DIVINEINFORMATION PART 37 There are 1571 words in this posting counted by thecomputer. Approximately 157 sentences counting 10 words/sentence
While going through one of my external memorydevice, I came across some good information stored from websites. I thought ofsharing interesting ones from them as a series. In part 37, I am starting with 130TH item in this posting. Kindly note the series is a compilation. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 21-6-21 130 Allabout Lord Shiva Thecommon thread of thought in the religious beliefs of the Indian subcontinentupholds a single Reality (as in absolute monoism) and holds in reverence eachof the several manifestation of the Ultimate Reality in the forms of Gods. Bhrama,Vishnu and Shiva are revered as the Supreme Trinity ofmultitude of manifestations of Divinity. It is said that all that is true, allthat is good and all that is beautiful is God (Satyam Shivam Sundaram). Shivais referred to as 'the good one' or the 'auspicious one'. Shiva - Rudra is considered to be the destroyer ofevil and sorrow. Shiva - Shankara is thedoer of good. Shiva is 'tri netra' or three eyed, and is 'neela kantha' - blue necked (having consumed poison to save the world from destruction. Shiva - Nataraja is the Divine Cosmic Dancer. Shiva- Ardhanareeswara is both man andwoman. My note- In Sankaran Kovil nearRajapalayam in Tamilnadu, Lord Siva is in ArdhaNareeswararoopam. Many Brahmins have kula deivam Sankaran Kovil or sankaran kovil and sadavudayar kovil together. He isboth static and dynamic and is both creator and destroyer. He is the oldest andthe youngest, he is the eternal youth as well as the infant. He is the sourceof fertility in all living beings. He has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva is the greatest ofrenouncers as well as the ideal lover. He destroyes evil and protects good. Hebestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. He is omnipresent andresides in everyone as pure consciousness. Shiva is inseparable from Shakti - Parvati the daughter of Himavaan -Haimavati. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva, the two are one - or theabsolute state of being - consciousness and bliss. The fivemantras that constitute Shiva's body are Sadyojaata, Vaamadeva, Aghora,Tatpurusha and Eesaana. Eesaana is Shiva notvisible to the human eye, Sadyojaata is Shiva realized in his basicreality (as in the element earth, in the sense of smell, in the power ofprocreation and in the mind). The Vishnudharmottara Purana of the 6th centuryCE assigns a face and an element to each of the above mantras. (Sadyojaata - earth, Vaamadeva - water, Aghora - fire, Tatpurusha - air and Eesaana - space). Thenames of the deified faces with their elements are Mahadeva (earth), Bhairava (fire), Nandi (air), Uma (water) and Sadasiva (space). Panchamukha lingamshave been seen from the 2nd century onwards. The Trimurthi Sadasivaimage of Shiva in the Elephanta Caves nearMumbai is a portrayal in stone, of the five faces of Shiva. The fourth and thefifth heads are not seen in this image here. Theworks of sages Vyasa, Vasishta, Patanjali, the poet Kalidasa, the tamil saintpoets Nayanmars - Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, the poet Manikkavachakar,the mystic tamil siddhas, tantric philosophers, the spiritual leader AdiSankaracharya and others such as Basavanna and Appayya Deekshitar speak of theattributes of Shiva. 131 Significance of the Shiva Lingam The nonantrhropomorphic Lingam form ofShiva is what is held in reverence in temples all over the sub continent.The Lingam is a symbol. It is a symbol of that which isinvisible yet omnipresent. It is hence a a visible symbol of theUltimate Reality which is present in us (and in all objects of creation ). The Shivalingam denotes the primeval energy ofthe Creator.It isbelieved that at the end of all creation, during the great deluge, all of thedifferent aspects of God find a resting place in the Lingam; Bhrama is absorbedinto the right, Vishnu to the left and Gayatri into the heart. TheShivalingam is also a representation of the infinite Cosmic Column of fire,whose origins, Vishnu and Bhrama were unable to trace. (see Lingodbhavar). Legend has it that Parvatifashioned a Shivalingam with a fistful of sand at Kanchipuram and worshippedShiva; this lingam is known as the Prithvilingam,denoting the primordial element earth. Shivalingamsin several temples are swayambus, or that which appeared on their own, or thatwhich is untouched by a chisel. On the other hand, there are temples where theShivalingam is carved out of stone and installed. The highly polished Shivalingams of the Pallavaperiod bear several stripes, as in the Kailasanatha temple atKanchipuram. TheShivalingam is generally mounted on a circular or quadrangular receptaclecalled the Avudaiyar. Thispedestal is designed so as to drain off the water offered during ablutionceremonies. In temples such asKanchipuram, abhishekam is offered only to the pedestal and not to theShivalingam made of sand. The bottom of the pedestal representsBhrama, the octogonal middle represents Vishnu and the upper circular portionrepresents Shiva. Theupper portion of the Shivalingam may be of various shapes, cylindrical,elliptical, umbrella shaped. Images may also be (rarely) carved on aShivalingam. Nandi, the bull isdepicted facing the sanctum in allSaivite temples, symbolizing the human soul Jeevatmayearning for realizing its oneness with Paramatma, theultimate reality. Typically,the processional bronze images of Shiva are those of Somaskanda, Chandrasekhara,Bhikshatana and Nataraja. Although in most Shiva temples, the centralshrine enshrining the Shivalingam is of the greatest importance, the Natarajashrine is of greater importance at Chidambaram, the Somaskandar - Tyagarajar shrineis of greater significance at Tiruvarur. 132 Lingodbhava - Origin of Shiva LingaWorship Lingodbhavamurthyis an iconic representation of Shiva, installed in the rear devakoshta (niche)of the garbagriha (sanctum) of all Shiva temples. The story of Lingodbhavaris that of the attempts of Vishnu and Bhrama to discover the origins (thebeginning Aadi and the end Antha) of Shiva, as stated in three of thepuranas - the Kurma Purana, the Vayu Purana and Shiva Purana. Vishnuwas engaged in his yoganidhra - the slumber of yoga - at the end of a kalpa, inthe waters of the great deluge, when there appeared before him, Bhrama emergingfrom a great illumination. Bhramaintroduced himself to Vishnu as the Creator of the Universe, towhich Vishnu replied that he was the architect of the Universe. An argumentensued between both as to their superiority over one another, when thereappeared before them - ahuge lingam of fire - with tongues of flames blazing out of it. Curiousto trace the origins of this column of fire, Bhrama assumed the form of a swanand flew upwards, while Vishnu assumed the form of a boar, and burrowed downinto the earth. Days of searchin either direction proved futile, and hence the duo surrendered to this columnof fire with prayers. Shiva then appeared out of this column offiery lingam, with a thousand arms and legs, with the sun, moon and fire as histhree eyes, bearing the pinaka bow, wearing the hide of an leephant, bearingthe trishul, and addressedVishnu and Bhrama in a thunderous voice, explaining that the two were born outof him, and that the three were then separated out into threedifferent aspects of divinity. Thenon-anthropomorphic form Shivalingam is a representation of this infinitecosmic column of fire, whose origins were not tracable by Bhrama or Vishnu. TheShivalingam is the center of reverence and worship in all Saivitetemples. The manifestation of Shiva in this columnof fire in front of Bhrama and Vishnu, is carved in stone, as the Lingodbhavamurthy manifestation of Shiva, and is always enshrined in the rear niche of thesanctum enshring a Shivalingam. Since most temples face east, Lingodbhavar faces West. Thislegend described above is held at the vast Arunachaleswara temple complex at Tiruvannamalai,where the sacred Annamalai hill itself, is considered to be a manifestation ofthis cosmic column of fire. Tiruvannamalai,is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, representing the primordial element fire. There isanother interesting aspect to this legend. While Bhrama was flying upwards inthe guise of a swan, he saw the petals of a ketaki flower drifting down. Tired by the futility of hisefforts to reach the top of the mysterious column of fire, Bhrama requested theflower to acquiese to his lie that he had seen the top of the column where theflower had previously resided Accompaniedby his accomplice, Bhrama confronted Vishnu and asserted that he had indeeddiscovered the origin of the cosmic column. An enraged Shiva appeared out ofthe fiery column and cursed Bhramaso that he would not be worshipped in temples on earth. This legendrelates to the fact that there are hardly any temples dedicated to Bhrama inIndia. There is a shrine to Bhramaat Uttamar Koyil in Tamilnadu, and Bhrama isalso represented in the devakoshtas (niches) in Shiva temples; there are temples for Brahma rarely in other places also.Famous one in Pushkar(Rajasthan) My note- I have visited Uthamarkoviltemple. I willcontinue in next posting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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