and proud masculinity while Parvati’s vehicle, the mountain Lion or Singh represents her Power or Shakti and the taming of animal instincts by the Mother Goddess.
Archaeologically, we find this reflected in the Zebu bull seals of Indus-Saraswati Civilization (which may represent Nandi) and surprise, surprise, in a far-off valley in Turkey known as Yazili Kaya! The rock-cut friezes in these caves belong to 16th-17th century BCE and show a God Teshav riding a bull, while the accompanying Goddess Hakat rides a Lion and is accompanied by a young boy Kumarbi (Kumar Kartikeya?).
Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of Shiv and Parvati. There are many mentions of it in the various Puranas and other scriptures like Ramayan and Mahabharat. The mountain is sacred for not only Hindus but also Buddhists, Jains and followers of Bon religion.
Jains worship the region as their First Tirthankar, Rishabhdev attained Nirvana here (Check the post {India and Bharat} for more on Adinath Rishabhdev). Tibetan Buddhists worship Mount Kailash as the home of the Buddha Demchok or Chakrasamvara, who represents supreme bliss.
The followers of Bön religion credit the entire region, especially Kailash, as the seat of all spiritual power. Indeed the area gives one a feeling of entering a more spiritual plane especially when you see mountain peaks like that of the Om Parvat.
Inspite of numerous references to it, the readers might be surprised to know, that Kailash was not always the home of Shiva! Infact, some passages of the Shrimad Bhagvat Puraan state that the original abode of Sadashiv is at the boundary of this Universe at the Loka-aloka border!
These verses in the Vayu Puraan, Chapter 39 shed more light on the details of this place:
This would also make sense, since geologically, the Himalayas (of which Mount Kailash is a part), did not rise up till about 5o million years ago!
Since Hindu Timelines begin close to 155 Trillion years (the present age of Brahma), hence, obviously Lord Shiv would have had to live somewhere else before finally making Kailash His home!! Also, the Himalayas wont stay forever as the Pralaya or the End-of-the-World would destroy the World as we know it and Brahma would then remould it into a new shape.
At that time, Shiva would probably return to the abode known as Manomaya with His family and Kailash may or may not come into being again.
Interestingly, the Pineal gland in Human beings is located at the region of the Third-Eye and has tissue similar to that of the normal functioning eye. Indeed the gland in many vertebrates has cells similar to the photoreceptors of eye used for vision!
Could it then be another vestigial organ that we humans possessed earlier but now has a very limited value?? Lord Shiv, then would be the most ancient progenitor of our race in whom the organ functions as it should!
Swayambhu Manu states alludes to this fire from Shiva’s Eye again stating that in two cases Fire is born out of Water. One, at the time of Lightening and secondly, in the case of the under-water Vadava Mare. Brihadaranyak Upanishad [1.1.2] states that the open mouth of this mare keeps releasing fire in the Sea from time to time, perhaps alluding to submarine eruptions common in the ocean floor!
I conclude this post with the invocation I started the post with as there is nothing better to pray for except getting out of this Samsara Chakra. This Mahashivratri, let us remember the Lord with our hearts and minds and pray for deliverance:
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