Week 12 Reading Diary A: Nivedita's Shiva

This week, I decided to read Sister Nivedita's stories about Shiva. I really enjoyed what she had to say about Krishna and Kali, so I thought I would try reading another one of her works. Her stories about Shiva are really interesting because she intermingles them with short sections explaining the evolution of Hindu theology, like how some myths have become more popular and dominant over older myths that might be contradictory, like the story of Shiva and Sati. I really thought it was intriguing how Nivedita describes all of the different parts and representations of Sati as different women, and it definitely seems like Shiva is quite the ladies' man. I also really liked the section where Shiva is so angry he decides to summon a demo to wage war against Sati's father. It adds an interesting dynamic to the relationship between the gods and the demons.

Shiva: source: wikimedia