Lord Shiva The Most Mysterious

Hindu God

Of all the deities in the Hindu pantheon, by far the most complex and
mysterious to me is iva. 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 iva,
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.
Rudras 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
gveda 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, tenderhearted 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 iva (auspicious),
but not exclusively. It is used for Agni and Indra and is also the name of a
people in the gveda (7.18.7) The classical iconography (candra, Gag,
liga) so familiar to us today is completely absent.

By the time of the composition of the Yajurveda sa hitas, Rudra has grown
tremendously in stature. His importance and physical appearance in the
minds of the is
has changed. Now he is clad in skin, dwells in the
mountains, is aged and has a thousand eyes. Ambika is mentioned for the

first time in the Vedic corpus at this stage, not as his wife, but as his sister.
In what J Bruce Long calls the embodiment of divine ambivalence, both the
auspicious (iva) as well as malevolent (rudra) aspects are developed in the
renowned atarudriya prayer which occurs in the k
a Yajurveda and with
some modification in the ukla Yajurveda. From being a minor atmospheric
deity in the g sa hita, he has become Vivarpa and his presence can be
felt in streams, ponds, banks, on the road, on barren land, in the cow pen,
in the heart the whirlpool, in the dust and mist.

Now addressed as Nlagrva, itikanha,

Giriaya (mountain dweller),

Vipaharaa (one on whom the deadliest poison has no effect), and

Paupati, he is the lord of the forests, trees, fields and plants. In the

atarudriya is also evident his all-inclusive divinity which is extended to

wanderers, thieves, tricksters, robbers and pilferers. His Rudras/gaapatis
are the lords of carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, fishermen, hunters and the
Nidas, a non-Vedic tribe. While the atarudriya becomes a central text in
the worship of the Puric iva centuries later, there are just as many
features that are unfamiliar (as are familiar) to the devotee who reads it for
the first time. For instance, Rudra as Rathapati (lord of chariots), Harikea
(one who has green hair/green leaves as hair), Kpya (of the well) and
Avaya
(of the pit/hole).
The Atharvaveda represents a further stage of elevation for the Vedic Rudra.
Book XV of this sa hita identifies him with all of creation in a language
which is distinctly Vedic but addresses the deity as Eka-vrtya, vrtyas being
not of the rya community. (Read the first few hymns, or the whole book in
translation here. He becomes Mahdeva and holds the bow of Indra,
erstwhile chief of the Vedic gods. The texts speak of seven attendants of this
deity including Bhava, na, Paupati, arva, Ugra, Rudra and Mahdeva.
They are apart, yet a part of him a theme which Phyllis Granoff takes up in
her research on later developments in the persona of iva.
Rudra/Mahdeva/Eka-Vrtya is fond of strong sura and shares a special
relationship with a pucal (a harlot, lit one who goes after men) but also
becomes one with all that the rya hold pure. Varua, Soma and the seven
is
follow him; hymns like rathantara and brihat follow him, as do the
dityas, and vivedevas. Mahadev Chakravarti posits the theory that Vedic
Rudra is not of rya origin and that the Atharvaveda represents his increased
acceptance by the custodians of the rya belief system.
The brhmaas progress this continual and by now seemingly unstoppable
ascent of Rudra. AB Keith says even the gods are afraid of him by this stage.
By the time of the composition of the vetvatara Upaniad (see U 6.18)
Rudra has become the one god, the one who creates brahman and bestows
the Veda upon him/it. At U 3.2 we encounter a familiar theme: There is
only one Rudra; he has not tolerated a second who would reign over these

worlds by his sovereign powers. After drawing in all beings he stands as the
protector at the end of time, turning West towards men Clearly by this
period, a cult of Rudra (widely accepted today as a precursor to aivism) has
been established. Further evidence is to be found in Patajalis Mahbhya.
Commenting on Pinis sutra V.2.76, he talks of discreet followers of the
deity iva-bhgavatas, who were yalika (possessing iron
spears/lances) and da
jinaka (holders of a staff and wearing animal skin).
Patajali is dated circa second century BCE, while the vetvatara Upaniad
is thought to have been composed between the sixth and the fourth century
BCE.

He remains connected to the Vedic ritual as can be seen in the rauta and
ghya
sutras. Over and above that it is recommended that he be adored in

practically all walks of life. khyana ghyasutra

prescribes Rudra worship

to sick people. The Praskara ghyasutra

directs adoration when crossing a

path, approaching a cross road, swimming across a river, getting into a boat,
entering a forest or climbing a mountain, passing by a burial ground or a
cow pen. For Rudra clearly has come to inhabit the universe. The Hirayake
ghyasutra
recommends the same if one chances upon a cattle dung heap, is

plunged into a river, is near a creeping snake, by a sacrificial site or a big old
tree.
So far we have touched upon the trajectory of Rudra in the early and late
Vedic texts. As yet there is no consensus as to the origin of this deity. Was
he pre-rya? Was he contemporary but external to the rya? Was he a
mountain or a forest god? A malevolent force of nature? Or was he clearly as
rya as Agni, Vyu and Soma, as Doris Srinivasan would have us believe?
Did he gain all his epithets by absorbing the gods of smaller autochthonous
cults? What were the stories that led to his names in the atarudriya? We
have traversed close to two thousand years of textual history and as yet we
havent even reached the part where he becomes unequivocally iva or
ankara. I urge all to learn Sanskrit, read the Vedic corpus and find your
own answers!