Shiva

In the Rig Veda, composed between roughly 1500 and 1200 BCE, a fierce deity named Rudra appears. He is the howler, the archer, the lord of storms. He brings disease and heals it. The hymns address him with fear and reverence. Over the following millennium, Rudra accumulated new names and functions. By the time of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (c. 400-200 BCE), he had become Shiva: the auspicious one, the supreme being, the ground of all existence.

The Ascetic

Shiva sits on Mount Kailash in the Himalayas, covered in ash, his hair matted, a serpent around his neck, a crescent moon in his hair. He is the supreme yogi, the model for every ascetic who renounces the world. The ash represents the destruction of all illusion. The serpent represents the kundalini energy coiled at the base of the spine. The third eye on his forehead, when opened, destroys whatever it sees.

Nataraja

The Chola dynasty bronzes of the tenth through twelfth centuries gave Shiva his most recognizable form: Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. He dances the Tandava within a ring of fire. One foot stamps on the dwarf Apasmara (ignorance). Four arms hold fire (destruction), a drum (creation), a gesture of protection, and a gesture pointing to the raised foot (liberation). The dance is the cycle of the universe: creation, preservation, destruction, concealment, and grace.

The Linga

Shiva’s most common form of worship is the linga, a cylindrical stone set in a circular base (the yoni). The symbolism is procreative: the union of male and female principles that generates the cosmos. The linga appears in temples across India, from village shrines to the twelve Jyotirlinga sites that mark the most sacred Shaiva pilgrimage circuit. The form is abstract, geometric, and ancient. Linga-like objects have been found at Indus Valley sites dating to 2500 BCE, though the identification is debated.