S
Figure of Hinduism
Shiva — destroyer and regenerator.
Ascetic on the mountain, dancer whose steps end and renew the universe, the yogi's god — center of the Shaiva stream.
Names & titlesMahadeva, Nataraja, Shankara
DomainDestruction and regeneration; yoga
RelationsConsort: Parvati; sons: Ganesha and Kartikeya
Depicted asAsh-smeared ascetic — third eye, crescent moon, the Ganga in his hair; as Nataraja, dancing in a ring of fire; as the lingam
StandingWorshipped as ultimate in the Shaiva stream
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held
Shiva holds opposites without blinking: the ascetic smeared with ash and the householder with a family; the destroyer whose dance ends the universe and the regenerator whose dance begins it. His temples enshrine the lingam — form standing for the formless.
The same ground, other faiths
claims that share this one's ideas
Ordination.
Buddhism · rite
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The soul is liberated by its own effort.
Jainism · core tenet
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Lent — the forty days.
Christianity · rite
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The greater struggle.
Islam · precept
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Haumai is the disease; the five thieves are the symptoms.
Sikhism · core tenet
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Ascetic discipline liberates.
Shaivism · core tenet
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