The panchavimshatimurti (Sanskrit: पञ्चविंशतिमूर्ति, romanized: Pañcaviṃśatimūrti, lit. 'twenty-five forms') is the representation of twenty-five forms of Shiva in Hindu iconography.[1] These forms are described in the Shaiva Agamas of the southern Shaiva Siddhanta sect of Shaivism. The Sritattvanidhi calls these the panchavimshatililamurti (twenty-five sportive forms).[2] These forms are based on the Puranas and the Itihasas, in which the theme of Shiva's divine play is explained with numerous narratives. Most of these forms are featured in South Indian temples as the main images of the sanctum or sculptures and reliefs in the outer walls of Shiva temples.[3]

Description

The Agama texts describe twenty-five forms of Shiva, offering specifications in which the deity is to be represented. For each form, the attire, ornaments, posture, weapons, as well as the other accessories associated with the form are described, along with associated deities and objects.[4]

Iconography

The common list of the Panchavimshatimurti is given below:[1][5]

Form Depiction Description[6][7]
Bhikshatana Bhikshtana is depicted in the form of a nude four-armed mendicant, adorned with ornaments and holding a begging bowl in his hand.
Kamari Kamari is depicted as the form of the deity that incinerated Kama with his third eye.
Kalantaka Kalantaka is depicted as the form of the deity that rescued his devotee, Markandeya, from Yama, the god of death.
Kalyanasundara Kalyanasundara is depicted as the form of the deity during his wedding ceremony with Parvati.
Vrisharudha Vrisharudha is depicted as the form of the deity who is accompanied by Parvati and seated on his bull mount, Nandi.
Chandrashekara Chandrashekara is depicted as the form of the deity who wears the crescent moon on his matted hair.
Umamaheshvara Umamaheshvara is depicted as the divine couple of Shiva and Parvati following their wedding.
Nataraja Nataraja is depicted as the form of the deity who is regarded to be the king of the dance.
Tripurantaka Tripurantaka is depicted as the form of the deity that destroyed the three asura cities of Tripura.
Jalandharari Jalandharari is depicted as the form of the deity who slew the asura Jalandhara.
Gajasurasamhara Gajasurasamhara is depicted as the form of the deity who slew the asura Gajasura, who had assumed the form of an elephant.
Virabhadra Virabhadra is depicted as the form of the deity who destroyed the Daksha yajna.
Harihara Harihara is depicted as the syncretic form of the deities Shiva and Vishnu.
Ardhanarishvara Ardhanarishvara is depicted as the syncretic form of Shiva and Parvati.
Kirata Kirata is depicted as the form of the deity who assumed the form of a hunter, bestowing the Pashupatastra on Arjuna.
Kankalamurti Kankalamurti is depicted as the form of the deity who is regarded to have slain Vishvaksena.
Chandeshanugraha Chandeshanugraha is depicted as the form of the deity who blessed Chandeshvara Nayanar.
Chakraprada Chakrapada is depicted as the form of the deity who granted the Sudarshana Chakra to Vishnu.
Somaskanda Somaskanda is depicted as the form of the deity accompanied by Parvati and Skanda.
Ekapada Ekapada is depicted as the form of the deity who only has one foot, with Brahma and Vishnu emerging from his form.
Vigneshanugraha Vigneshanugraha is depicted as the form of the deity portrayed with Parvati and Vignesha.
Dakshinamurti Dakshinamurti is depicted as the form of the deity who is associated with the south and wisdom.
Nilakantha Nilakantha is depicted as the form of the deity who bears a blue throat, having consumed the halahala poison during the churning of the ocean.
Lingodbhava Lingodbhava is depicted as the form of the deity emerging from a pillar of light amidst Brahma and Vishnu.
Sukhasana Sukhasana is depicted as the form of the deity sitting in ease.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Durai Raja Singam, S. (1977). Ananda Coomaraswamy, the Bridge Builder: A Study of a Scholar-colossus. Khee Meng Press. p. 8.
  2. ↑ Narasimha Murthy, A. V. (2001). Hemakuta: Recent Researches in Archaeology and Museology : Shri C.T.M. Kotraiah Felicitation Volume 1. Bharatiya Kala Prakashan. p. 177. ISBN 9788186050668.
  3. ↑ Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2006-01-01). Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-88920-743-1.
  4. ↑ Peterson, Indira Viswanathan (2014-07-14). Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints. Princeton University Press. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-1-4008-6006-7.
  5. ↑ Subas Rai, Bhanu Agrawal (1995). Third eye: myth or a scientific reality?. Pandey Publications House. p. 3.
  6. ↑ Gopinatha Rao, T. A. (1993). Elements of Hindu iconography. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. ISBN 9788120808782.
  7. ↑ Senrayan, B; Palanichamy, S (2014). "Siva temples of sembiyan mahadevi in chola region a historical study". University. Madurai Kamraj University: 198–231. hdl:10603/135470.
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