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General Forum: Religion | | aadhyaatmika praSnalu | |
| Shiva granted a peculiar boon to a demon called Bhasmasura, who wished that if he placed his hand on anyone's head, that person would turn to ashes. No sooner was his wish granted than he menaced Shiva himself, who took to his heels and was saved by Vishnu, in the form of Mohini, the enchantress Induced by Mohini to join her dance, the demon soon killed himself by placing his hand on his own head. Shiva and Mohini combined their energies and produced Hari-hara putra (Vishnu-Shiva's son), later identified with Sasta or Aiyappa, a celibate tribal deity in Kerala, whose cult is now enormous in India.. He lives on in Mohiniattam, the feminine counterpart of Kerala's dance theatre, Kathakali.
Shiva is the creator of dance and of the first 16 rhythmic syllables ever uttered, from which the Sanskrit language was born. His dance of anger is called the Roudra Tandava and his dance of joy, the Ananda Tandava. All the gods and sages were present when he first danced the Nadanta Tandava, a characteristically vigorous dance, and they begged him to dance again. Shiva promised to do so in the hearts of his devotees and in a sacred grove in Tamil Nadu, where the great temple of Chidambaram was built, the only one in all India dedicated to Shiva as Nataraja, the lord of dance. It is believed that on the 13th day of each bright lunar fortnight after 6 o'clock in the evening, falls a sacred hour called Pradosha. Worshipping Shiva at this time is akin to worshipping all the powers
Shiva the universe, for this is the time when all the gods are believed to have assembled on Kailash to lose them in the ecstasy of Nataraja's dance.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 11:03:10 AM IST
The name Shiva does not appear in the Vedas. However he is identified with the Vedic god Rudra, lord of songs, sacrifices, nourishment, the healer of diseases and provider of property. According to the Shiva Purana, Shiva is said to have five faces, corresponding to his five tasks, the panchakriya: creation, establishment, destruction, oblivion, and grace. His five faces are associated with the creation of the sacred syllable Om.
Shiva is said to live on Mount Kailash, a mountain in the Himalayas. His vehicle is Nandi the bull and his weapon, the trishul. Shiva's consort is Parvati, who is also believed to be a part of Shiva. One of the most popular forms of Shiva is that of Ardhanarishvara.
According to a story in the Puranas, Brahma was unsuccessful at creation. He propitiated Shiva who took this form and separated Parvati from his body. Parvati has many incarnations, like Kali, Durga, and Uma. Their sons are Kartikeya and Ganesha.
Shiva is believed to have a large number of attendants, called ganas. These mythological beings have human bodies with animal heads. Shiva's son Ganesha is the leader of the ganas.
Across the country, there are hundreds of temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva. He is usually worshipped in the form of a shivalinga, and also as an idol. He is worshipped by offering flowers, excepting the
Ketaki Brahma Bel leaves, milk, and sandalwood paste are also pleasing to him. There is a special arati to Shiva and many hymns and poems in his praise.
There are many stories in the Puranas about the origin of Shiva. According to the Vishnu Purana, at the beginning of this kalpa Brahma wanted a child and meditated for one. Presently, a child appeared on his lap and started crying. When asked by Brahma why he was crying, the child replied that it was because he did not have a name. Brahma then named him Rudra, meaning "howler". However the child cried seven more times and was given seven more names. Shiva therefore has eight forms: Rudra, Sharva, Bhava, Ugra, Bhima, Pashupati, Ishana, and Mahadeva, which, according to the Shiva Purana, correspond to the earth, water, fire, wind, sky, a yogi called Kshetragya, the sun, and the moon respectively. During the samudra manthan, when poison was churned out of the ocean, Shiva is said to have swallowed it to save the world from destruction. As he drank the poison, Parvati clasped his throat tightly so that the poison remained there and darkened his neck. Because of this, he is known as Neelkantha, the blue-necked one.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 11:02:24 AM IST
Shiva literally means "auspiciousness, welfare". He is the third god of the Hindu Triad (see Trimurti) and is the destroyer of all evil. He represents darkness (tamas), and is said to be the 'angry god'. However, according to Hinduism, creation follows destruction. Therefore Shiva is also regarded as a reproductive power, which restores what has been dissolved. As one who restores, he is represented as the linga or phallus (see Shivalinga), a symbol of regeneration.
He has a 1,008 names, including Mahadeva (the great god), Mahesh, Rudra, Neelkantha (the blue-throated one), and Ishwar (the supreme god). He is also called Mahayogi, or the great ascetic, who symbolises the highest form of austere penance and abstract meditation, which results in salvation (see Moksha).
Shiva is believed to exist in many forms. His most common depiction is as a dark-skinned ascetic with a blue throat. Usually seated cross-legged on a tiger skin,
Shiva's hair is matted and coiled on his head, adorned with a snake and a crescent moon. Ganga is always depicted flowing out of his topknot. Shiva has four arms and three eyes. The third eye, in the middle of his forehead, is always closed and only opens to annihilate an evil doer. A garland of skulls, rudraksha beads, or a snake hang from his neck. Shiva also wears snakes as armlets and bracelets. The serpent race, despised and feared by all other creatures, found a place of honour on Shiva's sacred person, simply because he was moved by their plight.
In one hand, Shiva holds his trishul, the Pinaka. The trishul usually has a damaru or waisted drum tied to it. In another hand, he holds a conch shell (see Shankha), and in the third, a rudraksha rosary, a club, or a bow. One hand is usually empty, raised in a gesture of blessing and protection. The other points to his feet, where the devotee is assured of salvation. He wears a tiger or leopard skin around his waist, and his upper body is usually bare, but smeared with ashes, as befits an ascetic. His third eye is believed to have appeared when Parvati, in a playful mood, covered his eyes with her hands. Immediately, the universe was plunged into darkness and there was chaos. To restore order, Shiva formed another eye on his forehead, from which emerged fire to restore light. The light from this eye is believed to be very powerful, and therefore destructive. Shiva opens his third eye only in anger, and the offender is burnt to cinders.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 11:01:24 AM IST
o^ haasya brahmagaaru postingsbaagaane unnaayi mu^rtigaaru anupamagaaru vi^Tini chadivi praSnala varshamu guppistaaru....anninTiki samaadhaanaalivvaTaaniki sidhdhamu kanDi
Posted by: Mr. Bhaskar At: 18, May 2006 10:53:05 AM IST
Posted by: భాస్కర్. బి At: 18, May 2006 10:18:56 AM IST
// All of you read it good stuff very good posting//
kompatIsi aa aiDikooDaa mIdEnaa bhaaskar jI? :)
Posted by: Mr. HAYAGREEVA MURTY Rachuri At: 18, May 2006 10:50:22 AM IST
SIVA and BHAIRAVA
Siva (also spelled Shiva) is one the major deities in the Hindu pantheon. Known in the West through shallow popularizations as the "Destroyer God," and contrasted with Brahma ("the Creator God") and Visnu ("The Preserver God"), he is actually far more than one-third of a triad to his Indian devotees (called Saivites), for they view him as the Supreme Being, the ultimate Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer of the Universe. To goddess worshipping Hindus (called Saktiites), who devote themselves to female divinities such as Kali, Durga, and Parvati, Siva is the "consort," described in various religious texts as the teacher, pupil, friend, lover, husband, or sacrificial victim of the goddess who is the Supreme Being. Among those who worship Visnu (Vaisnavites), Siva is a fairly minor god, one whose chief distinction is that he aided and assisted Visnu during the creation of the universe by drinking a poison that developed during the churning of the buttermilk sea from which the cosmos was precipitated.
Siva is typically depicted as a thin, near-naked man with long hair worn in a top-knot. He usually has two arms when shown seated in meditation as an ascetic and four arms when shown performing his tandava dance of cosmic destruction. In his ascetic form he sits on or is clothed in a tiger-, leopard-, or lion-skin. He carries a double-headed drum and a trident or gig, called in Sanskrit a trisula, which he uses as a weapon. His vehicle is a bull whose name is Nandi. His chief decoration consists of the crescent moon in his hair, and bracelets and necklaces of living cobra snakes (nagas). He is sometimes shown holding prayer beads (malla) in one hand. His forehead is marked with a design of horizontal stripes.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 10:48:32 AM IST
Posted by: Mrs. Anupama K At: 17, May 2006 4:50:05 PM IST
I krinda pOshTingulu daanini vyatirEkistunnaayi kadaa! adE nEnanEdi. prasuuti vairaagyam SmaSaana vairaagyam ani
Posted by: Mrs. Anupama K At: 17, May 2006 5:00:31 PM IST
Posted by: Mrs. Anupama K At: 17, May 2006 5:11:06 PM IST
naakEmI mI suukti muktaavaLi akkaralEdani nEnanalEdE. manchi vunTE grahistaamu lEkapOtE manchidi cheputaamu nammu nammakapO . hamsa kshIra nyaayam laaga. ante gaani avahElana cheyyaDam avI mIkE chellu.
ayinaa mI nammakamutOnE mIrunDaalanukonnappuDu Edainaa endukutelusukOvaDam ?
Posted by: Mr. HAYAGREEVA MURTY Rachuri At: 18, May 2006 10:48:31 AM IST
Shiva - The Meaning
shiva the name of the Lord is a mantra. It is a part of the very holy mantra of shaivam The Holy Five Letters. mantra means powerful word. The mantras are revealed to and through the sages in their matured spiritual state to the entire world. These mantras may or may not be associated directly to one particular language. At times they get interpreted in the languages. The name shiva and The Holy Five Letters are accepted as they are in different languages.
In saMskR^itam the word shiva means auspicious, prosperous (maN^gaLam). The Lord who is called pashupati, Asutosha being the Supreme that can not be measured by the thoughts, appears to the one who worships as the God graceful, blissful and nurturing. Its auspicious and graceful forms and names are invoked by the worshiper for the upliftment of oneself.
In thamiz it refers to shiva - civappu - chemporuL meaning the Perfect Being. The God staying in a state blissful, enjoying in Its Own Self eternally, without any flaws is the Supreme Lord shiva. The Perfection is the completeness - there is nothing external that is required to make the Self blissful. In this context it would be worthwhile to contemplate on the mantra shivatarAya.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 10:43:51 AM IST
Lord Shiva - A fierce God ?
There has been a misconception with some people that Lord Shiva is a fierce One. This misconception stems from the portrayals that He is the god of destruction, He is adorned with the skulls and snakes, the ways of worship are quite strict and yogic in nature. A more closer look into the Shaivism would clarify these.
First of all the word shiva itself means auspicious and perfection(1). Can there be a more auspicious thing than the Auspicious ?! This great God who is adorned with skulls and snakes, is the one the great devas worship. Because those great divines realise this Supreme's potence and glorious qualities.(2) Saluting this Lord, who goes on alms as if He has nothing but in reality made the kubhEra the king of wealth, all the divines get their greatness and prosperity. This Supreme, who could not be explored by even the great devas, get very easily pleased and showers on the devotee with boons. It is said when one wants even hard to get boons, worship of Lord shiva would be the way. Very naturally our Lord is called ashutosha (fast pleased) and bholenath(innocent Lord) !!
When one evolves in the worship of Lord shiva to be a devotee, the worship is more out of love than a fear for a supernatural power. When the devotee experiances the Glorious qualities of the Lord the love blooms and this love, knowledge and experiance paves way for the spiritual success and not the fear. (This is in fact the speciality of Hinduism not compelling the follower to fear for a super natural power but to know, experiance and be in It). The disciplined paths of worshiping the Lord may appear difficult but sure to bring lots of marvel in return. Also not all the worship paths are so strict. If this God would get pleased only for highly strict rituals what would one have to say about kaNNappa ?(3)
Lord Shiva is not the the god of destruction, but is the Supreme who plays the five activites of Creation, Protection, Destruction, Concealing and Blessing. The God shiva who is known as parashiva (the Supreme Shiva) plays these actions that run the Universe through Its forms and powers but is above all these specific deeds.(4) But like an owner of a firm who also works with the people he employed, the Supreme Shiva in spite of being the Master of all these great deeds also enacts as the doer of some deeds like the destruction, Concealing and Blessing.
Various forms of the Lord Shiva show Him Ash smeared with skulls and snakes dancing in the cemetries. But it should be understood that these are the glories of the Supreme that It is adorned with nature since It is beyond the human ornations.(5) It is this Lord the wise worship when they want the most auspicious boons.
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 10:41:44 AM IST
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 9:49:28 AM IST
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 9:45:47 AM IST
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 9:44:30 AM IST
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 9:43:41 AM IST
Posted by: Mr. Hasya Brahma At: 18, May 2006 9:37:31 AM IST
chaalaa kashTapaDi kaapI pEshTu chEsaaru. avi E E puraaNaalalO vunnaayi. aanglalipilO chadivE Opika naaku lEdu.
Posted by: భాస్కర్. బి At: 18, May 2006 10:18:56 AM IST
mIrE pOshTingulanuguurchi cheputunnaaru. hAsyabrahmagaarivEnaa? nEnEvI chadavalEdu. kaani pEru baagundi cheppinavi gooDaa haasyam laagE vunDochchu.
Posted by: Mr. HAYAGREEVA MURTY Rachuri At: 18, May 2006 10:40:23 AM IST
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