Having thus traced Vishnŭ the Preserver through the various forms he assumed on earth in the ten avatars, in his appearance as Krishna, and the latter in the form of Jaganat’ha, let us return to the third personage of the Hindū triad.
SHIVŬ, THE DESTROYER.
This god is generally ranked as the third power or attribute of the deity, he personifies destruction; and in the obvious arrangement of the three grand powers of the Eternal One, Creation and Preservation precede Destruction. His most usual accompaniment is a trident, or tri-forked flame, called trisula; his colour is white, that of his hair light or reddish. He is sometimes seen with two hands, sometimes with four, eight, or ten; and with five faces. He has a third eye in his forehead, pointing up and down; this distinction is peculiar to him, his children, and Avataras. As the god of Justice, which character he shares with Yama and other deities, he rides a bull, the symbol of divine justice. As emblems of immortality, serpents are common to many deities, but this god is abundantly decked with them, and snakes are his constant attendants. A crescent on his forehead, or in his hair, is common in pictures and images of Mahadeva or Shivŭ. Serpents, emblems of eternity, form his ear-rings, called Naug Kundala: his pendant collar of human heads (Mund mala) marks his character of Destruction, or Time; and his frontal crescent points at its most obvious measurement, by the phases of the moon. He holds what has been considered as a small double hand-drum, shaped like an hour-glass, called damaru, probably a sand gheri. Shivŭ is called “the three-eyed god,” and “the auspicious deity with uneven eyes.” Sometimes he is represented with a battle-axe (gadha, or parasha), and an antelope (mirg) in his superior hands: and in many plates of the deity his loins are wrapped in a tiger’s skin, and the goddess Gunga (the Ganges) flows from his mugut or head-piece. The followers of Vishnŭ assert, that the blessed river flowed originally out of heaven, from the foot of Vishnŭ, and, descending upon Kailasa, the terrestrial paradise of Mahadēo, fell on the head of Shivŭ. Each sect is desirous of tracing the source of the sacred river to the head or foot of its own deity. The stream is sometimes seen issuing from the head of Shivŭ, and sometimes she afterwards issues from a cow’s mouth. It is said, that high up towards its source the river passes through a narrow rocky passage, which pilgrims, who visit the sacred cleft, imagine resembles a cow’s mouth. This spot is hence called Gawmuki, and is a place greatly resorted to by pilgrims.
Viswaswara is the name by which Shivŭ is invoked at a beautiful and famous temple of that name in Kashi, or Benares; and it is said in the Purānas, that “The Vedas and Shastrs all testify that Viswaswara is the first of Devas, Kashi the first of cities, Gunga the first of rivers, and charity the first of virtues.” Nandi is the epithet always given to the vehicle of Siva, the white bull: in his temples it is usually represented couchant.
Here I will mention some of the animals appropriated as vehicles to Hindū mythological personages. Brahma, the swan, Hanasa—Vishnŭ, the eagle, Garuda—Shivŭ, the bull, Nandi—Ganesh, the rat—Kartikeya, a peacock—Indra, the elephant, Travati—Varuna, the genius of the waters, bestrides a fish, as doth also Gunga, the prime goddess of rivers. Kama, the god of Love, is carried by a lory, or parrot; Agni, god of Fire, by a ram. The Sactī, or consorts of these deities, have the attendant animal or vahan of their respective lords. Bhavani is, however, oftener seen on a lion or a tiger than on a bull, the vahan of Shivŭ. Avataras of deities ride a bull, horse, &c.
Of Garuda, the man-eagle or bird-god, I have a small and curious brazen image; representing him with folded wings, sitting in an attitude of adoration, on the back of a nondescript animal, which I have been told is a rhinoceros, but it has no horn.
Another brazen image which I procured, as well as the former, at Prāg, represents the bird-god in an attitude of adoration on one knee, supporting on the top of his head a broadly-expanded cup, edged with leaves, perhaps intended to represent an expanded lotus; a vessel of this sort is used in pūja.
The title deva is very comprehensive, meaning generally a deity; devī is its feminine, but it is applied mostly to Bhavani, consort of Mahadeva, which name of Shivŭ is, literally, great god. But, as the title of deva is given to other gods, superior and inferior, so that of devī is, as hath been before stated, occasionally bestowed similarly on other goddesses. Devata is the plural of deva; by some writers spelled dewtah.
The antelope (mirg) that Shivŭ holds in one hand, alludes to a sacrifice, when the deer, fleeing from the sacrificial knife, took refuge with him. Five lighted lamps are used in pūja to this god.
Dūrgā is the consort of Shivŭ; this goddess is also known under the name of Bhŭgŭvŭtēē, which title is also given to the cow, which is regarded by the Hindūs as a form of Dūrgā. He was also married to Satī, the daughter of King Dukshu.