In the form of Dakshinamurti Lord Shiva is generally shown with four arms. He is depicted seated under a banyan tree, upon a deer-throne facing the south direction and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instructions. Dakshinamurti is an aspect of Lord Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge
The concept of Dakshinamurti mentioned in the Rig Veda was the transformation of Lord Rudra into the giver of gifts. The Dakshinamurti Upanishad elaborates on the aspect of Medha Dakshinamurti imparting knowledge to the rishis. The hymn of Dakshinamurti of Shankara gives an elaborate description of him with myriad epithets of the essence of the characteristics of a Master falling in line with the Guru of Upanishads and unfolding in beautiful poetic imagery. These metaphors of the great teacher, claimed to be the first and having initiated the Rishis of the highest order with the knowledge of the ultimate Brahman. This explicit imagery of Dakshinamurti is reflected in the ritual and art, thus, creating a prominent niche in the wide canvas of Indian art and culture. The cult of Lord Shiva known as Shaivism is one of the oldest faiths in the world and the largest sect in Hinduism which is most widely spread in India and believe Lord Shiva is the creator and destroyer of worlds. Shiva means ‘in whom all things lie’, and connected to auspiciousness, propitious, gracious, favorable, benign, kind, benevolent and friendly. The third among the Hindu Trimūrti, and in the Veda he was known as Rudra ‘the terrible god,’ the destroying deity but in the later times it became usual to give that god the euphemistic name Shiva ‘the auspicious one’. Lord Shiva is identified with the symbolic form of Linga and the anthropomorphic forms like Bhairava, Natāraja, Vīrabhadramūrti, Umāmaheśwara, and Daksināmūrti.
The next part of my series about Dakshinamurti is about Lord Rudra becoming the giver.
