Table of Contents

Foreword by Swami Dayananda Introduction Part One The Divine Aspects of Shiva 1 The Great Universal God 2 Creation 3 Sandhya, the Evening Star 4 Durga's Promise 5 The Courtship of Sati 6 Sati and Shiva 7 Daksha's Yajna 8 The Wrath of Shiva 9 Parvati Seeks Her Lord 10 The Defeat of Kama 11 Parvati's Penance 12 The Cosmic Wedding 13 The Cosmic Couple 14 Kartikeya Defeats the Demon 15 Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles 16 The Three Demonic Cities 17 Downfall of the Demons 18 Churning the Milky Ocean 19 The Descent of the River Ganga 20 Destroyed by His Own Hand 21 Markandeya and Agniswara 22 The Manifestations of Shiva 23 Shiva, the Beloved 24 The Jyotirlingas Part Two Those Who Worship Shiva 25 Devotees of Shiva 26 The Great Four 27 The Violent Votaries 28 Women Devotees Epilogue Appendix One. Method of Worshipping Lord Shiva Appendix Two. Names of Shiva Appendix Three. Names of Other Characters in the Hindu Pantheon Appendix Four. Alphabetical List of Mantras Appendix Five. Vedic Invocations for World Peace Glossary of Sanskrit Terms Index

About the Author

Mataji Devi Vanamali has written 7 books on the gods of the Hindu pantheon, including Shakti, Hanuman and The Complete Life of Krishna, as well as translating the Bhagavad Gita. She is the founder and president of Vanamali Gita Yoga Ashram Trust, dedicated to sharing the wisdom of Sanatana Dharma and charitable service to children. She lives at the Vanamali ashram in Rishikesh, Northern India.

Reviews

"Vanamali's passionate writing blends a grandmother's loving wisdom with a lifetime of devotion to the Sanatana Dharma. Like an ancient vedic chant, Vanamali's spellbinding prose elevates the reader to sublime Himalayan peaks of Transcendental Consciousness. Mataji's erudition and devotion is a portal to a legendary realm of the Gods." Bruce Burger, founder of Heartwood Institute and author of Esoteric Anatomy: The Body as Consciousne "Shiva is a complex Hindu deity. Both destroyer and creator, he is always energetically involved in the world, bringing his special wisdom to us in whatever form we might recognize. Vanamali has gathered together the sacred tales of Shiva's adventures for this book, recounting them with reverence and insight. Customers will begin to see their lives and their potential with greater clarity as they read her carefully crafted words." Retailing Insight, October 2013 "Vanamali's book is seductive, full of the charm of myth retold with sincerity and with a minimum of intellectualization; it should appeal to many school and college collections." Library Journal, November 2013