While fierce ruthless natural phenomenon and storm-related Rudra is feared in the hymns of the Rigveda, the beneficial rains he brings are welcomed as Shiva aspect of him. In RV 2.33, he is described as the Father of the Rudras, a group of storm gods. He is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity. Rudra, a Rigvedic deity with fearsome powers, was the god of the roaring storm. Writing in 1997, Srinivasan interprets what John Marshall interpreted as facial as not human but more bovine, possibly a divine buffalo-man.Īsko Parpola states that other archaeological finds such as the early Elamite seals dated to 3000-2750 BCE show similar figures and these have been interpreted as seated bull and not a yogi, and the bovine interpretation is likely more accurate. John Keay writes that he may indeed be an early manifestation of Lord Shiva as Pashu-pati, but a couple of his specialties of this figure does not match with Rudra. He characterizes these views as speculative, but adds that it is nevertheless possible that there are echoes of Shaiva iconographic themes, such as half-moon shapes resembling the horns of a bull. Scholars such as Gavin Flood, John Keay and Doris Meth Srinivasan have expressed doubts about this suggestion. This figure was named by early excavators of Mohenjo-daro as Pashupati (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paupati ), 71 an epithet of the later Hindu deities Shiva and Rudra. Siva became identified with countless local cults by the sheer suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, e.g., Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara, Chandesvara. The latter were either taken to represent the multiple facets of the same god or else were supposed to denote different forms and appellations by which the god came to be known and worshipped.

The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the atarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.

Shiva is a pan-Hindu deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation and arts. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash 1 as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.Ī goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Parvati ( Sati ) the equal complementary partner of Shiva.

Mahadev serial tamil