Article:
Why Śiva is the most mysterious of all Hindu gods
By Rohini Bakshi
daily O

A lot of questions remain unanswered about the widely revered deity.

Of all the deities in the Hindu pantheon, by far the most complex and mysterious to me is Śiva. Devotees and scholars alike have attempted to pierce the shrouds of textual and archaeological history to understand his origin, nature and evolution. Yet he continues to defy comprehension and definition. Some, following John Marshall, have sought him in the phallic emblems, baetyls, seals and sculptures of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Others like Doris Srinivasan place his origins firmly in the early Vedic fold, and in the Vedic deity Rudra. Still others like Phyllis Granoff point to the textual and iconographic chasm between the Vedic Rudra and the classical Śiva, indicating a need for serious contemplation and research to understand how, if indeed they are one and the same deity, the transition and transformation came about.

Rudra’s nature from the early Vedic to the late Vedic period embodies continuities and differences. We find that his benign aspect increasing gradually while his destructive aspect declines, though remains. Rudra of the Ṛgveda is a minor deity, a storm god with just three hymns dedicated to him: 1.114, 2.33 and 6.46. (He appears along with Soma in 1.43 and 6.74). His dual nature is already evident. Prone to anger and quick to dispatch weapons especially arrows against those who enrage him, he is also a deity with healing remedies and a provider of good luck. He is the flame-red boar of heaven, youthful with braided hair, powerful lips, merciful hands, tender-hearted and easy to invoke. Father of the Maruts, dazzling like the bright sun, powerful like a wild beast, swift, with the destructive power of lightning, storm and fire, he is lord of the sacrifice, of song and the physician of physicians. One of the adjectives used for him is indeed śiva (auspicious), but not exclusively. It is used for Agni and Indra and is also the name of a people in the Ṛgveda (7.18.7) The classical iconography (candra, Gaṅgā, liṅga) so familiar to us today is completely absent.

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Image:
Shiva's Twilight Dance
India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler, circa 1775-1800
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art