Hinduism Lord Of The Dance

2514 Words6 Pages

Aaron McCarthy
Rev. Lark Diaz
THRS 112
29 November 2014
Shiva: Lord of the Dance
Hinduism is a mixture of many different sects. Although it has existed for many years as simply an Eastern religion, it has since evolved into a global religion. An interesting feature of Hinduism is that it has neither a single founder nor a single sacred book. At its core, Hinduism has the same central teachings about seeking to liberate oneself from the endless cycle of death and rebirth known as samsara. Despite this fundamental belief, there are many different ways to achieve enlightenment. One way to achieve enlightenment is by following Shiva. Shiva makes up the Hindu Trimurti or “three forms”. According to the teachings of Hinduism, Shiva is considered …show more content…

With a smile, Shiva quickly kills the tiger, strips it of its skins and ties the skin around his waist. Outraged, the sages send a snake against Shiva to which he promptly kills and wraps around his neck three times. Snakes are often considered to be among the most dangerous creatures in the world. The ability of Shiva to kill the snake represents the great deal of power that he holds. The fact that Shiva wrapped the snake around his neck three times is symbolic of the stages of time: past, present and future. An equally important meaning associated with the snake is that it represents Shiva’s dual power of destruction and creation. With the ability to shed its own skin and recreate new skin, the snake is a symbol of destruction and rebirth …show more content…

Shiva is often depicted with this figure. Hindu mythology follows that long ago an Indian king, Sagar, tried to make a horse sacrifice in order to prove that he was superior to the gods. Indra, the “king of Heaven” became furious and hid the sacrificial horse next to Sage Kapil who was mediating. The king sent out his sixty thousand sons to find the horse. Once they saw that it was next to Sage Kapil, they began beating him, believing that he was the one who took it. The sage became infuriated and began killing all of the sons. Anshuman, the grandson of the king, begged the sage for forgivingness. In order to save his own life, Anshuman was told that he must bring Ganga, the river goddess, down from heaven. This would be the only way “purify the souls of him and his ancestors” and guide them to nirvana

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