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SIVA'S
628
REPULSIVE ASPECT
represented under a horrible form, in allusion no doubt to
the power which he possesses of destroying everything. He
made to appear still more frightful by having his body
covered with ashes. His long hair is plaited in a strange
manner his eyes of huge size make him appear to be in
a constant state of fury. Instead of jewels his ears are
adorned with snakes, which are likewise twined round his
body. There are some colossal idols representing Siva
which are calculated to inspire genuine terror.
The principal attribute of this god, as I have already
mentioned more than once, is the power of destruction.
Some Hindu authors ascribe to him also the power of
is
;
creation.
His vehicle
is a bull, and his principal weapon is the
trident or trisula.
The history of Siva, like that of the other Hindu deities,
It consists of
is a tissue of the most extravagant fables.
endless wars waged by him against the giants, of his hatred
and jealousy towards the other gods, and, above all, of his
shameless intrigues.
In one of his wars, wishing by an unexpected attack to
accomplish the ruin of all his enemies, the giants, and to
take possession of the tripuram in which they had entrenched
themselves, he split the earth into two equal parts, and took
He made Brahma the general of his
one-half as a weapon.
army the four Vedas served him for horses. Vishnu was
used as an arrow, while Mandra Parvata served as a bow.
In place of a bow-string he tied to his bow a monstrous
serpent.
With this formidable equipment Siva led his
army against the enemies of the gods, took from them the
three fortresses which they had constructed, and extermi-
nated them all without sparing a single one.
Siva had much trouble in finding a wife but having
done a long and austere penance in the deserts bordering
on Mandra Parvata, Parvata was so touched that he finally
consented to give him in marriage his daughter Parvati.
;
;
The Ling am.
The lingam, an object
India,
is
of
deep veneration throughout
it is under this obscene
the symbol of Siva, and