Thursday, January 17, 2008

Forms of Shiva II

Shaivite iconography recognizes many different traditional forms of the Lord. The Shiva Lingam is the primary form for worship and is found everywhere, in almost all temples of Shiva. The Shiva Lingam is referred to as the aniconic form because it depicts the supreme Formless Form (arupa-rupa). In addition, 25 common iconic forms (murtis) are described as prominent in Saiva Siddhanta, although many more are recognized (see previous post: Forms of Shiva). In general, anthropomorphic representations are called Maheshvara murtis, whereas the Shiva Lingam, the aniconic form, is called Sadashiva murti.

The Maheshvara murtis are sub-divided by two sets of classifications. The first classification divides the murtis into fierce (ugra) or benevolent (anugraha) images. The second classification divides the murtis into bhoga, yoga and vira. The bhoga forms are represented with Shakti, whereas in the yoga and vira forms Shakti is not specifically depicted, but is implicit. Note that all the bhoga and most of the yoga forms are also anugraha forms.

25 Maheshvara Murtis

Name
Grouping I
Grouping II
Bhikshatana Anugraha
Yoga
Nataraja AnugrahaYoga
Aja Ekapada
AnugrahaYoga
Dakshinamurti
AnugrahaYoga
Lingodhbhavamurti
AnugrahaYoga
Kamadahanamurti (Kamari)UgraYoga
Tripurantaka (Tripurari)UgraVira
Mahakaleshvara (Kalari)UgraVira
Jalandharari
UgraVira
GajasamharamurtiUgraVira
Virabhadra (Karala)
UgraVira
Kankala-BhairavaUgraVira
Kalyanasundara
AnugrahaBhoga
VrishabharudhaAnugrahaBhoga
Chandrashekhara
AnugrahaBhoga
Uma-Maheshvara AnugrahaBhoga
Shankara-Narayana
AnugrahaBhoga
ArdhanarishvaraAnugrahaBhoga
Kiratamurti
AnugrahaBhoga
ChandeshanugrahaAnugrahaBhoga
Chakrapradasvarupa
AnugrahaBhoga
SomaskandaAnugrahaBhoga
GajamukhanugrahaAnugrahaBhoga
Nilakantha-MaheshvaraAnugrahaBhoga
Sukhasanamurti
AnugrahaBhoga

Panchanana Shiva – the five faces and the five Shaktis

In addition to the above twenty-five, there is yet another important but rare anthropomorphic form – the five-faced (Panchanana) Shiva – which is considered not a Maheshvara Murti, but a Sadashiva Murti like the Shiva Lingam. Per Shaivite theology, Shiva realized in the five faces is revealed as the Lord and Master of all the categories of existence (tattvas), which have classically been described and divided into groups of fives. The sum totality of all groups of five categories is the manifest universe (prapancha). Revealed in the five faces, Shiva is realized as the essence of all prapancha (prapancha-sara).

Each of the five faces of Shiva has a proper name, and an associated Shakti, which collectively describe the Panchakritya (five divine acts) of Shiva, i.e. creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and revealment.

Name of Face
Associated Shakti
Ishana (Sadashiva)
Anugraha Shakti (Power of Revealment)
Tatpurusha (Maheshvara)
Tirodhana Shakti (Power of Concealment)
Aghora (Rudra)
Samhara Shakti (Power of Dissolution)
Vamadeva (Vishnu)
Stithi Shakti (Power of Sustenance)
Sadyojata (Brahmā)
Sristhi Shakti (Power of Creation)

The basic idea is that the Supreme Lord (Parameshvara) ever creates the world, sustains it, and dissolves it when the time is ripe. Moreover, He has concealed Himself within the fabric of manifest existence, and becomes revealed to us as such when we have matured enough.

Aum Namah Shivaya.
Anbe Sivamayam Satyame Parasivam
.

Agnideva © 2008. All rights reserved.

Related Post: Forms of Shiva

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

where are you agnideva?

atanu

Anonymous said...

Om Namo Shivaya... Nice Work Sir.

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Search This Blog