Ujjain, 200 BC Copper, 3.02 & 3.94g, 3-headed Shiva
Obv: Standing 3-headed
Shiva
Rev: Ujjain symbol with a
circle within orbs
This coin type features
the earliest known form of the 'Trimurti', an iconic symbol of the most popular
belief in Hinduism, the most ancient religion of the World.
The "Trimūrti"
meaning "three forms" is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic
functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the
forms of "Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva
the destroyer or transformer." These three gods have been called "the
Hindu Triad" or the "Great Trinity" often addressed as
"Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara" where Mahesh or Maheswara is another name
of Shiva meaning "Great God".
The three heads are said
to represent three essential aspects of Shiva manifested in different forms:
creation, protection, and destruction.
The right half-face (west
face) shows him as a young person with sensuous lips, embodying life and its
vitality. In his hand he holds an object resembling a rosebud, depicting the
promise of life and creativity. This face is closest to that of Brahma, the
creator or Uma or Vamadeva, the feminine side of Shiva and creator of joy and
beauty.
The left half-face (east
face) is that of a moustached young man, displaying anger. This is Shiva as the
terrifying Aghora or Bhairava, the one whose anger can engulf the entire world
in flames, leaving only ashes behind. This is also known as Rudra-Shiva, the
Destroyer. The central face, benign and meditative, resembles the preserver
Vishnu. This is Tatpurusha, "master of positive and negative principles of
existence and preserver of their harmony" or Shiva as the yogi Yogeshwar
in deep meditation praying for the preservation of humanity.
Hindus believe that there
is one true god, the supreme spirit, called Brahman. Brahman has many forms,
pervades the whole universe, and is symbolized by the sacred syllable Om (or
Aum).
Most Hindus believe that
Brahman is present in every person as the eternal spirit or soul, called the
atma. Brahman contains everything: creation and destruction, male and female,
good and evil, movement and stillness. The thousands of lesser gods and
goddesses in Hinduism are all ways of understanding the one true god called
Brahman.
In a way, this coin
synthesizes all of the above concepts. That the coin should have been minted in
Ujjain is no surprise given the location there of the great temple dedicated to
Shiva, Mahakaleswar or the 'Temple of Mahakaal' where 'Maha' means Great or
Supreme and 'Kaal' represents both time as well as death or decay and Shiva's
control over time and the cycle of destruction and regeneration.
The most important
sculptor depicting the concept of the three-headed Shiva is at Elephanta Caves
near Mumbai, circa 7th-8th Century AD. Described as a "masterpiece of
Gupta-Chalukyan art", the Trimurti is carved in relief at the back of the
cave facing the entrance, on the north-south axis. It is also known as Trimurti
Sadashiva and Maheshmurti and is 20 feet (6.1 m) in height.
Acknowledgement
Wikipedia
(Trimurti, Elephanta, Shiva)
Saivism.net
Saivism.net
Blog Post Author: Mitresh Singh
