Editing Shiva (section)

== Etymology and other names ==
{{Main|Shiva Sahasranama}}
According to the [[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams]] Sanskrit dictionary, the word "{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śiva}}" ({{langx|sa|शिव|label=[[Devanagari]]}}, also transliterated as ''shiva'') means "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly".<ref name="mmwshiva">Monier Monier-Williams (1899), [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/1100/mw__1107.html Sanskrit to English Dictionary with Etymology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227192855/http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/1100/mw__1107.html |date=27 February 2017 }}, Oxford University Press, pp. 1074–1076</ref> The root words of {{transliteration|sa|ISO|śiva}} in folk etymology are ''śī'' which means "in whom all things lie, pervasiveness" and ''va'' which means "embodiment of grace".<ref name="mmwshiva" />{{sfn|Prentiss|2000|p=199}}

The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the [[Rig Veda]] ({{Circa|1700–1100 BCE}}), as an epithet for several [[Rigvedic deities]], including [[Rudra]].<ref>For use of the term ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śiva}}'' as an epithet for other Vedic deities, see: {{harvnb|Chakravarti|1986|p=28}}.</ref> The term Shiva also connotes "liberation, final emancipation" and "the auspicious one"; this adjectival usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic literature.<ref name="mmwshiva" />{{Sfn|Chakravarti|1986|pp=21–22}} The term evolved from the Vedic ''Rudra-Shiva'' to the noun ''Shiva'' in the Epics and the Puranas, as an auspicious deity who is the "creator, reproducer and dissolver".<ref name="mmwshiva" />{{Sfn|Chakravarti|1986|pp=1, 7, 21–23}}

Sharma presents another etymology with the [[Sanskrit]] root ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śarv}}-'', which means "to injure" or "to kill",<ref>For root ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śarv}}-'' see: {{harvnb|Apte|1965|p=910}}.</ref> interpreting the name to connote "one who can kill the forces of darkness".{{Sfn|Sharma|1996|p=306}}

The [[Sanskrit literature|Sanskrit]] word ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śaiva}}'' means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect.{{sfn|Apte|1965|p=927}} It is used as an adjective to characterise certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.<ref>For the definition "Śaivism refers to the traditions which follow the teachings of {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Śiva}} (''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|śivaśāna}}'') and which focus on the deity {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Śiva}}... " see: {{harvnb|Flood|1996|p=149}}</ref>

Some authors associate the name with the [[Tamil language|Tamil word]] ''{{IAST|śivappu}}'' meaning "red", noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun (''{{IAST|śivan}}'', "the Red one", in Tamil) and that Rudra is also called ''Babhru'' (brown, or red) in the Rigveda.<ref>{{cite book|last1=van Lysebeth|first1=Andre|title=Tantra: Cult of the Feminine|date=2002|publisher=Weiser Books|isbn=978-0877288459|page=213|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4W-DivEweIC&pg=FA213|access-date=2 July 2015|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131657/https://books.google.com/books?id=R4W-DivEweIC&pg=FA213|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tyagi|first1=Ishvar Chandra|title=Shaivism in Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to C.A.D. 300|publisher=Meenakshi Prakashan|year=1982|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WH3XAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2 July 2015|archive-date=31 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331131704/https://books.google.com/books?id=WH3XAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''[[Vishnu sahasranama]]'' interprets ''Shiva'' to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", and "the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)".{{sfnm|Sri Vishnu Sahasranama|1986|1pp=47, 122|Chinmayananda|2002|2p=24}}

Shiva is known by many names such as Viswanatha (lord of the universe), Mahadeva, Mahandeo,{{sfn|Powell|2016|p=27}} Mahasu,{{sfn|Berreman|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/hindusofhimalaya00inberr/page/385 385]}} Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra (chief of the gods), Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha (lord of the three realms),<ref name="Manmatha">For translation see: {{harvnb|Dutt|1905|loc=Chapter 17 of Volume 13}}.</ref><ref name="Kisari">For translation see: {{harvnb|Ganguli|2004|loc=Chapter 17 of Volume 13}}.</ref><ref name="Chidbhav">{{harvnb|Chidbhavananda|1997}}, ''Siva Sahasranama Stotram''.</ref> and Ghrneshwar (lord of compassion).{{sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|p=247}} The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|Mahādeva}}'' ("Great god"; ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|mahā}}'' "Great" and ''deva'' "god"),{{sfn|Kramrisch|1994a|p=476}}<ref>For appearance of the name {{lang|sa|महादेव}} in the ''Shiva Sahasranama'' see: {{Harvnb|Sharma|1996|p=297}}</ref> ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|Maheśvara}}'' ("Great Lord"; ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|mahā}}'' "great" and ''{{transliteration|sa|ISO|īśvara}}'' "lord"),{{sfn|Kramrisch|1994a|p=477}}<ref>For appearance of the name in the Shiva Sahasranama see: {{Harvnb|Sharma|1996|p=299}}</ref> and ''[[Parameshwara (god)|{{transliteration|sa|ISO|Parameśvara}}]]'' ("Supreme Lord").<ref>For {{transliteration|sa|ISO|Parameśhvara}} as "Supreme Lord" see: {{harvnb|Kramrisch|1981|p=479}}.</ref>

[[Sahasranama]] are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity.<ref name="mmwsahasran">Sir Monier Monier-Williams, ''sahasranAman'', A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, Oxford University Press (Reprinted: Motilal Banarsidass), {{ISBN|978-8120831056}}</ref> There are at least eight different versions of the ''Shiva Sahasranama'', devotional hymns (''[[stotras]]'') listing many names of Shiva.<ref>{{Harvnb|Sharma|1996|pp=viii–ix}}</ref> The version appearing in Book 13 ({{transliteration|sa|ISO|''Anuśāsanaparvan''}}) of the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' provides one such list.{{efn|This is the source for the version presented in Chidbhavananda, who refers to it being from the Mahabharata but does not explicitly clarify which of the two Mahabharata versions he is using. See {{harvnb|Chidbhavananda|1997|p=5}}.}} Shiva also has ''Dasha-Sahasranamas'' (10,000 names) that are found in the ''Mahanyasa''. The ''Shri Rudram Chamakam'', also known as the ''Śatarudriya'', is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.<ref>For an overview of the ''Śatarudriya'' see: {{harvnb|Kramrisch|1981|pp=71–74}}.</ref><ref>For complete Sanskrit text, translations, and commentary see: {{harvnb|Sivaramamurti|1976}}.</ref>