Pashupati
Pashupati | |
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Lord of the Animals | |
Affiliation | Shaivism |
Region | Indian subcontinent |
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Pashupati (
as the "Lord of the animals". Pashupati is mainly worshipped in Nepal and India. Pashupati is also the national deity of Nepal.Etymology
Paśupati or Pashupatinatha, means "Lord of the animals". It was an epithet of Rudra in the Vedic period[1] and is one of the epithets of Shiva.[2]
History
The earliest claimed evidence of Pashupati comes from the
The Deity
Pashupatinath is an avatar of Shiva, one of the Hindu Trinity. He is the male counterpart of Shakti.
The five faces of Pashupatinath represent various incarnations of Shiva;
The Puranas describe these faces of Shiva as:
Sadyojata, Vamdeva, Tatpurusha & Aghora are the four faces, The fifth is Ishana, unknowable even to the seers.[4]
By country
Nepal
Although Nepal is a secular state, its
India
A Pashupatinath temple is sited on the banks of the Shivana river in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is one of the most important shrines of Mandsaur, and Shiva in the form of Pashupatinath is its primary deity. Its main attraction is a unique Shiva Linga displaying eight faces of Shiva. The shrine has four doors, representing the cardinal directions.[6][verify]
Pashupata Shaivism
Pashupata Shaivism is one of the oldest Shaivite sects that derives its name from Pashupati. The sect upholds Pashupati "as the supreme deity, the lord of all souls, and the cause of all existence".[7]
See also
References
- ^ Kramrisch 1981, p. 479.
- ^ Śarmā 1996, p. 291.
- ^ Marshall 1931, p. [page needed].
- ^ a b Parmeshwaranand 2004, [volume needed], p. 206
- ^ Feller & Mercel-Sanca, p. 148 [year missing].
- ^ "Pashupatinath Temple". shripashupatinath.nic.in. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013.
- ^ Dalal 2014, p. 923.
Sources
- OCLC 1132344222.
- Feller, Tessa; Mercel-Sanca, Alan. Nepal: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture. London: Kuperard.[year missing]
- Kramrisch, Stella (1981). The Presence of Śiva. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01930-4.
- OCLC 903502370– via Internet Archive.
- Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2004). Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. OCLC 54930404.
- Śarmā, Rāmakaraṇa (1996). Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam : eight collections of hymns containing one thousand and eight names of Śiva. Delhi: Nag Publishers. OCLC 36990863. Includes Śivasahasranāmakoṣa, a dictionary of names. This work compares eight versions of the Śivasahasranāmāstotra. The preface and introduction (in English) by Ram Karan Sharma provide an analysis of how the eight versions compare with one another. The text of the eight versions is given in Sanskrit.
Further reading
- OCLC 1150048129– via Internet Archive.
- OCLC 53366821.
- OCLC 1264088953.
- OCLC 854521113.
- OCLC 899987831.