Rudra the Idea of Shiva Nilima Chitgopekar English

by Nilima Chitgopekar

Na punyam na papam, Na saukhyam na duhkhamNa mantro na tirtham, Na vedam na yajnaAham bhojanam naiva bhojyam na bhoktaChidananda rupah Shivoham Shivo’hamBeyond sin and virtue, beyond joy and sorrow, beyond scripture, ritual and pilgrimage, and beyond familiar experience. This is Shiva, in essence. Once feared as the capricious and terrifying Rudra, Shiva, the most ‘un-Brahmanic’ of gods, has traditionally been shunned by orthodox Vedic religion. Although the Shiva we recognize today retains much of his original contrarian nature, he is firmly ensconced in popular imagination as the awe-inspiring Mahadeva, supreme lord of the universe. In a unique attempt to explore the varied planes of thought and belief that Shiva has represented over millennia, Nilima Chitgopekar imaginatively recreates the defining moments of the great god’s life through the eyes of his most intimate mythological companions. Vishnu, Sati, Daksha, Parvati and Ganesha take turns to praise, criticize, explain, complain, sermonize and rationalize—and through the prism of what they choose to reveal of the Shiva they know, there emerges the vision of a god who assimilates in his person the most extreme contradictions. For Shiva is as reclusive as he is accessible, as loved as he is feared, and as fallible as he is divine. As the author traces the diverse threads of history, philosophy, anthropology and faith that have coalesced to create this intriguing deity, she uncovers the deeper truth about Shiva’s unmatched appeal—a credo of simple devotion to a unified godhead, one that reflects the eclecticism and humanity that form the very core of Hindu thought.

Genres: Mythology, Spirituality

Paperback

First published October 30, 2007

About the author

Nilima Chitgopekar is an associate professor in the department of history at Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University. She has many books and several articles and essays on Hindu gods and other related matters. She has been the recipient of prestigious fellowships from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, the Charles Wallace India Trust and USIS, and has lectured widely in India and overseas.

Chitgopekar has also worked with the BBC and been featured in their documentaries and radio programmes. More recently, in her attempt to take Hindu mythology to a far larger audience, she has been involved in making several online films of her lectures, which have sold worldwide.

Reviews

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, one I am grateful for.

It tells the story of Shiva from the perspectives of Vishnu, Sati, Skanda, Parvati and Ganesha and then fills in with commentary explaining the theological, historical and philosophical underpinnings of these stories. In the process, it conveys a nuanced, diverse understanding of this most protean of Hindu gods and affords aesthetic delights as Chitgopekar assumes the voices of these mythic figures. However, I did feel that the style in those sections sometimes fell short of the poetry of the stories they sought to convey; but I am a big style junkie. I also wish this book had been even longer. It is a truly precious thing to have been given insight into my culture without being beaten over the head with a doctrinaire stick.

[Tim Edison · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mythology of Shiva brings to a conscious level the fundamental cultural quandary of choosing between living in the social world, which includes certain commitments and the performance of familial duty and enjoyment of sensual pleasure, and the path of renunciation, which rejects the world and denies sexuality and procreation in order to attain spiritual salvation. (P.153)

[Deepthi Cm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Furnished by Nandalal Bose's incredible painiting serving as the book cover, Rudra is an incredibly well researched and well summarised prose aiming to educate its audience on the various attributes of Rudra aka Shiva, both as a human and God, with a strong emphasis on the theme of duality, which the author implores, is the true nature of Shiva; the renouncer and enjoyer.

Even though the author speaks of Shiva through the eyes of five of his closest companions, the take away message for me was to interpret the existence of Shiva, not as a God or a mortal, but as a concept, both spiritual and animalistic in nature and one that reconciles the two.

[CHRISTOPHER MARTIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful summary of the developmental arc of a godhead.

[Shreyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!! scholarly interpretation of the myths and rituals in philosophical as well as scientific terms.The book the dated than Amish's shiva trilogy still connects with the same line of thought. Must read for the 'Jigyaasi' :)

[Sunaina Chaturvedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly interesting to see the evolution of the thought process of the Idea of Rudra from the Vedic to the Puranic times.

[frogbear · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Smart, sensitive. I would've liked a little more depth into the philosophy bits from a Shiva POV but that's okay. I enjoyed this book!