ŚIVA [FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS]. Classical Sanskrit images of Śiva found in Vedic texts and epic mythology influentially inform, but do not encompass, Hindus' imagination of the great god Śiva in both the past and present. Certainly the classical Sanskrit texts contribute images of the authority and majesty of the Lord, as well as his divine play (līlā). They provide a sacred rationale for his worship, but it is other kinds of texts in Sanskrit and in the regional languages of India that foreground the practice of his worship, especially those focusing on the accessibility of the Lord to humankind. These other texts illustrate how Śiva is imagined and embraced in ritual, devotional, philosophical, and political communities in India, and in Hindu communities abroad; how he is given a home in the practices, hearts, and minds of his devotees.

Ritual Dimensions