Ekapada Shiva, Someshwara temple Andhra Pradesh
Shiva, a common name around the house, yet an unknown icon when it comes to deep spiritualism. Considered to be the greatest in the Trinity, Shiva is still far from understood, leave alone being realized. Much as He is not half as well known as His counterpart Vishnu, His forms are equally obscure.
It would sound strange that Shiva came with more avataras than Vishnu, say 27 in all. It would be even stranger to say that He had "Lilamurthy" attributed to His name. Even more strange would be His close association with the Mother Goddess cult. This is a sea of knowledge itself and we have not even started talking about the essence of the Lingas that represent His aniconic Self.
What makes up Shiva, Who is He, and what is it that makes Him so remarkable that His presence in man's mind has lasted so many centuries through history. Is it all about faith? We definitely need a whole lot of faith to know Him, to understand Him, to experience Him but this enigmatic deity leaves a lot for us to figure out.
One of the few things which any art historian or archaeologist has still probably not been able to figure out is the rare iconographic representation of Shiva in the form of the Ekapadamurthy. Of course there seems to be an Ekapada Shiva or the one legged Shiva as well as an Ekapada Trimurthy, which makes it all too confusing.
Ekapada Shiva is a rarity in Indian Iconography, considered to be a Lilamurthy of Shiva and found in all of two places. One is found in Chaunsath Yogini temple is Orissa where he is more commonly known as Ajaikapada Bhairava and the other is found in Someshwara temple Andhra Pradesh. In both cases He is found in close association with the Mother Goddess cult, specially Chamunda. He seems to be very closely associated with the Tantrik cult, a probable influence of the Sakta cult originating in Bengal in close association with Tantrik practices.
The Tantrik cult had a very strong influence in Orissa and Andhra pradesh and a bit of it trickled into Tamil Nadu. There have been references to Ekapada Shiva found in Mahabalipuram but there is no visible proof to support that yet.
For now, this is what Ekapada shiva looks like:
Ekapada Shiva, Someshwara temple, AP. Depicted here with Chamunda dancing in a niche above Him.
Ekapada Shiva, Chaunsath Yogini temple. Also known as Ajaikapada Bhairava
Photo courtesy:
Original photos ©2002 Michael D. Gunther, Glossary of Indian art.
Original photos: http://ganapati.free.fr/ Mukhalingam.
31 comments:
Kavitha, Ekpada Shiva brings to my mind the weather cock that, mounted on top of a building, indicates the direction of the changing wind with respect to time, irrespective of the fixed N-S direction indicated by a magnetic compass. A phenomenon analogous to ever changing time related human-life-drama on the globe that Ekpada Shiva-like rotates around its axis that passes through the North & South poles!
Like the once-upon-a-time saying, “All roads lead to Rome”, all mythological stories cryptically point towards Earth or ‘Bhavasagar’ as the prototype of Shiva (or four-handed 'Vishnu in the middle of the milky ocean') the dancing four-handed Nataraja (Chamunda representing Parvati, a model of the Moon, the source of life-giving Ganga)!
Though, I am an Andhrite, I did not know about it. Thanks for sharing it. You have got informative posts. Went through most of them.
Though, I am an Andhrite, I did not know about it. Thanks for sharing it. You have got informative posts. Went through most of them.
Kavitha, In the Hindu mythological stories, the name, Vishnu, itself suggests an atom of poison, or a ‘dot’ that is ‘Naadbindu’, the believable unborn and unending ‘Creator’, of ‘live physical universe/ world’, which although eventually is temporary and yet is seen as permanent because of different capacities to assimilate poison in each system assigned to each form as a grand ‘design’…
On the other hand, the name Shiva, meaning the opposite of ‘Visha’ the poison that kills and hence Shiva considered ‘Destroyer’, indicates the individual who is the best in terms of overcoming ‘halahal’ or the deadliest poison, say Potassium Cyanide, an example of which was seen in Bhopal, India, in the year 1984, which killed a large number of humans but not the earth the ‘Ajeya’ or the one who cannot be defeated and hence the name 'Ajaikapad Bhairava' also used for the Shiva or the model of Earth (who cut the ‘fifth head of Brahma’, the model of Sun, i.e., retained the control of human reach and thus rendering Brahma four faced only - imperfect).
Hi Kalpana
Nice to know you have gone through most of the posts. I am trying to dig up various things that are so common around us and still unfortunately unknown.
I hope to bring out more of this as and when I find them!
Regds
Kavitha
“Familiarity breeds contempt”. It is the closenes with earth or “attachment with earth” that is the cause of man, generations after generations, to “look outwards” towards the “heavenly Bodies”, despite the ‘present day’ knowledge that Earth also is a part of the solar system – all members apparently detached from one another, revolving around the sun… It is only a few Astronauts who - when on way outwards in space had the opportunity to detach themselves from Earth and view it from a distance - only could realize how beautiful Earth looked from up there. And, some of them wondered how or why God in human form came to select that small planet for walking over it for some time and therefore that phenomenon was a much bigger achievement than man landing on moon! The ‘wise’ Hindus achieved the same state of mind through vizualization from the overall knowledge or Siddhi attained by them during their life and “looking inwards”. And, they came to realize that Shiva or earth itself was the ‘lilamurty’ or the cause of ‘Maya’ that is illusion or the eternal drama of apparent physical forms played by Him alone - in His different forms!
Hi Kavitha, it's suprising to see yet another form of lord Shiva (Ekpada Shiva), very interesting article. To be frank, i never knew that there was even such a form of Siva. Well, could you please write about the origin of the murthy and also tell me the meaning of the name "Lilamurthy".
Kavitha, This also perhaps is a part of the ‘leela’ or drama that you were forced by the unwanted comments to decide to delay release of comments, which make some comments appear unrelated, and maybe some sort of obligation on your part too - and thus an indication that no system can be foolproof in Kaliyuga!
Also perhaps it is a hint how information gets held up in the various locks or bandhas within the human body between the “mooladhar” and the “sahasrara” or the head such that imperfection or inequality persists during a particular era or Yuga. Due to different capacities as a part of the grand design that leads to "communication gap" and thus the apparent hierarchy, it reflects a grand variety in 'Natur' for Creator's unknown purpose. It apparently reflects in human life too in his innumerable creations, which have led to the apparent chaos in the 'present' - a state that believably existed in the beginning of the creation by God!
The mythological stories indicate helplessness on the part of the Gods in physical forms, thus indicating helplessness in humans at all time, man believably being the model of the universe or image of God...
Brahma is imperfect and therefore helpless because Shiva, in Bhairava’s form, cut away his fifth (egoistic) head reducing his reach and therefore himself becoming guilty of Brahmahatya (killing of a Brahmin). This obliged Shiva, as penance, to keep on begging using Brahma’s skull as the receptacle of alms (also indicated by the garland of skulls worn by Kali on her neck, and also similarly indicated by application of ashes of the crematoria on Shiva’s body)... Vishnu in physical form is helpless because he is a model of the inactive Formless Vishnu, thus Krishna agrees only to play the role of an advisor to the Pandavas (although, because of the flaw in human behavior in a Yuga other than Satyuga, he did use the sudershan chakra on rare occasions). Vishnu, when approached by Shiva for alms, reportedly gave blood from his forehead – perhaps indicating the symbolic red blood-coloured tongue of the destructive force, Kali (meaning Krishna in Sanskrit), at Shiva’s heart…
Also, in search of ‘Truth’, some Yogis are also seen to stand on one leg for years like Ekpada Shiva, also popular as ‘Tardeo’ like the palm tree that naturally supplies an intoxicating material – for Shiva is also known as the God who indulged in consumption of alcoholic material, ‘Somrus’, the intoxicating or life-giving moonrays perhaps, to overcome pollution that the eath is subjected to!
Kavitha, The thoughts, (only a few of which I have posted in brief) - that continue to rise or have arisen in my head (like similar or different thoughts in the heads of others too, conforming to he apparent variety in ‘Nature’) over a few decades as chain reactions to exposure to/ reading of the stories, particularly Gita and a bit of exposure to the essence of Bible, and resultant analyses thereof – have convinced me at least that I am only an apparently imperfect character that existed in the ‘past’ in the life of Shiva the perhaps unending Earth, (although believably illusory), as the supreme form of Krishna – like a typical specimen in a museum that reflects the status of ‘human development’ at a particular location and time…
Of course, these thoughts have to a certain extent taken me away from the believably accepted normal behaviour with respect to the ‘present day beliefs’. The apparent existence of many such ‘eccentric’ characters in the believable ‘past’/ ‘present’ also could perhaps help one to realize those as exceptions to the generally accepted ‘scientific laws’ as are reported from time to time. Also, almost as a rule, many ‘scientific’ inventions (e.g. Penicillin) and discoveries (e.g. discovery of America) reportedly were results of accidents, perhaps thus indicating the hand of the so-called mysterious being…Shiva/ Vishnu the Formless (Creator)…
However, in so far as ‘eccentricity’ in humans is concerned, perhaps logically one could say that in a perfectly spherical space there is only one centre or focus (i.e., Naadbindu, the unborn and unending energy). Thus all the apparently temporary physical forms including animal life forms, at any point other than the centre (of Ekapada Shiva or Earth), are ‘eccentric’ or imperfect…
Kavita,Would you please describe the featyres of the"murthy" in greater details like the things held in the hand.It reminds me of the "Matsyawataar".
Kavitha, I would like to recapitulate the information on the Heavenly Bodies gathered by the Scientists in the ‘present, which could perhaps help understand the thoughts of the ‘wise’ ancients…
We have come to know that our universe is apparently a void filled with a variety of innumerable galaxies out of which our galaxy is a disc shaped mature one that (like other galaxies too), contains besides innumerable stars, (source of white light), our solar system located towards its outer periphery – all Heavenly Bodies within it revolving around its centre. (Like cream gets separated from milk in a centrifuge and move towards the outer periphery. And the mythological stories indicate Krishna as a cowboy with milkmaids dancing around Him!)
However, as an apparent independent unit within the galaxy, in the solar system the planets revolve around the sun – each member along its elliptical path or orbit... Our earth completes one revolution in a little over 365 days, the period called one year, where one day is reckoned as one rotation of our earth around its own axis, which results in an apparent optical illusion. It appears as if our sun rises in the east and sets in the west at the end of each day of varying durations during the year, which is followed by a night – the total duration of a day and night considered as twenty-four hours. Thus the average duration of a day, as also a night, equals 12 hours, or 720 minutes, or 43,200 seconds, each (one might therefore find it a bit bizarre that these digits uncannily look familiar - for the ancients believed one day in the life of Brahma to be 4.32 billion years and man to be a model of the universe).
Out of the recognizable planets through telescopes, it is learnt that some have their own satellite(s) while some don’t have any. And also there are small bodies, called planetoids, meteors, etc.
Our planet earth has Moon as its satellite which orbits it such that only one of its sides is ever facing the earth while the other ever remains away from it. And to add further to its apparent mysterious nature, the heights of the tides in the seas due alone to the apparent powerful sun become relatively much higher on new moon and full moon days! Unlike our earth, moon has no atmosphere of its own such that it reflects the entire sun light from its surface, besides having apparently the same size as that of our sun because of optical illusion! And, it also plays the role of regulating the speed of rotation of our earth. It is however believed that moon, till a certain stage, was a part of our earth, and has evolved from within the original earth-moon (Ardhanarishwar Shiva, or Ekapada Shiva with Parvati or Chamunda on His forehead!)…
Kavitha, I give below the thoughts I posted elsewhere for your information too.
Kishoreji, I fully agree with you that ‘Bhagawad Gita contains solid knowledge’ that has been carried forth through generations since time immemorial, and ‘Krishna’ in physical form as the most intelligent human being. Words however fail to communicate the abstract.
‘Nature’, however, reflects a grand variety and beauty in all its creations, although they all are temporary – liable to merge with soil at a certain point of apparent time with varying durations of apparent existence (earth to earth and ashes to ashes). In the animal world, relatively man is accepted as the superior most creation (model of God). However, creator believably is Omnipotent, and Omnipresent or unending. And, one perhaps could accept Earth-Moon, if not permanent, at least near permanent. The estimated age of the solar system today is over 4 billion years and it is likely to continue for billions more. Thus the solar sytem and similarly the centre of our galaxy, a point or formless, could be believed to be the reflections that are much more closer to the Formless Creator. Thus with the background belief that ‘man is a model of the universe’, perhaps ‘Krishna’ (meaning ‘Black’ in Sanskrit) could be believed as the model of the centre of our galaxy that believably contains a ‘Black Hole’ a Heavenly Body with super gravity, at its centre - with members of the solar system to be lower in the hierarchy. And, the ancient Hindus were also believably highly advanced in Astronomy, and Astrology as applicable to human forms, etc. thus perhaps comparatively they reflect images pertaining to still older times. And, interestingly, apparent time was reckoned by the ancients to be moving from a perfect stage in human life to a relatively imperfect stage (Satyuga with Shiva as th eperfect model, to Tretayuga with Rama as the best among men, to Dwaperyuga with Krishna as the re-incarnation of the formless Vishnu, to Kaliyuga or theage of confusion - the believable ‘present’).
The ancients apparently attempted to go to the root of creation – time. And, they came to learn that the Creator is ‘perfect’ as he is related with zero time and space, and that the apparent physical world/ universe is related with ‘apparent time’ generated through apparent animation through the believable Big Bang. Although man represents God, he however needs to awaken the dormant energy within him to realize it.
Yes Anilji is right, the idols also appear a bit similar to a Matsyakanya (mermaid)/ Matsyavatar the first re-incarnation of Formless Vishnu out of believably a total of ten physical forms to perhaps represent all the ten major directions as the essence of the unlimited space represented by land and water on earth.
One of the the idols reflecting the thoughts at some point of time in Andhra Pradesh, has four hands, perhaps to represent the four parts of the space represented as model of the universe by the globe - in the four Cardinal directions, North, East, West, South (NEWS). The photograph presented by Kavitha clearly shows a torch in one of the hands, obviously to represent light (as Brahma or Sun, the creative aspect of God) to dispel the darkness of ignorance and also provide life sustaining energy; the vishadhar or snake in another hand reflects immortal Shiva’s capacity to absorb halahal or the deadliest poison (as the model of the Nirakar or Formless Creator); another, third hand, perhaps shows Brahma’s fifth head used by Ekapada Shiva as a receptacle for collecting alms as part of penance for Brahmahatya (reflecting the transient aspect of mortal forms); in the fourth hand, from the photograph, it looks like counting beads - perhaps to mark apparent time for 'pralaya' at the appropriate time.
The idol at the Chaunsath Yogini temple perhaps represents a sculpteur’s imagination of Adi/ Ardhanarishwar Shiva (?)…
Maybe Kavitha would like to throw more or proper light on these.
Hi,
Am very glad I came across your page, I read all the posts, hats off. Even am interested in Hinduism and I want to spread that across and make the youngsters realize its ture value. I also read the cosmic-verity BLog, can I contribute in that,am awaiting you reply
Hi Anilji,
Ekapada Shiva is two handed, carrying a trishul in one hand and a shankh in the other. This is the only form of Lord Shiva where He carries a Shankh.
He has no relation to Matsya avatara of Vishnu. He is represented having one leg in this idol alone.
He gives darshan to the sapta kannis (sapta matrikas)and the sanahadi munivars this form. Its the only form where Parvati is next to Him and Brahma stands behind Him (not sure if that is there in the sculpture.)
This is all I know about Him as of now...
Regds
Kavitha
Hi Anilji,
I would say 4 handed, he carries a rudraksha necklace in one hand and i still cannot identify the other.
Will get you more details. The photograph depicts the Sanahadi munivars(sage on left side) and Saptakannis (lady on the right).
Will let you know more as I find out.
Regds
Kavitha
Hi Bala,
I do not own the cosmic verity blog. Guess you can drop in a comment there for the other members to see...
Ideally they would prefer you to start your own blog or give them the link to your blog in case you have one. This is know what you write on, and how well you represent your thought in words.
Post that, they will decide and invite you to post to the group blog.
Regds
Kavitha
Kavitha, as I said earlier - because of existence of analogous systems in ‘Nature’ - I imagine Ekapada Shiva reflected by a weather-cock. And, so also humans, although as ‘working models’ of earth, in practice, however, their performance efficiency is ‘naturally’ lower than the potential, for they are made to function under apparently imperfect or erroneous human control systems at all times besides many other ‘natural’ limitations related with material as also lack of overall knowledge.
As an apparently independent system, our earth is rotating around its South Pole for over 4 billion years - with the atmosphere also moving along with it - while the weather-cock does so in the direction of the wind with the help of a mechanism that needs proper installation, running and maintenance, and so on.
However, for a weather-cock to function as a true reflection of immortal Shiva or earth, one would need to ensure that there is no friction between the fixed and the moving parts at any time. And, as it is under (imperfect) human control systems, which are subject to change from time to time, besides the well known fact that material has a limited life-span perhaps, it is likely to get neglected till someone at some point of time feels its necessity and restarts the whole process by dismantling the defunct system…thus perhaps reflecting the thought conveyed by the ‘wise’ ancients through the words of Krishna, in Gita, regarding reinstallation of the human system...
Generally 108 counting beads are used in a rudraksha mala or Shiva's necklace, and it was a practice in olden days to address an individual as Shri Shri 108 Shri ...' in written correspondences. I believe that Shri stands for Ganesha, who is related both with the material as well as spiritual aspect, and perhaps also for Lakshami the Goddess of wealth, perhaps our planet earth. For, as we saw elsewhere earlier also Lakshamana (meaning the one who is conscious of his goal or Lakshya) appears to represent our earth. 108 beads perhaps, as model, represent 1080 cycles of Mahayuga in one day in the life of Brahma...
Seen logically with the background belief of Hindu Philosophy of triple functions of the one and only Formless Creator of apparent physical forms through His multiple reflections or images - of creation, sustenance for a certain duration each, and eventual apparent destruction for transformation into other forms as part of one big chain - Ekapada Trimurthy, obviously refers to Earth as the model of the Creator of the universe. On realization of the ‘Truth’ that man is also a physical model of the universe, the ‘enlightened’ among the ‘seekers’ or Yogis reportedly exclaimed, “Shivoham!” That is, “I am Shiva!” The ancients considered Earth as the centre of the universe. And, in the words of the ancients, as a part of His maya or illusion, considering only the apparent Solar system as relevant the ‘modern man’ has distracted the attention of the human race at large from the “Truth” as stated by the ‘wise’ ancients in the statement, “Satyam Shivam Sunderam”, although the scientists also agree on the other hand that Earth is the most beautiful Heavenly Body in our Galaxy, or elsewhere, in so far as the present day knowledge is concerned.
Shiva is also called ‘Bhootnath’, literally the Lord of the Ghosts or past. The so-called scientific study today is incomplete as it restricts itself to the material aspect while overlooking the ‘spiritual’ or related to a kind of energy expressed as soul, although many persons related with para-science are engaged in the study even in the present because apparitions have apparently been seen by many and there are many stories related with true stories on ghosts. But, their studies are still at a rudimentary stage. They apparently still require lot of time to reach the apparent advanced stage, which the ancient Hindus (Tantriks) appear to have reached by ‘searching inwards’ within their body.
Some still continue to practice it in India but to an apparently lower reach because of lack of knowledge of the fundamentals and also the expected misuse of the art over the long duration of time that apparently has elapsed since the era when knowledge reportedly was at its peak; before the 6th Century BC, the date which reportedly marks the fall of the Vedic Era... Some of he yogis appear to have advanced to high stages such that could disappear from one place to physically reappear at another distant one in no time! Of course, unless one can do it today, it sounds like fiction only. However, it is a fact that what were once believed to be fictin even in the recent past have turned out to be true today!
As we have earlier also seen, one is aware that although human thought can reach any distant-most location instantaneously, yet due to relatively much lower velocity of light it takes about 8 minutes for the light from our sun to reach the earth - and it is a relatively closer star. Thus the apparent location of our sun at any time in reality indicates the location where it apparently was eight minutes ago and therefore the phenomenon can be considered as an optical illusion – believing some object to be actually not there where it appears to be.
Now, because of, relative to the sun, extremely large distances of some of the stars from earth – the universal void being infinite and still expanding such that the physical forms, within the void that believably has a fabric like appearance at the outer extremity (like eath’s outer crust), also are getting expanded - the distances of stars is measured in terms of light years, i.e., the distance traveled by light in that many years. Hence, one might see the light on earth, at some given point of time, from an extremely distant star, which in reality might not even exist at that particular moment, i.e., it might have ‘died’ and got ‘transformed’ in the meantime. Thus, in other words, what one sees is the ghost of that particular star at some point of time in the 'past'! And man being the believable model of the universe, it is possible for the individuals who represent such distant Heavenly Bodies to be seen as ghosts by some!
Kavitha, I forgot to indicate my observation about the “Ekapada Shiva, Someshwara temple, AP, presented by you, which depicts Chamunda dancing in a niche above Him”: There are eight (8) panels with human figures – out of which the lower central one depicts Shiva (Earth) with two other figures, making a total of three aspects believably related with devtas or demi-gods with forms, which are also seen in six other panels. However, the figure depicting Chamunda (Moon) independently occupies the highest pedestal also located centrally. Besides these two central ones, there are two panels at the same level as Ekpada Shiva, one on each side. Whereas, at the higher level there are two panels each on either side of the central panel…
These together perhaps therefore depict the selected eight planets of the solar system, essences of which believably go into the making of the human forms too - as we have seen earlier elsewhere also.
Hi, I should thank Sathishr(dot)blogspot(dot)com for pointing me to a great blog.
Kavitha - an interesting and informative blog.
Your post on Ekapada Shiva and the pics reminds me of the Ekapadamurthi at the Vadivudai Amman Temple in Tiruvottriyur, North Chennai. This statue too stands on a single leg but above the hip, shiva, vishnu and brahma share the single leg.
Once again - a great blog, thank you.
Hi Kavitha,
Lord Shiva to me is PEACE,He is the ALLMIGHTY GOD OF ALL.
You may also may want to read this:
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/true_story_of_the_taj_mahal.htm
if anybody needs ekapadamurthy of tiruvotiyur, pls mail me, i will send the same. kk@spacehospitals.com
it is a very beautiful one
Last month, I visited SriMukhalingam temple AP.THe eastern walls of the main temple as well as Someswara temple have Ekapada Siva.
I searched for 'Ekapada Siva' in internet before posting my photos. I got link of this site plus a few more .
Rkapada Siva can be found at Markandyaswara temple ( there are two well-known M.temples - @ Puri and near Raichur - which one is not clear to me as of now ) and Thiruvanaikkaval temple near Trichy . These are apart from the famous one at Hirapur,Orissa.
I am trying to learn more about Ekapadamurthy, since this form of Rudra is the Ruler of Poorvabhadrapada (Poorattadhi) star. There is a good idol/carving of Ekapadar in Jambukeshwarar Temple in Tiruvanaikkaval temple in Srirangam, near Trichy. Good to know Vadivudai Amman temple in Chennai also has the figure. Also, this form of Rudra is known to have two faces, representing differenct perspectives of any theme. And persons born under this star and hence ruled by Ekapadhar, are prone to tempest like anger, which is used to straighten situations, and God uses such persons as instruments to achieve a goal, so they will find several events occurring over which they have no control. This is from a Website giving characteristics of persons born under each star. But also helps to know a little bit more of this form of Rudra and his characteristics. Thanks for all info posted here.
Here is the link to Ekapada Shiva at Mahabalipuram
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150643194211859&set=a.10150619597116859.387602.619001858&type=1&ref=notif¬if_t=like&theater
Aja Ekapada is a Vedic Deity mentioned in Atharvana Veda as the one who strengthens the sky and the earth. Apart from this deity's obvious association with Sthamba - the cosmic pillar deity in Atharvana Veda and the later association of both Sthamba -> Sthanu and AjaEkaPada with Shiva , what is also interesting is the fact that some of the oldest iconography of this form is available in Orissa and the oldest reference of an independent Ekapada is in Atharvana Veda. Because researches suggest that Orissa may have been the homeland of Atharvana Veda.
Ekapaadhar is also found in Vadivudayamman temple Thiruvotriyur Chennai..
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