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Description
Of all the gods in Hinduism, Shiva is the most fascinating and intriguing. He is
an outsider who lives on the fringes of tradition and is yet not only a prominent
third of the great Hindu Trinity but also Mahadev-the greatest of them all-
baffling and transcending human presuppositions of the Divine. In his supremacy,
Shiva stands outside, even contradicts, human categories and conventions. He
appears to be the embodiment of paradoxes but in fact transcends them-the
epitome of rage and horror as Bhairava and Rudra and yet also the zenith of
auspiciousness and gentleness as Pashupati and Ashutosh. He is the misfit who
challenges distinctions between sacred and profane, rich and poor, right and
wrong. He is at once the great yogi, the ascetic-turned-householder and the
vagabond. He is, finally, Lord of the Cosmic Dance-the timeless dance of
dissolution, creation and regeneration.
This anthology is an attempt to explore and understand the diverse and enigmatic
forms of this many-faceted god, through the thought and meditations of some
of the finest poets, academics, scholars and devotees, across time and place-
including Lal Ded, Mahadeviyakka, Swami Vivekananda, Aldous Huxley, Kalidasa,
Sri Aurobindo, Basavanna, Adi Shankaracharya, Acharya Abhinavagupta, Allama
Prabhu, Ananda Coomaraswamy, Namita Gokhale, Devdutt Pattanaik, Stella
Kramrisch, Wendy Doniger and Nilima Chitgopekar.
Whether you are a believer, an agnostic or on the fence, this engrossing
collection, edited by Karan Singh-one of the most respected authorities on
India’s varied traditions and philosophies-will certainly pique your curiosity
about the great concept and conundrum that is Shiva.
