Mythology

Shiva - An Introduction is a great read for those who are interested in learning more about the meaning of Shiva worship. The book explains Shaivite philosophy, beliefs, history, folklore, and myth in a simple narrative style that is easy to understand. The pictorial images of Shiva iconography and the pictorial key to numerous symbols associated with Shaivite rituals and festival practices make it particularly interesting. Additionally, the map of India showing important Shiva temples, the list of 108 sacred names of Shiva with their meanings, and the bibliography for those interested in learning more add to the book's value. Overall, this book is a handy guide that will take readers on a journey through the wonderful world of Shiva's worship.

Humans, it's said, are symbolizing animals. At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression, and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence on symbols. The language of symbols is considered a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in the study of symbology. It can be used as a reference or simply browsed for pleasure. Many of its entries — those on architecture, mandala, numbers, serpent, water, and zodiac, for example — can be read as independent essays. The vitality of symbology has never been greater: An essential part of the ancient arts of the Orient and of the Western medieval traditions, symbolism underwent a 20th-century revival with the study of the unconscious, both directly in the field of dreams, visions, and psychoanalysis, and indirectly in art and poetry. A wide audience awaits the assistance of this dictionary in elucidating the symbolic worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas.