HIRUVILAIYADAL PURANAM
THE NATIONAL PURANAM OF PANDYA NADU
BY 
M.MUKARJI VIJAYAKUMAR

 

    Hinduism has a very rich body of religious works and literature.
Vedas and their associated works and their branching sciences and fields,
etc. 
    There is a body of literature called Puranas and Ithihasas. 
They are collection and compilations of stories, history, descriptions, 
explanations of rituals, geography, etc. 
    The Puranas are 18 in number. They are the major puranas. 
Apart from these there are the minor puranas. 
    Then there are the sthala puranas. These deal with the 
greatness of a particular holy place or religious centre. 
    There is one unique purana which is of a different calibre. 
    This the ThiruViLaiyaadal PuraNa. 
    This purana describes the 64 Divine Sports and Exploits of  
Lord Siva of Madurai known as Chokanatha or Sundaresvara. 
    There have been several puranas which dealt with the same theme. There is a Sanskrit version known as Halasya Mahathmiyam. 
    The stories which form the corpus of the latest version of the Thiruvilayadal puranam are ancient. Some of the stories go backwards in time to the period of the second Tamil Sangam. 
    Many of the 64 stories have been mentioned by Thirugnyanasambandhar and Thirunavukkarasar. That would take them back before the 6th century AD. 
    Which would mean that whatever puranas about them that existed, must have vanished. 
    The latest version was composed by Parajothi Munivar in the 16th - 17th century.     

    ThiruviLaiyAl puraNam is the national puranam for Pandya nadu. 
    The present version was composed by Parajothi Munivar in the 16th century. 
    He was a native of Vedaranyam of Tanjavur District. He was Tamil scholar. He wrote the Vedaranya Puranam in Tamil from the original Sanskrit form. After its completeion, he started on an itinery which took him to many Saivite pilgrimage centres. He went to all the important places like Chidambaram, Thiruvanaikkaa, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvarur and finally reached Madurai. He became very popular with people of Madurai who revered him. He stayed in Madurai and was performing his worships to the Siva of Madurai. 
    One day the people of Madurai made a popular request. They wanted Paranjothi Munivar to compose a puranam involving the 64 Divine Sports of Siva which took place in Pandyanadu centred around Madurai. 
    While he was cogitating upon this proposal, SriMeenatchi Amman appeared in his dream. She ordered him, "Sing the sporty exploits of My Lord". 
    Thereupon, he woke up and started immediately, singing the first hymn which he dedicated to SiddhiVinayaka. 

saththiyaay sivamaagi thanipara
muththiyaana mudhalai thuthi seya
siddhiyaagiya soRporuL nalguva
siddhiyaanai than seyya poRpadhamE

It started with sathi - sakthi being the mangala vacaka which denotes the dynamic motivational force which induced him to compose the epical poetry.

    He impregnated the epic with all forms of suvai - finesse and beautiful verses. The epic which he named 'ThiruviLaiyadal Puranam'. He sang a total of 3363 verses of all styles.  
Together with preliminary essential parts of an epic, such as the SiRappu Paayiram, Praise to God, Merits of the Country, Merits of the City, Greatness of Mount Kailas, History of the Purana, etc. He composed it into three major kantams - Madurai kantam, Kudal kantam, Thiruvaalavaay kantam. Madurai, Kudal, and Thiruvaalavay are names of Madurai. Each kantam was constituted of patalam. Each patalam described each of the 64 Divine Sports. Apart from these, the first patalam contained special chapters on the thalam - holy town, thirtham - the holy water springs, and murthi - God of the place and also a decade of 10 songs. It contains 18 of the 64 Holy Sports. The second kandam called the Kudal Kandam contains the ninteenth to the forty-eighth patalas. The third or Thiruvaalavaay Kandam contains the forty-ninth to the sixty-fourth kantams. As an epilogue, he has composed some verses which extoll the virtues the Thiruvilaiyadal and a composition of one hundred verses for Madurai.
    The Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam was the National Purana for the people of Pandya Country.

    When Thirumalai Nayakkar was building the PuduMandapam @ Vasantha Mandapam, Paranjothi was always staying in that Mandapam. He spent his time there watching the progress of the work.
    The Pudhu Mandapam is a pavilion hall of sold stone masonry. 
It is beautifully carved with intricate designs. 
It is 333 feet by 105 feet. The height is 25 feet. 
If you look at the dimensions, you will notice that the Naayakkar's 
architect had used the Golden Mean - Fibonacci ratio. 
It has 124 beautiful carved and sculpted pillars. 
Twelve of the pillars have big statues of all the Naayakkar kings 
upto Thirumalai Naayakkar.
    At the eastern end of the hall, is a very ornately carved throne 
pavillion - 'kolu mandapam'. This is made of polished granite and woodwork. 
    The shrines of Minnatchi Sundareswarar are kept kere on the pattabhishekam day. Thirumalai Naayakkar receives the sceptre of Madurai from the Goddesss Miinaatchi to rule as Her Viceroy. 
    Out of the 124 pillars 50 of them contain big statues. 
    Rare forms of Siva are to be seen. Out of the sixty four divine sports - Thiru ViLaiyaadal - of Siva, seven of them are depicted 
in seven of the pillars. 

    The Madurai Miinaatchi Sundareswarar Temple was renovated 
extensively by Thirumalai Naayakkar who ruled Madurai country from 
1623 - 1659. He lived upto a ripe old age in pomp and glory. He also 
made many embellsihments and additions to the temple. 
    Among the many structures that he caused to be put up, were 
two notable buildings 
    Both were built as an additional complex to the Eastern Gopuram. 
Just in front of this gopuram, is a splendid building called PudhuMandapam. 
    In front of the Pudhu Mandapam the Naayakkar anted to build a very huge and tall tower. If it had been completed, it would have been the tallest structure in South Asia for several centuries. This, however, was not to be. 
    Because it was never completed. 

    The subject of our discussion is the PudhuMandapam.

    The Pudhu Mandapam is a pavilion hall of sold stone masonry. 
It is beautifully carved with intricate designs. 
    It is 333 feet by 105 feet. The height is 25 feet. 
    If you look at the dimensions, you will notice that the Naayakkar's 
architect had used the Golden Mean - Fibonacci ratio. 
It has 124 beautiful carved and sculpted pillars. 
Twelve of the pillars have big statues of all the Naayakkar kings 
upto Thirumalai Naayakkar. 
    I have already written an interesting account of the building of 
Pudhu Mandapam with reference to the subject of Saamudrikaa Lakshanam and the minister, NiilaKanta Diikshitar.
    At the eastern end of the hall, is a very ornately carved throne 
pavillion - 'kolu mandapam'. This is made of polished granite and woodwork. 
    The shrines of Minnatchi Sundareswarar are kept kere on the pattabhishekam day. Thirumalai Naayakkar receives the sceptre of Madurai from the Goddesss Miinaatchi to rule as Her Viceroy. 
    Out of the 124 pillars 50 of them contain big statues. 
    Rare forms of Siva are to be seen. Out of the sixty four 
divine sports - Thiru ViLaiyaadal - of Siva, seven of them are depicted 
in seven of the pillars. 
    The sixty four Thiru ViLaiyaadals have formed the theme of a big 
literary work called 'Thiru ViLaiyaadal PuraaNam'. This was composed by ParanjOthi Munivar. 
    The sculptors were incorporating scenes from ThiruviLaiyadal Puranam and sculpting them as panels in the pillar faces. According to Dr.A.V.Jeyachandrum,  the great genius and scholar who is an authority on Madurai and Miinaatchi Temple says, in his post doctoral thesis, these panels and works would have acted as further inspirational catalysts to his creative genius. He says:
    "A traditional account relates that Paranjothi was an eye witness to the construction of Pudhu Mandapam by Thirumalai Naayakkar and while it was taking shape, he used to linger around the place, when one day he met an old ascetic who in palm leaves gave the direction for the composition of this literary work on ThiruViLaiyaadal. It is likely that the Pudhu Mandapam, an edifice of such architectural magnitude and sculptural elegance had inspired Parajothi to compose the work of ThiruViLaiyaaadal PuraaNam - a work rich in diction, spiritual outburst and in poetry of superior order".

    Paranjothi was a multifaceted all-round genius of great calibre. 
    His sweep of knowledge was very wide. He had mastred many of the branches of knowledge which were extant at his time. 
    When he deals with the chapter wherein Siva appears as a Gemstone Merchant, he describes all the classifications of the various gem stones - not only the nine important types but the subclasses which are within those classes. He also explains the types good stones and types of blemishes in them. In another place he deals with everything about gold. He even explains the origins of gold. Mined gold, washed gold, gold nuggets, gold sand. And most surprising of all, gold which was produced from copper or mercury through rasavadham - alchemy, the transmutation of base metals into gold.
    There are some important chapters which deal with the history of Saint Manikavasagar. Manikavasagar was sent by the King Arimardhana Pandya to buy Arabian horses for his cavalry and chariot division. 
    In this chapter, Paranjothi describes about various classes of horse in minute and accurate detail. He also describes how the Arab merchants of those days were dressed like.
    We will go into a precise expostion of the Thiruvilayadal Puranam.......

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Significance Of Narayana

Lord Vishnu, one of the Trinity Supreme, is the Lord of Preserver. He is of blue in color and having four arms with Conch, Discuss, Lotus and Mace on it. The name Vishnu comes from the root VISH, which means, "to spread in all directions, to pervade".

He is the inner center, the core, the nucleus, and the cohesive point through which everything exists. He swells in everything, owns everything and overcomes any thing. The two most common representations of Vishnu show him either sleeping over the waves of the ocean on the coils of the serpent-deity, named Adi Sesha, or standing on waves with four hands each hand holding one of his four chief attributes.

The worshippers of Lord Vishnu are called as "Vaishnavas". To protect, restore and preserve the universe from the evil forces the Lord has incarnated Himself in the form of "Avatar".

He is blue-skinned and in all pictures and images and he is seen in rich ornaments and regal garments. His wife is Lakshmi or Sri, the goddess of wealth and fortune. His place of abode is VAIKUNTHA (heaven) and his vehicle is Garuda, a giant sized eagle, which often is shown as a winged human-shaped figure having a beak-like nose.

Vishnu is the infinite ocean from which the world emerges. Hence his symbol is water (Nara) and he himself is called 'NARAYANA ' - the one who dwells upon the waters. He is pictured with the many-headed snake, as mentioned above, and this denotes Adi Sesha (the timeless or ageless snake). From his navel grows the lotus out of which appears Brahma, the god who created the universe.

Vishnu is regarded as a major god in Hinduism and Indian mythology. He is thought as the preserver of the universe while two other major Hindu gods Brahma and Shiva, are regarded respectively, as the creator and destroyer of the universe.

In vedic literature Vishnu is said to be eternal, an all-pervading spirit, and associated with the primeval waters that are believed to have been omnipresent before the creation of the universe.

The concept of Vishnu being the preserver of the world sprang from two other beliefs: that men attain salvation by faithfully following predetermined paths of duty, and that powers of good and evil (gods and demons) are in contention for domination over the world. When these powers are upset Vishnu, it is further believed, descends to earth, or his avatar, to equalize the powers.

Further it is thought that ten such incarnations or reincarnations of Vishnu will occur. Nine descents are said to have already occurred, the tenth is yet to come.

The sacred writ states that Vishnu is 'the infinite ocean of the universe', from which the entire world springs forth. Therefore his symbol is water, either standing or seated upon with the seven-headed snake Ananta or Shesha, the symbol of watery elements.

Hindu gods and goddesses are phenomenal, but in due course of time Vishnu, as God of all gods, acquired supremacy, which continues till date. He is the central and the major deity of the trinity, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Though technically amongst these three chiefs gods known as creator, preserver, and destroyer, Vishnu is the Preserver, for all practical purpose he is deemed to be all-powerful, all knowing and all present.

Vishnu's mount is Garuda an enormous eagle, sometimes in the form of a winged man with a curved beak. Vishnu is seen usually richly dressed and having four arms with Namam on his forehead in the shape of a U.

Siva The Destroyer

Shankara is the dispeller of all doubts. By his dynamic response to our prayers, He destroys all our doubts, and stabilizes our faith in Him.

There is a saying that a destroyer of the properties of Siva, will get destroyed by Siva. Here the properties of Siva means not just the non living things but include the living things also. This constitutes that one who disturbs a devotee of Siva will get ruined. Rama since he took an avathar as a human he underwent many troubles that a normal human will undergo as per the law of karma. The latter part of Rama's life after the killing of Ravana is miserable. One of the reasons for the miseries is the bramahathi dhosha he obtained by killing a devotee of Siva, namely Ravana.

If Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Siva is the destroyer. His duty is to destroy all the worlds at the end of creation and dissolve them into Ekanda, nothingness.

Modern theories of space do suggest the possible ending of the physical universe after some billions of years through the expansion of a gigantic black hole devouring the matter from endless galaxies.

Before the worlds really come to an end, Siva has many things to do to keep the worlds going. His first and foremost task is to destroy many things in order to ensure the cosmic harmony (Rta) or the order of the universe.

Siva's destruction is not negative. It is a positive, nourishing and constructive destruction that builds and transforms life and energy for the welfare of the world and the beings that inhabit it.

He destroys in order to renew and regenerate. His destruction is for the construction like a mother does cooking to feed her children. Through destruction he facilitates the smooth transitions of things and events from one stage to another.

He destroys our imperfections in order to ensure our spiritual progress. He destroys our illusions, desires and ignorance. He destroys our evil and negative nature.

He destroys our old memories, so that we can move on with the movement of time. He destroys our relationships, attachment, impurities, physical and mental wrong doings, the effects of bad karma, our passions and emotions and many things that stand between us and God as impediments to our progress and inner transformation.

And in the end when we have made sufficient progress, when we are ready and prepared, and when we are willing without any inner conflict, he destroys death.

The Meaning Of Samkara And Shankara

The word "samkara" or "sankara" is a combination of two words: "sam"+"kara". "Sam" means good and "kara" means doer and therefore "samkara" means doer of good deeds.

According to another interpretation, "sam" means the "sam" of "samadhi" or the state of complete self absorption or self realization. According to this interpretation, the word "samkara" means the cause of union or self realization.

The word "sam" also means harmony, as in the word "sam/veda" or "sama/veda". Of all the Vedas, Samaveda contains the most musical hymns and are actually sung according to a set melody.

Probably for this reason, Lord Krishna declared in the Bhagavad gita that of all the Vedas He would be found in the Samaveda, signifying the harmony and melody hidden in the hymns. If we go by this meaning, the word "samkara" means creator of harmony or music. Indeed Lord Siva is very much the master of sounds and music as symbolized by the dhamru he carries.

There is no true equivalent to the Sanskrit letter "sa" of the word "samkara" in English. The nearest rendering of it is "Sha". In practice Lord Siva is pronounced as "Shankara" or "Shankar" not "Samkara" or "Samkar"

If we take the word as "Shankara" instead of "samkara", we come across two more interpretations. The word "Shankara" is a combination of two words, namely "shanka" and "hara". "Shanka" means doubt and "hara" means destroyer. Thus the word "Shankara" means, He who destroys or defeats doubt.

Shankara destroys the animal nature in man, which is represented by the tamasic and rajasic qualities. These two qualities are primarily responsible for his lower nature, his egoistic disbeliefs and profound ignorance. By destroying these qualities and thereby our lower nature, Siva establishes the conditions conducive to the emergence of divine nature in man.

It is interesting to note that in the Hindu mythology, most of the demons, such as Ravana of the Ramayana, Surapathma or Bhasmasur and many others, were great devotees of Siva, who despite of their excessive wickedness, showed immense faith in Siva.

These stories tend to suggest that only Siva can transform such individuals, who are characterized by excessive rajas and tamas, through His immense powers. The moral of these stories is that if you have excessive rajas and tamas in you, should invariably worship Lord Siva in order to overcome these impediments.

Famous Saints Of Saivism

Saivism is a very ancient sect of Hinduism with a known history of at least 3000 years. It is a historical fact that though Saivism found its adherents in the early Vedic works such as the Svetavatara Upanishad, it took shape mainly in southern India in the remote past.

Many great devotees of Lord Siva who hailed from the land of Tamils, enriched Saivism with their devotional fervor and meritorious religious compositions.

They brought Hinduism out of the closed door policy of castism by taking religion to the masses and teaching them the path of selfless devotion as a way of salvation.

They countered the attacks from monastic religions like Buddhism and Jainism, and defied the social order of their times by often initiating people from the lowest castes into Saivism.

They created a body of entirely new religious literature, of great devotional merit and deep philosophical truths.

Just like many aspects of ancient Indian history, we have little information about the early Saiva saints who shaped Saivism into a great religious movement.

We come across few names like the famous sage Thirumula, Agastya, Manickavasaga, Sundarar, Appar and Thirugnanasambandar. They probably lived during post vedic and later Vedic periods. They were ardent devotees of Lord Siva, and remembered in the scriptures for their devotion and contribution to Saivism.

Tirumular:

An ardent devotee of Lord Siva and a disciple of Nandi, he lived sometime during the sixth century A.D, was endowed with supernatural powers and composed about 3000 poems in the name of Thirumantiram.

Manikkavachaka:

First among the four greatest ancient teachers of Saivism, he is considered as the founder of the path of truth or 'sat marga'. Known for his intelligence from an early age, he worked as a chief minister in the court of a Pandya king for sometime before he became a true enunciate. Gifted with poetical abilities, which earned him the title of Mannikkavachaka, which literally means he whose utterances are gems, he composed many songs in honor of Lord Siva. His work Tiruvachakam is considered to be a pioneering work in Saivism.

Appar:

A contemporary of the Pallava King Mahendra1, and reckoned as the second greatest ancient teacher of Saivism, he lived about 7th Century A.D. He is credited with the discovery of dasamarga or the path of the servant in Saivism. Originally a follower of Jainism he became subsequently a great devotee of Lord Siva and spent considerable time rendering bodily service (dasa seva) to him.

He also composed many poems out of which only a few are available today. He is often compared to the legendary Prahlada for his devotion to Lord Siva.

Gnana Sambandha:

He was a disciple of Appar. He is considered as the third greatest ancient teacher of Saivism, who found the path of satputra marga or the path of the son and therefore he is regarded as the father of the saiva sect.

A precocious child, he was dedicated to Lord Siva and Parvathi from a very early age. He was blessed with the divine feeding of the mother of universe, Parvathi.

He and Appar toured many places in South India and said to have performed many miracles. He composed many beautiful poems extolling Siva and Parvathi. But only a few poems are available today.

If Sambandha had a great teacher in the form of Appar, he also had a great disciple in the form of Tirunilakanda Yalpanar who accompanied him always in his tours and sing along with him.

Kannappa:

Kannappa lived in the region near Kalahasti in the present day Andhra Pradesh. A hunter by profession, he was totally dedicated to Lord Siva. He worshipped Siva regularly every day, with intense love, sometimes offering him such things as flowers and even meat.

Overwhelmed with intense devotion, once he said to have plucked out one of his eyes and offered it to Lord Siva as a symbol of sacrifice. He tried to pluck out the other eye also immersed totally in his devotion, when Lord Siva said to have appeared infront of him and prevented him from proceeding further.

Sundaramurthi:

He is the last among the four greatest ancient teachers of Saivism. He founded sahamarga or the path of the friend. He led a very unusual life. He became a renunciate just before his marriage and thereafter traveled to many places singing songs in praise of Lord Siva. But strangely after sometime, he married a beautiful non Brahmin, maiden named Paravai.

He stayed with her for sometime as she was also a great devotee of Lord Siva. But their association did not last for long. A few miles north of Chennai, he married again, this time to a Brahmin virgin. Subsequently he lost vision in both of his eyes and said to have suffered greatly.

But he regained his lost vision through intense spiritual discipline and devotion. He composed many thousands of devotional poems of which very few are available today.

Karikkal Ammaiyar:

Her devotion to Lord Siva can be compared in someway with that of Mira Bai, the famous devotee of Lord Krishna. Born into a princely family, she was married to a wealthy merchant at an early age.

Seeing her devotional fervor and spiritual yearning, her husband decided to leave her to herself and married another woman. But Ammaiyar, though devoted to Lord Siva from an early age, could not overcome her traditional respect and love for her husband initially.

But seeing her husband in his new role, she overcame that afterwards and dedicated her life completely to Lord Siva. She also composed many devotional poems which reflect the depth of her devotion to Lord Siva.

Auvai:

Another famous woman saint of Saivism, she was endowed with great literary talents and devotional fervor. She composed many verses which immortalized her name in Tamil religious literature.

Meypporul Nayanar:

A king by birth he sacrificed his life out of love for Lord Siva.

Sakya Nayanar:

Originally a Buddhist, he later embraced Saivism and was said to have been blessed with a vision of Lord Siva and Parvathi.

Nandanar:

An untouchable by birth, he was a great devotee of Lord Siva who won the recognition of many learned people and was even admitted into the precincts of the Chidambaram temple which at that time was not open to people from his caste.

Meykandar:

Initiated into Saivism at the early age of three by a sage, he is credited with the composition of the famous work Siva-Jnana-bodham, which contains twelve famous Siva Sutras or aphorisms.

Meykandar is known in the history of Saivism as the seer of Truth and his life is a shining example of knowledge and devotion coming together in total dedication to God.

Arundai Sivachariar:

He became a disciple of Meykandar, after the latter opened his eyes in a famous encounter to the world of devotion and self-surrender. He composed Siva-Jnana-sittiyar, according to the wishes of his guru, explaining the truths hidden in the aphorisms of the latter.

Marai-Gnanasambandar :

Arundai Sivachariar also remembered in Saiva tradition for his initiation of Marai-gnanasambandar into Saivism. The latter though hailed from an untouchable caste was blessed with great literary talent and devotional fervor.

Umapathi Sivam:

Marai-gnanasambandar in turn initiated another famous Saiva saint, named Umapathi Sivam and helped him attain self-realization. Umapathi Sivam contributed greatly to Saiva literature in Tamil. He wrote eight philosophical treatises on Saivism, apart from a short biographical work on the famous 63 Saiva saints.

Pattinathar:

A rich merchant by birth, he turned to spiritualism in strange circumstances when he realized that all his wealth would not accompany him beyond his death.

He along with his princely friend Bhadragiri composed many devotional poems, exhorting people to renounce their worldly ways and enter the world of devotion and self-surrender. He lived about tenth century in Tamilnadu.

Arunagiri:

He lived about fifteenth century. Early in his life, he led a very sinful life, giving himself up entirely to the pleasures of the world. But later a great transformation took place in him and he became a great devotee of Lord Murugan, the first divine child of Lord Siva. Tiruppugal is one of his famous compositions which is known for its lyrical beauty and devotional depths.

Tayumanavar:

He lived in the seventeenth century, and belonged to the priestly family which was attached to the Siva temple at Vedaranyam, in Tamilnadu. He lived and worked for some time at the court of a Naik ruler from Tiruchinapalli, before he renounced his worldly life and became a great devotee of Lord Siva. He expounded the philosophy of Saivism from a Vedantic point of view and tried to reconcile the existing contradictions.

Lingayat Saints:

Mention may also be made of the five famous Lingayat Saints of Virasaivism path, namely Sivaprakasa 1, Santalinga, Kumaradeva and Sivaprakasa 2. They were men of great religious and spiritual merit, who lived during the seventeenth century and composed many religious songs and treatises.

SHIVA PARIWAR

These are part of Siva's Retinue. The most important of them are Nandi, Bhringi, Virabhadra and Chandesvara.

Nandi:

Nandi, the Bull, is Siva's vehicle. Nandi is invariably found sitting right infront of the sanctum sanctorum in every siva temple facing the image and looking at him all the time.

In fact no one is supposed to see the chief deity in a siva temple without paying homage first to the seated Nandi and looking at Siva from a far through the space between the ears and the top of his head.

There are some temples in India which are exclusively built for Nandi like the famous Nandiswara temple in Karnataka. Nandiswara in his anthromorphic form appears just like Siva, with three eyes and four hands of which two are permanently dedicated to the veneration of Siva while the other two carry his weapons.

Symbolically Nandi represents the passion and love of Siva for beings. Nandi is well versed in all scriptural knowledge. Nandi is the first disciple of Lord Siva and he imparted the teachings of Siva to this world. He is the Guru of the great saint Thirumular and he imported the knowledge of devotion to Hanuman. It is a tradition in many parts of rural India to let a Bull roam free in each village as a mark of respect to Nandi and to inseminate the cows in the village.

Bhringi:

He was originally a demon named Andhaka, who was transformed by Siva into a humble devotee and admitted into his force as a commander of his armies.

Bhringisa was so loyal to Siva that in his state of devotion he would not offer his worship to any one including Parvathi. It is said that when he saw once Siva in his Ardhanariswara form, he tried to bore through the middle of the body in the form of a bee to complete his obeisance to only the Siva side of the form, much to the annoyance of Parvathi. Bhringi who got his name thus was made to realize his mistake and change his behavior by Lord Siva.

Virabhadra:

He is Siva in his ferocious mood. Siva manifested himself as Virabhadra, when Daksha, his father in law, ill treated and insulted his wife Sati, Daksha's own daughter, infront of a large gathering.

Unable to cope with the insult, Sati immolated herself. This angered Siva so much, that he descended upon the place of Daksha with his large army and beheaded Daksha's.

The images of Virabhadra depict the anger and ferocity of Siva in that destructive mood, wearing a garland of skulls, and with four arms holding four different kinds of weapons.

Virabhadra is a warrior god who was worshipped during wars in ancient and medieval periods. He is also the principal deity of Virasaiva movement and still worshipped by many in the Karnataka region of India.

Chandesvara:

He is an aspect of Chandi in human form later elevated to the status of divinity, to signify the connection between Siva and Chandi, or Durga.

Chandesvara is a ferocious god, holding weapons of war and ready to do battle for a divine cause. His images are generally found in a corner in all the Siva temples.

As in case of Nandi, devotees usually visit him and pay their respectsat the worship of the Sivalingam in the sanctum sanctorum.

DAKSHINAMURTHY

This is Siva in his aspect as the universal teacher, teaching the secrets of yoga, tantras, yantras, alchemy, magic, occult knowledge, arts and sciences, ancient history or knowledge of the future to the sages and saints, gods and goddesses and his highly qualified devotees.

He is called Dakshinamurthy, because he does his teachings sitting on the snowy mountains of Himalayas and facing towards the Indian subcontinent, which is in the southerly direction to him.

The images of Dakshinamurthy, depict Siva in his pleasant mood, seated on a high seat, with one leg folded while the other rests on the Apasmarapurusha, the deluded self.

Two of his arms hold a snake or rosary or both in one hand and fire in the other. The snake is a symbol of tantric knowledge and the fire is a symbol of enlightenment. Of the remaining two one is in abhayamudra (posture of assurance) and the other holds a scripture in gnanamudra (posture of presenting knowledge).

Lingodhbhava-murthy:

This image signifies the importance of Siva in the form of Linga as the Supreme Self, without a beginning and without an end. According to Hindu mythology, Siva once revealed his infinity to Brahma and Vishnu in the form of a pillar of fire that could not be scaled by either of them from one end to the other. As Lingodhbava-murthy, Siva appears seated in the heart of a Linga, with four arms, while Brahma and Vishnu adore him from the two sides.

Bhikshatana-murthi:

This is Siva in his ascetic aspect, wandering from place to place, with a begging bowl made of human skull, doing penance or lost in his own thoughts. Even today we can see some followers of Siva going around the villages in India in this form. Some of them even do a little magic to attract our attention or scare away the trailing children.

Hridaya-murthy:

This is Siva in a mood of reconciliation and friendship with Vishnu. Also known as Harihara or Sankaranarayana. The images show the right half of Shiva on the right side of the image and the left half of Vishnu on the left side.

Ardhanariswara:

This Siva and Parvathi together in one form signifying the unity of Purusha and Prorate. The feminine left half of Parvathi is fused with the masculine right half of Siva in one continuous form, sometimes standing with the Bull Nandi in the background, or sitting on a pedestal and blessing the worlds, with eyes open or closed.

SIVA AS NATARAJA

Tandavamurthy

Nataraja is Siva who is hidden in all the rhythmic movements of the manifest creation, the so called cosmic dance that ensures the orderliness (Rta) of the universe, the movement of the earth and the heavens, the arrangement of the galaxies and the inter stellar spaces, on which depends precariously the whole balance.

His dance is a divine activity that suffers no conflicts. It entertains our suffering minds and dispels our ignorance. It destroys our illusions and burns the worlds of demons and darkness. Finally, at the end of creation it dissolves the entire universe into a mysterious period of ekanda, a suspended activity.

Lord Siva is a master of dance forms. He is the author of all dance forms. The science of dance ( Natya sasthra) dealing with the 108 types of classical Indian dance forms said to have originated from him just as all the yogic postures.

In case of Lord Siva all dance is a form of expression, which he uses either to destroy the evil or alleviate the sufferings of his devotees.

About nine forms of Siva in dancing mode are described, of which the most popular form is Nataraja (the king of dance). Though we have a number of icons of Siva as Nataraja, he is rarely worshipped in this form either in the temples or in the households.

His other dance forms include, Ananda-tandava-murhty, dancing in a pleasant and cheerful mood, Uma-tandava-murhty, dancing in the company of Parvathi, Tripura-tandava-murthy, dancing while slaying Tripurasura and Urdhva-tandava-murhty, dancing in the air.

The Apsmarapurusha (the forgotten and deluded self), on whose body he rests his feet in the image of Nataraja symbolizes this fact. And for Siva this whole wide world of apasmarapurushas is a stage on which he enacts his dance drama.