Re: śiva and the moon
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
ॐ शशिशेखराय नमः
oṁ śaśiśekharāya namaḥ
When we think of the moon , we think of it as white, bright, outstanding in the sky. This idea is reviewed in the orginal post. Yet there is also another quality of the moon, and that of tithi. Some say tithīśa , the singular name given to one lunar day ( digit).We note that there are 15 tithīśa to lunar waxing or wanning of the month.
Within saṃskṛtam there are 16 vowels called out. They are from a, ā to ṁ, ḥ. We are told śiva owns these vowels. What is the connection with tithi-s ? There are 15 tithīśa , yet 16 vowels, how do we make sense of this ? The last vowel sound is ḥ ( written in saṃskṛtam as a colon or : ), and it is implied that it resides in each and every other vowel , the other 15.
So the 15 vowels are also called 'lunar stations' because another name tithi also stands for the number 15. So with cresent moon over śiva's head it is saying it is He who owns the vowels. No words can be spoken without vowels. The very first vowel is 'a' and is called anuttara meaning Supreme. It is the very first sound found in the ṛg ved ' agni' . From this 'a' all else proceeds.
Yet there is so much more that goes with this notion - the blossoming of consciousness as the moon goes to fullness ( pūrṇa), how all of creation is contained between a+ha +ṁ (ahaṁ or universal I or Self which is śiva); how śiva and śakti are part of this whole idea; how kāla (time) fits in to the moon and its cycles, and how each tithi has a quality associated with it that influences creation.
All this is contained within the notion of the cresent moon over śiva's head.
praṇām
Last edited by yajvan; 04 May 2012 at 01:28 PM.
यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
because you are identical with śiva
_
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