What the Book is About
The Presence of Śiva is a profound, meditative exploration of the god Śiva, authored by the distinguished art historian Stella Kramrisch[cite: 53]. Published in 1981, the work serves as a comprehensive ontological and mythological investigation into one of the most complex deities in the Hindu pantheon[cite: 57, 58]. Kramrisch moves beyond mere historical or sociological inquiry, instead weaving together Vedic hymns, Puranic narratives, and the visual testimony of Indian temple sculpture to capture the “presence” of a god who embodies the ultimate paradox of consciousness[cite: 1, 4].
The book situates Śiva (initially as Rudra) at the very dawn of creation, identifying him as the “Wild God” who is both the destroyer and the guardian of the absolute[cite: 120, 155]. The central theme is the tension between procreation and asceticism, existence and the Uncreate. Through a detailed analysis of myths—ranging from the primordial scene of the Father and the Daughter to the transfiguration of the linga—Kramrisch demonstrates how Śiva transcends all pairs of opposites: he is the Great Yogi and the Lord of Animals, the fierce Archer and the merciful Healer, the source of life and the ender of time[cite: 142, 167, 308].
Intellectual Framework
The primary intellectual framework of Kramrisch’s work is grounded in a deep reading of Sanskrit texts, interpreted through the lens of metaphysical realization and artistic manifestation. She treats myth not as primitive fable, but as a sophisticated “mantric poem” or brahman—a word of power that carries the direct intuition of cosmic truth[cite: 136, 153]. Her methodology relies on the concept of dhī (visionary insight), where the seer perceives the underlying connections between the manifest world and the undifferentiated wholeness of the Uncreate[cite: 154, 251].
A critical foundation of the book is the dialectic between procreative “incontinence” and yogic “self-containment”[cite: 227]. Kramrisch explores how Śiva’s presence is maintained through the preservation of the Uncreate (avyakta), even as creation flows into existence[cite: 255]. This framework is supported by an interdisciplinary approach that identifies the god’s presence across multiple domains: in the stars (catasterism), in the rituals of the sacrifice (yajña), in the subtle centers of the human body (cakras), and in the monumental architecture of caves like Elephanta[cite: 245, 279, 443].
Chapter I: The Primordial Scene
Raudra Brahman: The Hidden Identity
[cite_start]The narrative of Śiva begins at the dawn of time, before the first sunrise, with a “wild creation” or “poem about the Wild God” known as the raudra brahman[cite: 112, 116]. [cite_start]This hymn (Ṛg Veda 10.61) deliberately withholds the god’s name, referring to him only indirectly as the “Archer” or the “one who hit the target”[cite: 115, 121]. [cite_start]Kramrisch explains that his presence is carried in the images of the hymn itself, arising through a “lucid frenzy” of visionary language[cite: 116]. [cite_start]The scene depicts the Father mating with his daughter, the Dawn, at the threshold of existence[cite: 117]. [cite_start]As the Father emits his seed, he suddenly pulls back, and the seed falls to earth—the site of the first sacrifice[cite: 117].
The Archetypal Violation
[cite_start]Kramrisch frames this primordial act not as a moral failing in the human sense, but as a metaphysical catastrophe: an “act of violence” that ruptures the “Uncreate”—the undifferentiated wholeness that preceded the world[cite: 118, 121]. [cite_start]The unnamed Archer aims his arrow at the creative act itself, attempting to defend this pre-existential integrity[cite: 121, 122]. [cite_start]Although the arrow hits its target, it is a “fraction of a second too late” to prevent the fall of the seed[cite: 245, 247]. [cite_start]Consequently, time begins, and existence escapes from the dimensions of eternity into contingency[cite: 247].
Rudra as Agni: The Two Faces of Fire
[cite_start]A critical homology is established between Rudra and Agni (Fire)[cite: 122, 141]. [cite_start]Agni is the “mild” form of the god who prepares the seed for the Father, instigating the heat of passion[cite: 122, 189]. [cite_start]Rudra is the “fierce” essence of that same fire who then hunts and strikes the Father for discharging that seed[cite: 141, 190]. [cite_start]This paradox is central to Śiva’s nature: he is both the cause of procreation and the avenger who lashes out against its rupture of the absolute[cite: 142, 197].
The Lord of Animals (Paśupati)
[cite_start]In exchange for his life, the terrified Father grants the Archer the title Paśupati, or Lord of Animals[cite: 135, 154]. [cite_start]Kramrisch analyzes this from two perspectives: in one tradition, the Title is a reward from the gods for punishing the Father; in another, it is a plea for mercy[cite: 153, 154]. [cite_start]The “animals” (paśus) symbolize both the creatures of the world and the unregenerate human soul bound by its own passions[cite: 223, 421]. [cite_start]As Paśupati, the god spares the “remainder” of the seed that became animals, showing an early act of grace within his terrifying manifestation[cite: 431, 461].
The Lord of Yoga
[cite_start]The chapter identifies the origins of Śiva’s yogic mastery in the Harappan “Proto-Śiva” seal[cite: 160, 167]. [cite_start]Kramrisch argues that the figure’s posture and the ūrdhvalinga (upward-pointing phallus) represent the discipline of ūrdhvaretas—the “ascent of the semen”[cite: 167, 173]. [cite_start]This indicates a mastery where sexual power is not merely denied but is transformed into “mystical cognition” (samādhi)[cite: 173, 218]. [cite_start]In this capacity, Śiva stands as the “consciousness and conscience of the Uncreate,” a stationary pillar of integrity against the flux of material existence[cite: 223].
Vāstoṣpati: Guardian of the Sacred Order
[cite_start]From the very same raudra brahman poem, the gods “carve” another shape for the unnamed god: Vāstoṣpati, the Lord of the Dwelling[cite: 124, 128]. [cite_start]While the Archer represents the wild hunter in the pre-cosmic wilderness, Vāstoṣpati is the guardian of the “site” (vāstu) where the seed fell[cite: 132, 133]. [cite_start]This site becomes the place of sacrifice and the foundation of human architecture[cite: 133]. [cite_start]In this form, Śiva ensures that the rhythms of the cosmos are mirrored in the rhythms of human ritual and art, serving as the “Guardian of the Sacred Order” (vratapā)[cite: 128, 133].
Chapter II: The Archer
The Archer Kṛśānu
[cite_start]Kramrisch introduces the Gandharva Kṛśānu as a celestial counterpart to Rudra, both sharing a mission of “belated” intervention[cite: 249]. [cite_start]Kṛśānu is the guardian of Soma, the elixir of immortality and inspiration[cite: 249, 253]. [cite_start]In a mythic parallel to the primordial scene, a falcon (Indra) steals the Soma from the Gandharva’s eternal abode[cite: 249]. [cite_start]Kṛśānu aims his arrow at the bird, but his shot merely grazes the falcon, allowing a single feather to fall while the bird escapes to bring the elixir to mankind[cite: 249, 258]. [cite_start]This failure is attributed to a “split second” escape of eternity into time[cite: 257]. [cite_start]While Kṛśānu defends the borderland between the Uncreate and creation, his failure ensures that divine inspiration (Soma) reaches the human world, just as Rudra’s failure ensures the arrival of life[cite: 253, 273].
Śarva, the Archer
[cite_start]Rudra is explicitly identified as Śarva, a name derived from śaru (arrow)[cite: 275]. [cite_start]In this aspect, the god represents the highest degree of intensity and cruelty[cite: 275]. [cite_start]His arrows are not merely physical weapons but metaphysical threats to the seed and the yet unborn[cite: 286]. [cite_start]Kramrisch details the “Tryambaka” offerings of rice cakes, which were performed at crossroads—Rudra’s favorite haunt—to ransom descendants from the god’s fatal darts[cite: 287]. [cite_start]By burying a cake in a molehill (symbolizing the concealed embryo), the sacrificer delivered his progeny from Rudra’s power[cite: 287, 292]. [cite_start]As Śarva, Rudra possesses absolute power over life and death, able to either cut life short like a “gourd from its stalk” or unstring his bow in an act of grace[cite: 285, 286].
Rudra, the Healer
[cite_start]Counteracting his role as the slayer, Rudra is also celebrated as the “best of healers”[cite: 299]. [cite_start]He carries healing remedies (jalāṣa) and the “water of life” in his hands[cite: 299, 314]. [cite_start]Kramrisch emphasizes that his dual nature is a totality: he must inflict the wound of existence to offer the remedy of liberation[cite: 299, 303]. [cite_start]In early sculpture, this is represented by a small medicine vessel or water pot held in the left hand[cite: 300, 314]. [cite_start]Sickness is viewed as a consequence of sin; thus, Rudra, together with Soma, frees both the body from ailment and the mind from the concerns of mortality[cite: 307, 315]. [cite_start]He is the only god associated on equal terms with Soma in this capacity, forming a dual divinity that conjointly heals and frees the soul from guilt[cite: 305, 307].
The Hunter and the Hound of Heaven
[cite_start]Kramrisch links these mythic themes to the stars, identifying Rudra with Sirius, the “Hunter of the Antelope” (Mṛgavyādha)[cite: 328]. [cite_start]This sidereal figure serves as a permanent record of the primordial deed: Prajāpati, the pierced Father, became the constellation Mrga (Orion); his daughter became Rohiṇī (Aldebaran); and Rudra’s arrow became the Belt of Orion[cite: 401]. [cite_start]Sirius is also envisioned as the “Hound of Heaven,” the silver-golden watchdog of the house of Varuṇa (the cosmos)[cite: 359, 364]. [cite_start]The author argues that these figures represent an ancient astronomical “shorthand” for the precession of the equinoxes—specifically the moment when the vernal equinox moved from Orion to Aldebaran in the fourth millennium B.C.[cite: 351, 355]. [cite_start]The “shock” of this movement was mythologically translated into Rudra’s avenging shot, marking the transition from timeless eternity into the revolving order of time[cite: 351, 392].
Chapter III: Vāstoṣpati, the Lord of the Dwelling
The Residue at the Site of the First Sacrifice
Following the primordial scene where the Father’s seed fell to the earth, the focus shifts to the “site” (vāstu) itself. Kramrisch explores the transition of the Wild God from a hunter in the trackless wilderness to a guardian of the established ground. When the Father’s seed fell, it created a “lake of sperm” which was subsequently consumed by fire. The charred, remaining substance—the “residue”—became the physical bodies of the animals and, by extension, the material world. Rudra, as the “Avenger,” initially claims this entire residue as his own, asserting his right to the “remainder” of the sacrifice that the other gods had overlooked or feared to touch.
Vāstoṣpati: The Domestic Guardian
By claiming the residue at the site, Rudra is transformed into Vāstoṣpati, the Lord of the Dwelling. Kramrisch notes that this represents a crucial integration of the “outsider” god into the human and cosmic home. Vāstoṣpati is the deity invoked when a house is built; he is the “stable pillar” that ensures the security of the residents. This domestic role is an extension of his Vedic function as the “Guardian of the Sacred Order” (vratapā). He is the presence that remains at the site after the ritual concludes and the other gods have departed for the celestial realms. In this capacity, he bridges the gap between the wild, unmanifest power of the forest and the structured, manifest life of the household.
The Mystery of the Remainder (Ucchiṣṭa)
Kramrisch delves into the metaphysical significance of the “remainder” (ucchiṣṭa). In Vedic thought, the remainder of a sacrifice is not merely a “leftover” but is the concentrated essence of the entire rite, containing the seed of future creations. By identifying Rudra/Śiva with the ucchiṣṭa, the text establishes him as the god of the “total potential” that survives every act of destruction or completion. He is the “Surplus” that cannot be exhausted by the process of living. This section analyzes the myth of Nābhānediṣṭha, who was left out of his father’s inheritance but was granted the “remainder” of the sacrifice by a mysterious “man in black” (Rudra). This myth reinforces the idea that true wealth and knowledge—the “divine share”—belong to those who recognize the presence of the god in the discarded or the overlooked.
The Architect’s Ground: Vāstu-Puruṣa
The chapter concludes by tracing the evolution of these concepts into the Puranic and architectural traditions of the Vāstu-puruṣa-maṇḍala. Kramrisch explains how the “fallen” or “wild” being—born from a drop of Śiva’s sweat—is pinned to the ground by the various gods to prevent him from consuming the universe. This being becomes the ground-plan of the temple. The “Presence” of Śiva is thus literally the foundation of all sacred architecture. The “Lord of the Dwelling” becomes the very earth upon which the temple stands, ensuring that the structure is not just a building, but a “body” of the god, oriented to the cardinal directions and the cosmic center.
Chapter IV: Manifestations and Realizations of Rudra
Śatarudriya: The Hundred Forms and the Host of Rudras
[cite_start]Kramrisch analyzes the Śatarudriya, a pivotal hymn of the Yajur Veda that celebrates Rudra’s presence throughout the universe in a hundred—and eventually a thousand—forms[cite: 548, 555]. [cite_start]The hymn acts as a litany of “hails” to a god who is simultaneously the Lord of Creatures, the leader of robbers, the architect of the universe, and the healer [cite: 556, 560-562]. [cite_start]Unlike the other Vedic gods who are often confined to specific natural or ritual roles, Rudra is identified with the “outcasts”—the thieves, pilferers, and those of low station—because he is the consciousness that dwells in every part of the manifest world[cite: 570, 592]. [cite_start]He is present in the green grass, the foam of the sea, the desert, and the rustling of withered leaves [cite: 568-569, 573]. [cite_start]This totality establishes that the “presence” of Śiva is not merely a single personage but a “host” of Rudras who animate all creatures and hit every vulnerable goal in the cosmos[cite: 578, 586].
The Blue-Throated Savior
A permanent physical mark of Rudra’s presence is his blue throat (nīlakaṇṭha). [cite_start]Kramrisch notes that this mark serves as a visible record of his grace: he drank the “world poison” that arose during the churning of the cosmic ocean to save all living beings[cite: 572]. [cite_start]This act reinforces the god’s role as the “ferryman” (tīrtha) who leads creatures across the hazardous fords of life and death [cite: 574-575].
The God of Darkness (Tamas)
The chapter concludes with an ontological analysis of Śiva’s association with tamas (darkness or inertia). [cite_start]In the Sāṃkhya framework, which views the cosmos as a fabric of three strands (guṇas), tamas is the descending and dark tendency[cite: 596]. [cite_start]While sattva (luminosity) is attributed to Viṣṇu and rajas (activity) to Brahmā, tamas belongs to Śiva[cite: 596]. [cite_start]Kramrisch argues that this identifies Śiva with the “quiescent potentiality” of the world and with the destructive quality of time that draws all beings back into the undifferentiated darkness of the absolute[cite: 596].
Chapter V: The Birth of Rudra
The Birth from Prajāpati
Kramrisch examines the “birth” of the god into the cosmos as a sequel to the primordial scene. [cite_start]In this Puranic narrative, Rudra is born from the “gold” that Prajāpati (the Father) sees within himself[cite: 428]. [cite_start]The newborn child is described as “blue and red” (nīla-lohita), embodying the extremes of the color spectrum[cite: 6]. [cite_start]Upon birth, the child begins to cry because he has no name; he remains “not free from evil” until he is named[cite: 217]. [cite_start]Prajāpati bestows eight names upon him—Rudra, Śarva, Paśupati, Ugra, Aśani, Bhava, Mahādeva, and Īśāna—each corresponding to a specific cosmic station (e.g., Earth, Water, Sun, Moon)[cite: 5].
The Eight Forms (Aṣṭamūrti)
[cite_start]The naming ceremony represents the process of the god’s “investiture with the cosmos”[cite: 2]. [cite_start]By inhabiting these eight stations, known as the Aṣṭamūrti, Śiva becomes the fabric of existence itself[cite: 6]. [cite_start]Significantly, the eighth domain is not a physical element but the “sacrificer” or “mind” embodied in man[cite: 6]. [cite_start]This homology between the microcosm of the human body and the macrocosm of the universe ensures that Śiva is present in the vital energies (prāṇa) and the “digestive fire” of every living being[cite: 6].
Memory of the Initial Evil
[cite_start]The god’s birth is required to “end the memory of the primordial evil”—the rupture of the Uncreate that occurred at the dawn of time[cite: 6]. [cite_start]Kramrisch argues that each name given to the god represents a reality that helps to allay this memory, allowing the “Wild God” to be integrated into the ordered universe while still maintaining his transcendent nature as the “ninth” or the “New”[cite: 6].
Chapter VI: The Refusal to Procreate and the Encounters with Death
Sthāṇu, the Pillar
[cite_start]Following his birth into the cosmos, Rudra is charged by Brahma to create mortals to populate the earth[cite: 8]. [cite_start]Brahma’s command is doubly contrary to Rudra’s nature: as the archetypal ascetic, he rejects carnal progeny, and as the compassionate Śiva, he wishes to prevent the inherent suffering of the human condition[cite: 8]. [cite_start]Instead of obeying, Rudra creates the Rudras—mind-born sons who are deathless, multicolored, and multiform[cite: 8]. [cite_start]When Brahma rejects these immortal beings and demands creatures subject to birth and death, Rudra firmly refuses, stating, “I am standing by. You create people”[cite: 8]. [cite_start]He then stands motionless, keeping his semen drawn up, and becomes known as Sthāṇu (one who stands)[cite: 8]. [cite_start]Sthāṇu is Śiva as a “branchless stem” or post, an abstract pillar shape that paradoxically negates the phallic form it suggests by representing the upward withdrawal and mastery of generative power[cite: 8].
The Plunge into the Waters and Self-Castration
[cite_start]In a related mythic sequence, Rudra plunges into the primordial waters to practice tapas (ascetic ardor) for a thousand celestial years, during which time remains “drowned” in his yogic absorption[cite: 14]. [cite_start]While he tarries, Brahma becomes impatient and transfers the responsibility of creating mortals to Dakṣa[cite: 14]. [cite_start]When Rudra finally emerges and discovers that the world has already been populated by others, his rage is directed at his own redundant generative power[cite: 10, 14]. [cite_start]In an act of “transcosmic significance,” he tears out his own linga (phallus) and hurls it to the ground[cite: 10, 11]. [cite_start]This act of self-castration is not a sign of lack but of total detachment; the detached limb then flames on a cosmic scale, consuming its materiality in fire and revealing itself as a beginingless and endless pillar of light[cite: 11].
The Meetings with Kāvya Uśanas
Kramrisch explores the encounter between Śiva and Kāvya Uśanas (also known as Śukra), the priest of the demons. [cite_start]Uśanas, seeking to aid the demons, enters Śiva’s body through his ear and wanders within it until he is eventually discharged through the god’s semen passage[cite: 31]. [cite_start]Through this process, he becomes Śiva’s “seed” and son, and is identified with the planet Venus (Śukra)[cite: 31]. [cite_start]This myth establishes a link between the god’s controlled sexual power and the sidereal order, while also providing Uśanas with the “knowledge of reviving the dead” (mṛtasañjīvanī vidyā), further emphasizing Śiva’s mastery over the boundaries of life and death[cite: 31].
The Swallowing of the World Poison
The chapter concludes with the well-known Puranic myth of the churning of the cosmic ocean. [cite_start]As gods and demons churn for the nectar of immortality (amṛta), they first produce a deadly mass of poison called Kālakūṭa[cite: 9, 35]. [cite_start]To prevent the destruction of the cosmos, Śiva consumes the poison, which leaves a permanent blue mark on his throat (Nīlakaṇṭha) but does not harm him[cite: 9, 35]. [cite_start]This act identifies Śiva as the ultimate Savior who averts premature dissolution and establishes him as Śiva Mahākāla, the “Ender of Time,” who will eventually consume the entire universe at the end of the aeon[cite: 9, 32].
Chapter VII: Linga
The Falling of the Linga in the Deodar Forest
This section details the arrival of Śiva in the Deodar forest as a naked, ash-smeared beggar (Bhikṣāṭana). [cite_start]His presence baffles and enrages the resident sages, whose wives and daughters are irresistibly attracted to him[cite: 10, 22]. [cite_start]Misunderstanding his divine madness, the sages curse his linga to fall[cite: 10, 22]. [cite_start]This “severance of the phallus” is willed by Śiva as a “divine play” (līlā) to reveal his true nature[cite: 10]. [cite_start]As the linga touches the ground, it does not merely fall; it sinks into the earth, cleaves its way into the netherworld, and then shoots upward to the very sky as a flaming sign of Rudra’s presence[cite: 11].
Transfiguration: The Pillar of Flames
The severed phallus is transfigured into a Beginningless and Endless Pillar of Flames (Jyotirlinga). [cite_start]Kramrisch describes how this pillar appears during the cosmic night of dissolution, a herald of the new world to come[cite: 11]. [cite_start]Brahma and Viṣṇu, attempting to find the top and bottom of this pillar, fail in their quest, eventually recognizing the supremacy of the god who manifests from within the flames[cite: 11]. [cite_start]This epiphany reveals Śiva as the source of light and the “power of creativity” that inseminates the next creation-to-be[cite: 12, 13].
The Meaning and Classification of the Linga
[cite_start]Kramrisch provides a deep ontological analysis of the term linga, which fundamentally means “sign” or “mark”[cite: 12]. In Śaiva metaphysics, the linga has three nested significations:
- [cite_start]Linga as Sign: A distinguishing mark that proves existence, though the supreme lord is ultimately aliṅga (without mark or transcendent)[cite: 12].
- [cite_start]Linga as Phallus: The organ of procreation which, in its ūrdhvalinga (erect) state, signifies the reversal and absorption of seed for mystical realization[cite: 12, 35].
- [cite_start]Linga as Cosmic Substance: Identified with prakṛti or pradhāna, the subtle body (liṅgaśarīra) that precedes all perceptible forms[cite: 12].
[cite_start]The text also distinguishes between niṣkala (formless) levels of the linga—represented by intense luminosity—and sakala (with form) levels, where the abstract pillar is associated with an iconic image of Śiva[cite: 13]. [cite_start]This hierarchy sanctifies the physical stone lingas worshiped on earth as “self-existent” (svayambhū) or man-made replicas of the primordial root-pillar[cite: 12, 13].
The Linga and the Face of Śiva
[cite_start]The mukhalinga (face-linga) is a visual paradox that combines the abstract pillar with anthropomorphic faces[cite: 12, 35]. [cite_start]These faces—often four visible and one invisible—correspond to the five brahmans or mantras of Śiva (Tatpuruṣa, Aghora, Vāmadeva, Sadyojāta, and Īśāna)[cite: 12, 36]. [cite_start]This configuration makes explicit the meaning of the linga in manifestation, representing the god’s sovereignty in all directions and his “face of eternity” (Īśāna) towering above the others in transcendence[cite: 36]. [cite_start]The chapter highlights how art, such as the sculptures at Elephanta, integrates these heterogeneous traditions into a coherent “Presence”[cite: 36].
Chapter VIII: The Androgyne God
Prolegomena to the Creation of the Great Goddess
Kramrisch explores the metaphysical necessity of the Great Goddess within the Śaiva universe. [cite_start]Although Śiva is the “unknowable source itself of life,” he does not create mortals through standard procreation[cite: 13, 14]. [cite_start]The entry of the Goddess into the myth—described as an “exit” from Śiva’s own body—serves as his response to Brahma’s command to populate the world[cite: 13]. [cite_start]She is the embodied power (śakti) of the Lord, while he is the possessor of that power; together, they form a “complete oneness” perceived by yogis, where the Goddess is identified as Prakṛti (Primordial Nature) and Śiva as Puruṣa (Supreme Consciousness)[cite: 20, 32].
The Divided God (Ardhanārīśvara)
[cite_start]The image of Ardhanārīśvara—the Lord whose half is woman—represents an indivisible whole composed of two complementary halves[cite: 19]. [cite_start]In art, this is rendered through a “hieratic bilateral frontality,” balancing the firm verticals of the male right side with the flowing curves of the female left side[cite: 19, 36]. [cite_start]This biune shape signifies a “timeless paradox” where the androgyne yogi enjoys the female half of himself through the path of yoga, remaining precluded from carnal union while containing both principles within a singular integrity[cite: 18, 36]. [cite_start]Kramrisch notes that while the Great Goddess temporarily detaches from Śiva to fulfill cosmic missions (such as helping Brahma sexualize creation), her ultimate destiny is always to return to this state of “transcendental unity”[cite: 20, 21, 22].
The Genealogy of Desire and the Creation of Woman
[cite_start]Desire (Kāma) enters the world of Rudra only after the Goddess sends forth her power to enable procreation[cite: 19]. [cite_start]Kramrisch distinguishes between the “all-male creative situation” of the early demiurges and the heterosexual world brought about by the Goddess’s intervention[cite: 20]. [cite_start]At Brahma’s request, Śiva “exposed” the Goddess from his body, allowing her śakti to be transferred to the progeny of Brahma—specifically to Dakṣa the progenitor[cite: 20, 22]. [cite_start]This process “sexualized the world,” making it possible for mortals to delight in sex and for procreation to proceed through couples, a development Brahma experienced as “bliss”[cite: 21, 22].
The Birth of Satī and the Duality of Sex
[cite_start]The power detached from Śiva was substantiated among the gods in the form of Satī, the daughter of Dakṣa[cite: 20, 22]. [cite_start]Satī represents the “idea of woman” and the first instance of the Great Goddess assuming a human-like role to enthrall the great ascetic Śiva[cite: 20, 29]. [cite_start]Kramrisch emphasizes that the subsequent “togetherness, meetings, and separations” of Śiva and Satī (and later Pārvatī) are a divine play (līlā) performed for the sake of mortals, prefiguring human patterns of love and grief within the world of the gods[cite: 21].
Yoni and Linga
[cite_start]The union of the Great God and the Great Goddess is symbolized by the linga in the yoni[cite: 23]. [cite_start]In this metaphysical framework, the Goddess is the “altar” (vedi) or the “dark womb” (bhaga) from which the divine splendor of the linga (the flame of fire) rises[cite: 21]. [cite_start]Kramrisch notes that while the linga is often identified with Prakṛti in other contexts, in the union with the Goddess, Prakṛti is transferred to the yoni, establishing the two as “co-creators of the universe”[cite: 21]. [cite_start]This union is ultimately a “reunion,” as the Goddess originated from within the Lord’s own being[cite: 23].
Chapter IX: Bhairava
The Transgression and the Severed Head
The myth of Bhairava marks a critical ontological shift in the “Presence of Śiva.” Kramrisch details the encounter between Śiva and Brahma, where the latter, intoxicated by his role as the demiurge, claims metaphysical superiority. [cite_start]In response to this egoic inflation, Śiva creates Bhairava—the “Terrible One”—who severs Brahma’s fifth head with the nail of his left thumb[cite: 250, 259]. This act of “metaphysical surgery” is not a mere punishment but a programmatic assertion of the Transcendent over the Manifest. [cite_start]The fifth head of Brahma represented the outward-looking, procreative lust that sought to dominate the absolute; its fall signifies the arrest of that impulse[cite: 259].
The Supreme Beggar (Bhikṣāṭana) and the Kapālika Vow
Following the decapitation, the head of Brahma sticks to Bhairava’s hand, and he is burdened with the sin of Brahmanicide (brahmahatyā). [cite_start]To expiate this sin, Bhairava is condemned to wander the earth as a Kāpālika (skull-bearer), a naked beggar seeking alms[cite: 287]. Kramrisch interprets this penance as a divine līlā (play). [cite_start]The god who is the source of all purity voluntarily takes upon himself the ultimate impurity to demonstrate the non-duality of the sacred and the profane [cite: 299-300]. [cite_start]During these wanderings, he enters the Deodar Forest, where his naked, ash-smeared presence baffles and enrages the resident sages, eventually leading to the mythic “fall of the linga” discussed in previous sections [cite: 289-290].
Kāla and Mahākāla: The Breakthrough to Eternity
A central theme of this chapter is the identification of Bhairava with Kāla (Time). Kramrisch explores how Śiva, as Bhairava, becomes the “Ender of Time” (Mahākāla). [cite_start]He is the power that draws the cosmos into dissolution (pralaya), prefiguring its reintegration into the Uncreate[cite: 265, 432]. [cite_start]The author highlights the dance for the Rși Mankaṇaka, where the god reveals himself as the actuator who impels all temporal movement [cite: 278-279]. The chapter concludes with Bhairava’s entry into Vārāṇasī (Kashi), the “luminous city” that exists outside of cosmic time. [cite_start]Here, the skull finally falls from his hand, marking the breakthrough from the dimension of passing moments into the timeless integer of eternity[cite: 281, 287].
Chapter X: The Family of Śiva
The Lineage of Dakṣa and the Birth of Satī
The focus shifts to the domestic and sacrificial arena through the lineage of Dakṣa, the Progenitor. [cite_start]Brahma, frustrated that his ascetic sons would not procreate, appealed to the Great Goddess to fascinate Śiva so that creation might proceed through sexual union [cite: 301-303]. The Goddess agreed to be born as Satī, the daughter of Dakṣa. [cite_start]Kramrisch analyzes the “Spring of Love” where Satī wins Śiva through her own arduous tapas (austerities), proving that only a fellow ascetic could enthrall the Great Yogi[cite: 301, 305]. [cite_start]Their marriage, performed by Brahma, is a “divine play” that establishes the prototype for human union while maintaining Śiva’s yogic detachment [cite: 306-310].
The Destruction of Dakṣa’s Sacrifice
The tension between the “Wild God” and the established social-sacrificial order reaches its climax in the myth of Dakṣa’s sacrifice. Dakṣa, representing the rigid orthodoxy that excludes the unconventional Rudra, fails to invite Śiva to his great rite. [cite_start]Satī, humiliated by her father’s disrespect for her husband, immolates herself in the sacrificial fire[cite: 322]. In a fury that echoes the primordial scene, Śiva creates the terrifying Vīrabhadra to destroy the sacrifice. [cite_start]Kramrisch explains that this destruction is a necessary “de-structuring” of a flawed order[cite: 330]. [cite_start]The gods are reduced to the state of animals (paśu) so that they may be redeemed and recognize Śiva as Paśupati, the Lord of Animals and the source of all knowledge[cite: 331, 332].
The Lineage of the Mountain and the Marriage to Pārvatī
The second part of the chapter details the rebirth of the Great Goddess as Pārvatī, the daughter of Parvata (the Mountain). [cite_start]This incarnation is necessitated by the need for a son—Kārttikeya—who alone can defeat the demon Tāraka[cite: 341, 349]. [cite_start]Kramrisch provides a masterful reading of the “Burning of Kāma,” where Śiva reduces the God of Desire to ashes for attempting to disturb his meditation [cite: 351-352]. However, Pārvatī’s superior tapas eventually seduces the Lord into a second marriage. [cite_start]This union is characterized by an “endless love-making” that lasts for a thousand years of the gods, during which Śiva remains a yogi, keeping his seed drawn up and self-contained until the moment it is finally cast into the fire for the birth of the warrior-god [cite: 353-359, 431].
Chapter XI: The Demons
Demons of Sex: Adi and Jalandhara
Kramrisch explores the nature of demons as personifications of excessive or perverted vital energies. The demon Adi, seeking to avenge his father, attempts to deceive Śiva by assuming the form of Pārvatī. [cite_start]However, Śiva recognizes the deception because the “Pārvatī” before him has teeth in her vagina—a sign of the destructive, devouring nature of the demonic [cite: 384-386]. Similarly, the myth of Jalandhara—the demon born of the ocean’s fire—centers on his desire for Pārvatī. Jalandhara’s sin is not merely his power, but his attempt to possess the Great Goddess, the source of Śiva’s own energy. [cite_start]Śiva eventually destroys Jalandhara with a wheel made from the goddess’s power, signifying that the demonic is overcome when it attempts to violate the transcendental unity of God and Śakti [cite: 388-393].
Śiva’s Demon: The Kirttimukha
This section details the origin of the Kirttimukha (Face of Glory). When the demon Rāhu, acting as Jalandhara’s messenger, insults Śiva, the god creates a terrifying, ravenous monster from his brow to devour the demon. When Rāhu begs for mercy, Śiva spares him, but the monster is left with an insatiable hunger. Śiva commands the monster to eat its own body, which it does until only its face remains. [cite_start]Pleased with this act of total self-consumption, Śiva names it the “Face of Glory” and decrees that it must be placed above the doors of all his temples [cite: 394-396]. Kramrisch interprets this as a symbol of the “devouring time” and the protective power of the god that consumes the ego of the devotee who enters the sanctuary.
Cosmic Demons and the Triple City (Tripura)
The climax of the demonic narrative is the myth of Tripura, the three cities of iron, silver, and gold built by the sons of Tāraka. These cities could only be destroyed by a single arrow shot by Śiva when they aligned once every thousand years. [cite_start]Kramrisch emphasizes the cosmic scale of the preparation: the earth became the chariot, the sun and moon the wheels, and the gods themselves formed the various parts of the vehicle and the bow [cite: 405-410]. Śiva’s destruction of Tripura is not merely a military feat but a “de-structuring” of a world that had become rigid and self-absorbed. [cite_start]By burning the Triple City, Śiva releases the souls within from their “snares” (pāśa), revealing his role as the ultimate liberator of all sentient beings (Paśupati) [cite: 418-421].
Chapter XII: The Presence of Śiva
Conspectus: The Paradox of the Totality
In the concluding chapter, Kramrisch synthesizes the myriad forms of Śiva explored throughout the book. She presents Śiva as the “Presence” that is both aeviternal (timeless) and temporal. He is the Wild Hunter who brings time into existence, the Great Yogi who masters it, and the Bhairava who transcends it. [cite_start]The author argues that Śiva cannot be defined by any single attribute because he is the “total perspective” that includes all contradictions: he is the savior and the destroyer, the dancer and the stone linga, the erotic lover and the celibate ascetic [cite: 422-430].
Viṣṇu and Śiva: Preservation and Dissolution
Kramrisch analyzes the relationship between Viṣṇu and Śiva as a complementary polarity essential for the functioning of the cosmos. Viṣṇu represents the horizontal axis of preservation, maintenance, and social order, while Śiva represents the vertical axis of transcendence, rupture, and dissolution. Their cooperation—seen in the churning of the ocean or the destruction of Tripura—ensures that the universe remains a dynamic process of becoming rather than a static state. [cite_start]The “presence” of Śiva is the constant reminder that every form must eventually dissolve back into the Uncreate to allow for new creation [cite: 435-438].
Śiva’s Dance
The book ends with a meditation on the Natarāja, the Lord of the Dance. Kramrisch explains that Śiva’s dance is the rhythmic play of the universe itself—creation, preservation, destruction, veiling, and grace. The dance takes place in the “hall of consciousness” (cit-sabhā) within the heart of the devotee. [cite_start]By dancing the cosmos out of existence, Śiva reveals that the ultimate reality is not the material world, but the pure light of consciousness that remains when all forms have vanished [cite: 439-442].
Key Theses of the Book
- [cite_start]The Defense of the Uncreate: The primary motivation of Śiva (as Rudra) is the preservation of the metaphysical integrity of the undifferentiated absolute (the Uncreate) against the “violation” of material creation[cite: 136, 212, 259].
- [cite_start]Mastery through Reversal: Śiva’s nature as the Great Yogi is defined by ūrdhvaretas—the upward conduction and mental absorption of procreative energy—symbolized by the ūrdhvalinga[cite: 182, 286, 430].
- [cite_start]The Totality of Opposites: Śiva represents a “Presence” that transcends all dualities, embodying the fierce and the mild, the creator and the destroyer, and the male and the female principles in a single ontological unity[cite: 155, 427, 430].
- [cite_start]Myth as Visionary Insight: The Puranic and Vedic myths are not mere stories but brahman—words of power and visionary maps (dhī) that allow the human mind to grasp the paradoxes of consciousness and existence[cite: 131, 143, 284].
- [cite_start]The Residue as Potential: The concept of the “remainder” (ucchiṣṭa) or “residue” (vāstu) identifies Śiva with the inexhaustible potentiality that survives every cycle of destruction, serving as the foundation for all new life and sacred architecture[cite: 531, 538].
Methodology Analysis
Stella Kramrisch employs a phenomenological and ontological methodology that treats religious texts and art as primary evidence of a living metaphysical realization. She avoids the reductionism common in 19th-century philology, which often viewed these myths as primitive nature worship. Instead, her approach is hermeneutic, seeking the “internal logic” of the Śaiva system by cross-referencing Vedic hymns with Puranic narratives and iconographic traditions.
A distinctive feature of her method is the integration of art history with theology. Kramrisch analyzes temple architecture (such as the Vāstu-puruṣa-maṇḍala) and sculpture (like the Elephanta caves) not just as aesthetic objects, but as spatializations of the god’s presence. She uses astronomical analysis (catasterism) to argue that certain myths serve as a “cosmic code” recording ancient celestial observations, such as the precession of the equinoxes. Finally, her writing utilizes a meditative and scholarly prose that mirrors the “mantric” quality of the texts she studies, aiming to convey the “feel” of the Presence rather than just its historical data.
Closing Comments
The Presence of Śiva stands as a monumental achievement in the study of Indian religion. Stella Kramrisch succeeds in presenting Śiva not as a static figure of myth, but as a dynamic principle of consciousness that pervades the entire Indian cultural landscape. By tracing the god from the “Wild Archer” of the Ṛg Veda to the sophisticated “Great Lord” of the medieval temples, she provides a roadmap for understanding how the Hindu tradition manages the tension between the absolute and the manifest world. The book remains an essential text for anyone seeking to understand the deep metaphysical structures that inform Indian art, ritual, and philosophy.