Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s1.t6.25

v2.c10.s1.t6.25

say it is 10. He turns into a fish and saves mankind and various species from a great flood. He also turns into a dwarf to protect celestial and human realms from being occupied by Asuras. Besides, he saves the world many times in the avatar of a turtle, boar, lion etc. On tales of his avatars, the most revered are Rama and Krishna. The tales about Rama are mostly included in *Ramayana*, while tales about Krishna can be found in *Mahabharata*, *Bhagavata Purana* and *Vishnu Purana*. Shiva, one who creates and destroys the world, began to be worshipped as early as in the time of the Ganges civilisation. In the *Vedas*, he does not have a high status and is called Rudra. He combines functionally the characteristics of Aryan deities with those of indigenous Indian ones. He is a god of fertility, and Indians worshipped Linga - his symbol, which is a round-head pillar and looks like the male genital organ and represents Shiva’s capacity of infinite reproduction and creation. He is also the lord of dance, and his dance can destroy the world. He once danced to conquer many hostile ascetics. He is also a god of ascetic practice, and lives on the Mount Kailash (within Putian County, Tibet) down the ages. His followers consider him as the supreme god of the world, and other two chief devas are under his control and sometimes have to obey his commands. Shiva is powerful and violent, while sometimes he is very kind and benevolent as well. His skin is deep blue, with three eyes, sometimes four or five heads, four hands holding a trident, with a bow and arrows on the back, a small drum to the waist, a crescent on the head as an ornament, and a snake surrounding the neck. From his hair flows the Ganges, which is a celestial river and falls down from the heaven and sometimes may destroy the earth. So, he receives the water with the head at first and then causes it flow down. Shiva has a blue throat, since he drank the poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to free other devas from pains. He is said to have been abstinent, and Kama, the god of love, attempts to seduce him, but is burned to ashes by his third eye. However, Shiva falls in love with Parvati, and they have two sons, one is Kumara (also called as Skanda), and the other is Ganesa. Tales of Shiva and members of his family can be found in the *Shiva Purana* and the epics and other *Puranas*.