Hinduism, Lord Shiva
In Hinduism, the triumvirate comprises three gods responsible for humankind's existence, their creation, and the destruction of their ideal world. The role is given and controlled by different gods where they all have the role they play in the existence of humankind or their destruction. Hindus believe in the presence of three gods that is Brahma, Vishnu, and shiva. Shiva is the god responsible for the destruction of the universe and the recreation of the same in a better making than the previous one bringing about change that is beneficial to humankind (Bhandari, Kaur, & Grover, 2018). Due to his unpredictable nature and moods, shiva is considered ass an angry god where he is vital in destroying the community's evils. The connection of lord shiva to destruction makes him the most worshiped god as people fear the aspect of destruction. Still, he is considered a reproductive god as he offers recreation after destruction.
The myth of shiva is based on the creation of time where nothing exists except the spirit where he created himself from the words let me become. After his existence, the next thing he made was the fire to warm himself, which is regarded as the source of light. Due to his core role in the creation, he’s considered the creator and all-knowing, and from his existence comes the aspect of life where he liberates it in time, offering eternal freedom to his creation. The different people give lord shiva other names and faces, making him considered Vedas, meaning the world's source of life as seen in all his creation. In this case, a god responsible for creating the world so that the other gods can create the things in it makes Brahma the god of creations in the world. Shiva is a God who is considered male or female but is represented according to the individual belief about his nature as he regarded taking different forms.
The symbols on the statue of lord shiva include the moon light's presence indicating that lord shiva has control over the aspect of time and that his existence is beyond time, thus eternal. This aspect is considered essential as he’s responsible for controlling nature and his role of destruction and recreation. The body smeared element indicates that his presence is far beyond the material things suggesting the philosophy of life and death in the Hindus community. Everything is converted to as at the end of time (Somasundaram, & Murthy, 2017). The Ganga river on his forehead represents a sacred river where the Hindus believe that the water flows out of the river to the humans, thus considered pure, giving shiva the aspect of purity and peace. The third eye indicates the element of wisdom associated buy lord shiva and his insight. In contrast, the cobra snake on his neck suggests his power over the most feared and dangerous creature. The aspect of the trident has three finger-like features representing the three gods of the Hindus.
Lord Shiva is also known as the lord of dance, where dances are considered one of the primary forms of art in India as it is viewed as a way of bringing balance in life. Due to his association with destruction, he’s is mainly associated with the Tandav dance, which in India is considered the dance of death (Mandal, et al. 2020). The song is related to a legend about Shivas wife sati death after they had married against her father's will; she jumped in the sacred fire, causing shiva to sing the song Tandav, which was to bring the end of the world before its time. He was soothed and calmed down by the sprinkling of her ash over him by the other gods to avoid the wrath of shiva. Shiva is viewed by the Hindus as the example of marital life after the reborn of Sati as Parvati and an indication that all that has been destroyed will be recreated.
References
Bhandari, H., Kaur, P., & Grover, A. R. An Explorative Study of Hindu Goddess Sites in Himachal Pradesh.
Mandal, U., Panda, M., Routray, S., Parida, S., & Mahalik, G. Significance of Utilizing Plant Resource in Maha Shivratri For The Adoration of Lord Shiva, Odisha, India.
Somasundaram, O., & Murthy, T. (2017). Siva-The mad lord: A Puranic perspective. Indian journal of psychiatry, 59(1), 119.
