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Shaivism is one of the largest traditions within Hinduism. It is the Hindu tradition that most accepts ascetic life and emphasizes yoga, and like other Hindu traditions encourages an individual to discover and be one with Shiva within. It is closely related to Shaktism, and some Shaiva worship in Shiva and Shakti temples. Shaivism theology ranges from Shiva being the creator, preserver, destroyer to being the same as the Atman (self, soul) within oneself and every living being. In the contemporary era, Shaivism is one of the major aspects of Hinduism. It arrived in Southeast Asia shortly thereafter, leading to thousands of Shaiva temples on the islands of Indonesia as well as Cambodia and Vietnam, co-evolving with Buddhism in these regions. Both devotional and monistic Shaivism became popular in the 1st millennium CE, rapidly becoming the dominant religious tradition of many Hindu kingdoms. In the early centuries of the common era is the first clear evidence of Pāśupata Shaivism. The ancient text Shvetashvatara Upanishad dated to late 1st millennium BCE mentions terms such as Rudra, Shiva and Maheshwaram, but its interpretation as a theistic or monistic text of Shaivism is disputed. Shaivism has ancient roots, traceable in the Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE, but this is in the form of the Vedic deity Rudra. The origin of Shaivism may be traced to the conception of Rudra in the Rig Veda. It considers both the Vedas and the Agama texts as important sources of theology.
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The Shaiva have many sub-traditions, ranging from devotional dualistic theism such as Shaiva Siddhanta to yoga-oriented monistic non-theism such as Kashmiri Shaivism. It is one of the largest sects that believe Shiva – worshipped as a creator and destroyer of worlds – is the supreme god over all. The followers of Shaivism are called “Shaivites” or “Saivites”. History of Shaivism: Shaivism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism that reveres Shiva as the Supreme Being.
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The shrine has four doors, representing the cardinal directions. Its main attraction is a unique Shiva Linga displaying eight faces of Lord Shiva. It is one of the most prominent shrines in Mandsaur, and Lord Shiva in the form of Lord Pashupatinath is its primary deity. A Pashupatinath temple is sited on the banks of the Shivana river in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India. India: Lingam image of Lord Pashupatinath in his Mandsaur temple, India. Puranas describe these faces of Shiva as ‘Sadyojata, Vamdeva, Tatpurusha & Aghora are the four faces, The fifth is Ishana, unknowable even to the seers’ Shiva has been called Sadasiva, Paramasiva, Mahadeva in benevolent forms, and Kala, Bhairava, Mahakala in his fierce forms. They face West, North, East, South and Zenith respectively, and represent Hinduism’s five primary elements namely earth, water, air, light and ether. The five faces of Pashupatinath represent various incarnations of Shiva Sadyojata (also known as Barun), Vamdeva (also known as Uma Maheswara), Tatpurusha, Aghor & Ishana. He is the masculine counterpart of Shakti. The Deity: Pashupatinath is an avatar of Shiva, one of the Hindu Trinity. NEPAL, Pashupatinath,Hindutempel und Verbrennungsstätte,
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