The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hindusim vol 2

Sharva
626
Shiva who are divided into ten divisions,
each with a different name. These
ten divisions are organized into four larger
organizational groups—Anandawara,
Bhogawara, Bhuriwara, and Kitawara—
each of which has two or three of the ten
divisions and is associated with one of the
four maths. Of these, the Sharada Math is
associated with the Kitawara group.
Sharva
(from shara, “arrow”) Epithet of the god
Shiva. In his earliest description in the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the god
Rudra (later identified with Shiva) is
identified as a god whose primary
weapons are infallible arrows. This characterization
of Shiva as an archer has
continued ever since; his bow Pinaka is
one of few divine weapons famous
enough to have a name. See Shiva.
Shastra
(“order”) A shastra is the name given to a
technical treatise explaining the standards
of a particular cultural or artistic discipline
in Hinduism, as in Bharata’s Natyashastra,
a technical manual that discusses
dance and the theater. When it is placed at
the end of a compound (as in “Shilpa
Shastra”), the word shastra can also serve
to denote the whole body of teaching on
that particular subject. All of the classical
arts were placed under well-defined
canons, each with its own specific rules
and standards to guide artists: Sculpture
and architecture were under Shilpa
Shastra, music under Sangita shastra, and
dance and theater under Natya shastra.
Given the prevailing emphasis on upholding
such strict rules, artistic genius meant
doing something unusual within the larger
confines of the tradition rather than creating
something entirely new or original.
Shastri Narayanswarupdas Swami
The ascetic name of the spiritual leader
of the Akshar Purushottam Samstha,
a branch of the Swaminarayan
religious community. He is more
commonly known by his title Pramukh
Swami (“President Swami”). See
Pramukh Swami.
Shatakatrayam
(“The Three Hundred”) Collection of
Sanskrit poems ascribed to the poetphilosopher
Bhartrhari, who is believed
to have lived in the fifth century. The text is
a three-part collection of poems about
political life, love, and renunciation, which
explore all of the conventional ends of life:
The first two sections are about power
(artha), sensual or physical desire (kama),
and righteous action (dharma), whereas
the final section is concerned with liberation
of the soul (moksha). Much of the
poetry carries a cynical, slightly bitter
tone, suggesting the world-weariness of a
man who has seen too much of the harsh
realities of life. For further information see
Barbara Stoller Miller (trans.), The Hermit
and the Love-Thief, 1978.
Shatakshi
(“[having] one hundred eyes”) Epithet of
the goddess Shakumbhari Devi, based
on a story that tells of a time when the
earth is parched with drought, and she
takes a form with a hundred eyes, watering
the earth with her tears. See
Shakumbhari Devi.
Shatapatha
(“Hundred-Path”) Brahmana
One of the two most important texts in the
Brahmana branch of sacred Vedic literature,
along with the Aiteraya Brahmana.
The Brahmanas were primarily manuals
describing the correct performance of
Vedic ritual sacrifices. Each Brahmana was
in theory connected with one of the
Vedas, which gave them Vedic authority,
but in fact they were quite different from
the Vedas in scope and content. According
to tradition, the Shatapatha Brahmana
was connected with the “white” recension
of the Yajur Veda, a variant form of the text
in which the explanatory notes connected
with the Vedic mantras have been collected
into a separate appendix. This is in