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Shiva
(redirected from Somanatheshwara)

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Shiva or Siva (shē`və), one of the greatest gods of Hinduism Hinduism , Western term for the religious beliefs and practices of the vast majority of the people of India. One of the oldest living religions in the world, Hinduism is unique among the world religions in that it had no single founder but grew over a period of 4,000
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, also called Mahadeva. The "horned god" and phallic worship of the Indus valley civilization Indus valley civilization, ancient civilization that flourished from about 2500 B.C. to about 1500 B.C. in the valley of the Indus River and its tributaries, in the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent, i.e., present-day Pakistan.
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 may have been a prototype of Shiva worship or Shaivism. Shaivism is mentioned as early as the Upanishads and the Mahabharata (500–200 B.C.). Shiva is identified with the fierce Vedic god Rudra and, in his terrible aspect, is the god of destruction and cosmic dissolution. He is commonly worshiped in the form of the lingam, or symbolic phallus. His other main forms are the great yogi, or ascetic, and Nataraja, Lord of the Cosmic Dance. As a yogi he is depicted as seated deep in meditation in the Himalayas, holding a trident, a snake coiled around his neck, his body smeared with ashes, and his hair long and matted. As Nataraja, he is shown four-armed, bearing various emblems, and dancing on one foot on a prostrate demon. Shiva's mount is the bull Nandi, and his consort is the goddess Uma, Parvati, Durga, or Kali Kali [Hindi,=the Black One], important goddess in popular Hinduism and Tantra. Known also as Durga [the Inaccessible] and as Chandi [the Fierce], Kali is associated with disease, death, and destruction. As Parvati she is the consort of Shiva.
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Shiva

 or Siva

Enlarge picture
Shiva, bronze statue, Madras, c. AD 900.
(credit: Courtesy of the Government Museum, Chennai; photograph, Royal Academy of Arts, London)
Major deity of Hinduism, believed to have many manifestations. Like Vishnu, he is the subject of an elaborate and sometimes contradictory mythology. He is both the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. His female consort is known under various manifestations, including Parvati, Durga, and Kali. In Shaivism he is worshiped as the paramount lord.


Shiva
A leading remote access server manufacturer. Founded in 1985, Shiva's first products were its NetModem network modems for the Macintosh and later for PCs. Its LANRover is a proprietary remote access server, providing remote users access to LANs via modem. Shiva also developed the remote access software in Windows 95. In 1999, Shiva was acquired by Intel.
Siva, Shiva
Hinduism the destroyer, one of the three chief divinities of the later Hindu pantheon, the other two being Brahma and Vishnu. Siva is also the god presiding over personal destinies

Shiva
Lord of creation; danced to begin life. [Hinduism: Binder, 23]
See : Creation


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