THE CITY OF SHIVA I

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Worship Vishwanatha Shiva, The lord of Varanasi whose locks look charming with the ripples of Ganga. Worship Shiva, who is ever adorned on his left by Gauri. Worship Shiva, who is beloved of Narayana. Worship Shiva, who is the destroyer of cupids pride. Shiva is the lord of Varanasi. There are thousands of Shiva temples here. There were times when Varanasi was not the city of Shiva, although it had the religious significance. Some references manifest Rudra Shiva not being a deity of Aryans, however, he is praised in several hymns of Rigveda. Proofs of Shiva being the Adideva (The first God) had also been found elsewhere. From the Indus valley civilization (around 2000 B.C.), a seal with a engraved figure with three faces and an erect phallus, seated yogic posture, surrounded with animals is found which symbolizes Pashupatinatha, a form of Shiva. It cannot be confirmed that it is a figure of Shiva, but it surely resembles to him. Shiva is also very diverse to the ethics of Hinduism. However, he is very close to the paradoxical attributes, those of Varanasi. He is both auspicious and terrifying. Literally, Shiva means auspicious and salutary, while Rudra means terrifying and wrathful. He is both the ever bestowing and the ultimate destructor as well in the same way as Varanasi is both Mahashmashana (The great cremation ground) and Anandavana (Forest of Bliss). Being the city of Shiva, there are many phrases famous for Varanasis relation with Shiva such as puk pcsuk xaxty tks iqjoS djrkj] dkkh dcgqa uk NkfM+, fooukFk njckj ; dadj&dadj esa 'kadj and gj&gj egknso 'kaHkw dkkh fooukFk xaxs

etc. Without Shiva and Ganga, Kashi cannot even be imagined. Despite, the thousands of Shiva temples located across the city, there are many festivals and religious observances too, related to Shiva. The month of Shravana, Mahashivaratri, Panchkroshiya Yatra & Purushottam Masa are related directly to Shiva. We will discuss about the Shiva temples in the next lecture. Shiva is believed to be Nirakara, formless. He cannot be categorized by any means Varna, Ashrama, Kula, Gotra or Linga . He is self-manifested. One way of seeing Shivas enigmatic many sidedness is in his five faces. Each depicts about Shivas godly activities. The five faces are Shristi, Sthiti, Samhara, Tirobhava and Anugraha i.e. creation, preservation, destruction, concealment and revelation-salvation, respectively. Shivas creativity is expressed in many ways. The popular way for it his dancing form, when he calls creation into being with the beat of his drum, Damroo(Me:). But the most famous way to display his creative aspect is Linga symbolizing his creation, procreation and definitely eroticism. The linga, in one sense is the erect phallus of Shiva. In his creative form, he is the beautiful bridegroom of Parvati, anointed with sandal paste, decked with crescent moon and is attractive, indeed. Shivas second face of preservation is to maintain and preserve the ordered cosmos. As per Hindu belief, the cosmos is a systematic whole, consisting of heaven, earth and netherworlds. He balances the equilibrium of cosmos. When there are too many sinners on earth or too many people have made it to the heaven or when, the Asuras (anti-gods) gain too much power, Shiva restores the order everywhere. The third face of Shiva displays his destructive form. Just opposite to his first two faces, Shiva turns horrific and terrifying haunter of cremation grounds. His sandal paste becomes ashes, ornaments become snakes and the silken garment becomes animal hides. He dances in rage performing the Tandava (rkaMo) and opens his third eye to destruct the entire world at the end of times cycle. The fourth face displays the concealing and obscure form of Shiva. He is apt to be in ones very presence unrealized assuming many forms in his cosmic play. He is the wielder of the delusive power My (ek;k), veiling the

human perception of truth. The fifth face is the supreme one. In this aspect, Shiva bestows grace, showing his leniency. This is the fully known face bringing liberation to his devotees. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------References: Eck Diana L.; Banaras:City of Light, London, 1983, 94-106.

THE CITY OF SHIVA II

In Varanasi, unlike most of the other cities, where idols of Shiva are installed in temples and shrines dedicated to him, he is worshiped in the form of Linga. The Linga is certainly a bisexual symbol. The shaft of the Linga is set in a circular base Peetha i.e. seat. Where the shaft displays Shiva, the seat personifies the Shakti, the female half of Shiva, representing his form of Ardhanrishwara i.e. half-women lord. The Linga is, in a wider sense, the symbol of the wholeness of the Hindu universe. Shakti, the divine energy of life, represents Pravritti (izo`fk), the evolution of the One into the multiplicity of the created universe, the centrifugal movement of expansion into the infinite variety of names and forms. Nivritti (fuo`fk), the involution, the balancing of the multiplicity back into the One, the involution, the centripetal movement of condensation, is represented by Shiva. Today, we will discuss about the main Shiva temples of Varanasi in a classified manner. First, we will discuss about the Jyotirlinga literally meaning the Linga of light. The myth of Jyotirlinga is of major importance to the mythology and symbolism of Varanasi. It is believed that once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument over being the supreme. A huge shaft of light split the earth between them and blazed up through the sky piercing the highest heavens. In great astonishment, both Brahma and Vishnu decided to determine the source of it, where Vishnu went deep down to the netherworlds and Brahma flew to the highest heavens but even after a search of thousands of year they returned empty handed as all there efforts were in vain. At that time, Shiva emerged from the light in his partial bodily form. It is said to be Dwdasha Jyotirlingas (twelve lingas of light) as the most significant ones and some of them are believed to be Swayam Bhoo i.e. self-manifested. Beside them,

some Lingas of Varanasi are equally significant and popular among the Hindu devotees. OMKRESHWARA This is one of the most important Shiva Lingas of Varanasi. The splendid temple complex stood on the banks of a large inland lake known as Matsyodari. Today, only the ruins are left and there is a small temple at the site. It is not widely known today but that does not decrease its significance as an ancient Tirtha. Omkreshwara means the lord of the syllable Om. VISHWANTHA - This is the most prominent Linga of Varanasi today. Also known as Vishweshwara, it is the most important and famous linga of All-India. It was destroyed many times during the Muslim reigns and evasions. The current structure was built by Ahilybi Holkar, the queen of Indore in the late 18th century. Situated in Vishwanatha gali, near Dashshwamedha, it is crowded with devotees and pilgrims through out the year and especially in the month of Shrvana. AVIMUKTESHWARA This temple is located just to the north of the Janavpi mosque. This was the dominant temple in the first millennium before the rise of Vishwanatha. Today it does not have that amount of attraction of the devotees. The old name of the city was Avimukta, and thus the lord of the city Avimukteshwara. KEDRESHWARA This temple was, and continues to be, one of the most frequented in the city. The large building of the temple rising from the bank of the Ganges is located at the ghat named after the very temple. It is believed to be spiritually connected with the celebrated Kedrnatha temple in Himalayas. TILBHNDESHWARA This temple is also a very famous temple of the city frequently visited by devotees. The Linga situated here is believed to increase by the size of a sesame seed on the every Mahshivaratri. TRILOCHANA This temple is also a very crowded temple. It is situated in the vicinity of the ghat named after the very temple.

VRIDDHAKLESHWARA This is also a very-very famous and renowned temple in the city. It resembles the Linga of Mahakaleshwara, located in Ujjain. PASHUPATISHWARA This temple was built by the King of Nepal in 1843. The wooden structure and erotic engravings on it are really agreeable. From the mid of Ganges, it is strikingly picturesque structure and resembles to the Pashupatinatha temple of Kathmandu, Nepal. Beside these, there are enormous Shiva Lingas and temples in Varanasi and it is impossible to list and mention all of them. However, we can list some of the most significant ones other than the above-mentioned Lingas. They are Vaidyanatha, here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------References: Eck Diana L., Banaras: City of Light, London, 1983, 112, 144-45. Swami Medhasananda, Varanasi: At Crossroads, Varanasi, 1998, 180-82, 186. Krittivaseshwara, Shooltankeshwara, Ghantakarneshwar, Tarakeshwara, Dandpanishwara, Jageshwara and much more to be mentioned