Hare Krishna!!!
Dandwat Pranam, PAMHO, AGTSP.
Few queries on Lord Shiva.
1) Is Rudra the same as Lord Shiva/Mahadev or Siva is just another name of Rudra?
2) As far as I know Shiva has no Aadi (beginning) or Ant (end)...so he cannot be a progeny of Brahma...Pl explain?
3) why Shiva is called Aadidev ?one who has no beginning?
4) Is there any difference between Shiva and Shankara....is this Shiva/Rudra actually Shankara?
YAS
Sumeet
Replies
1) 11 Rudras are expansions of Shiva. So Rudra is also a name of Shiva.
2) These various ways of appearance are a lila.
3) "No beginning" would be an-Adi. He is beyond material time, so no beginning can be found. He just appears and disappears.
4) These are just two of his many names.
Regarding the continuing Siva vs. Visnu rivalry:
ziva-kAJcI, viSNu-kAJcI gelA nityAnanda
dekhi' hAse dui gaNe mahA-mahA-dvandva
"The Lord visited Ziva-kAJcI and the nearby ViSNu-kAJcI. Being the original Supreme Person, ZrI MUla-saGkarSaNa ViSNu, ZrI NityAnanda was amused at the fanatical conflict that existed between the followers of Lord Ziva and Lord ViSNu." (Caitanya Bhagavata 1.9.118)
GauDIya BhASya (BSST): The second line of this verse refers to the ViSNu-kAJcI residents, who are VaiSNavas, and the Ziva-kAJcI residents, who are devotees of Ziva, the devotee of SaGkarSaNa. Due to their poor fund of knowledge, these two groups always debate over the positions of Lord ViSNu and Lord Ziva. In other words, after observing their fierce animosity towards each other, ZrI NityAnanda Prabhu, who is nondifferent from MUla-SaGkarSaNa ViSNu, began to laugh.
Hari Hari
ys J.