Shiva
Shiva
Shiva was a Hindu fertility god, who made the crops grow. He was not mentioned in the Rig Veda. But around 300 BC, in the Mauryan period, people began worshipping Shiva. This might be another name for the Harappan god Rudra.
Shiva (or Rudra) was less like a real man than Vishnu, and scarier. People thought Shiva spent most of his time meditating (sitting and thinking) on top of Mount Kailas in the Himalayas, and it was this mediation that made the spiritual energy that ran the universe. Sometimes people made statues of Shiva, like this one here, but more often they showed him in the form of a lingam, a short stone pillar.
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The Ganges river, according to tradition, came out of the head of Shiva, and that made the river and its water sacred. People went to swim in the Ganges if they were sick, so the holy water could make them better. Some pictures of Shiva show him with blue skin, because he is the source of the river.
Bulls were also sacred to Shiva, and because of this most Hindus would not eat cows or bulls.
To find out more about Shiva, check out these books from Amazon or from your local library:
Vishnu
Krishna
Main Hinduism page
Main India page
