Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.1

v2.c16.1

ONE of the most interesting chapters in Hindu Mythology is the history of Śiva, the god of destruction among the Hindu Trinity. In the *Ṛigveda*, the *Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā* of the White *Yajur-veda* and in the *Atharvaṇa-veda*, the word Śiva, meaning the auspicious, occurs as an epithet of Rudra. It is only Rudra, (and not Śiva) who is praised in all hymns; he is represented in these hymns as a malevolent deity causing death and disease among men and cattle and is therefore specially prayed to by the hymnists for allaying his wrath towards them, sparing them their families and cattle, and attacking and damaging their enemies and their belongings. The physical description of Rudra is found in a number of hymns in great detail. For instance, in some places he is said to be tawny in colour and in others of a very fair complexion, with a beautiful chin, wearing golden ornaments, youthful and having spirally braided hair on his head. He carries in his hands a bow and arrows and is described, in some hymns, as wielding the thunderbolt. He is, throughout the Vēdic period, identified with Agni and is also said to have given birth, by his contact with Pṛiśṇi (the earth), the Maruts (the winds). In the *Atharvaṇa-vēda* it is stated, that "Bhava (Rudra) rules the sky, Bhava rules the earth and Bhava hath filled the vast atmosphere"; in the same work we come across the names Bhava, Sarva, Sahasra-bāhu, Mahādēva, Paśupati, Rudra the slayer of Ardhaka (the Andhaka of the Purāṇic period), Ugra and Īśāna used as synonyms of Rudra; these names are also found in the *Śatarudrīya* along with Aghōra, Girīśa, Nīlagrīva, Kapardin, Sabhāpati, Gaṇapati, Sēnāni, Bhīma, Sitikaṇṭha, Śambhu and Śaṅkara. It might be remarked here that all the names given above are applied at the present time to Śiva-Rudra, who is a later addition to the Hindu triad. In the *Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa* we learn "Agni is a god. These are his names: Śarva, as the eastern people call him, Bhava, as the Bāhikas call him, Paśūnāmpati, Rudra and Agni. The names other than Agni are ungentle (*aśānta*), Agni is his gentlest designation (*śāntatma*)."