Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1--Journey to the Source of Time

Chapter 2--Fire and Ice
The Rock
Water
Kashi
Karttikeya’s Strange Birth

Chapter 3--The Shaman and His Black Dog
The Old Huntsman
Pashupati, Lord of the Animals
The Noose
The Black Dog
The God of the Shades
Bhairava
Rudra and Odin-
The Treacherous God

Chapter 4--God’s Virile Member
Lingam Yoni
The Lingam Is Everywhere
How Arjuna Won His Magic Arrows
How Markandeya Became an Immortal
The Phallic Symbol
The Pillar of Fire

Chapter 5--Shankar, The Yogi on the Mountain
Shankara
The Tears of Rudra
The God Clothed in Air
The Third Eye
Three Lines of Ash
The Blue Neck
Shiva and Buddha
The Trident and the”Bâton-de-Commandement”

Chapter 6--The Goddess
Devi
Durga
Kali
Annapurna
Ganga

Chapter 7--The Dancer in the Flames
Shiva’s Dances
The Drum

Chapter 8--The Ideal Family
Karttikeya
Ganesha
Nandi the Bull

Chapter 9--The Destruction of the Sacrifice
The Aryan Background
Daksha’s Great Sacrifice
Shiva the Sinner

Chapter 10--Shiva as the Devil
Zarathustra
The Earth Runs Well
The Righteous Battle

Chapter 11--Tantra: The Serpent’s Path
The Heresy of the Agamas
Overcoming the Ego
Shakti
The Pathway of the Kundalini Serpent
Returning to Oneness

Chapter 12--The Saint, the Hero, and the Beast
The Rituals
Tantric Influence

Chapter 13--Pollen Dust and Ashes
Lingam Puja
Shiva’s Flower Garden
Bel: Shiva’s Triune Leaf
Bangeri Baba
Shiva’s Garden of Madness
Sacred Ashes
The Shadow of the Night

Chapter 14--Shiva’s Festivals and Holidays
The Descent of the Goddess
Festivals of the Hot Season and the Rainy Season
Festivals of the Fall Season
Festivals of Spring
Kumbha Mela

Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Wolf-Dieter Storl, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He is coauthor of Witchcraft Medicine and has written a number of books on indigenous culture and ethnobotany. He lives in Allgäu, Germany.

Reviews

“An intimate portrait of Shiva, that most complex of Hindu Gods. Reading this book is like finding an oasis in the desert of monotheism.”
*Claudia Mueller-Ebeling, Ph.D., and Christian Rätsch, Ph.D., coauthors of Shamanism and Tantra*

“Discusses the roots and the manifestations of Shiva, the original mystic, and his relevance to modern life in both the East and the West. This book will amuse, shock, and, most important, provoke readers to think about their own cherished conceptions of the world.”
*John R. Baker, professor of anthropology and translator of The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants,*

“An encyclopedic and highly inspiring account of Shiva.”
*Franz-Theo Gottwald, Ph.D., philosopher and Indologist*

"This thorough, academic book will interest students of comparative religions, Eastern philosophies."
*Kathy Heckler, New Age Retailer, Trends 2005 Vol. 19, No. 3*

“In Shiva, Storl creates a vibrant and comprehensive portrait of this omnipresent wild god.”
*Spirit of Change, July/August 2005*

“Wolf-Dieter Storl expertly traces the history of the lore of Shiva through the influences of invading cultures and religions, and relates a wide variety of seemingly diverse influences to Shiva’s story such as the Celtic Christian legend of the Holy Grail. As engaging and entertaining as he is informational, Storl opens the reader’s eyes to Hindu culture and religion as though one is a tourist traveling the land for the first time.”
*Spirit of Change, July/August 2005*