falls at the advent of the hottest time
of year; the climate thus mirrors the
heat and fevers brought on by contact
with Shitala herself, in her form as
smallpox. Although Shitala is conceived
as spiteful and jealous, she cannot be
ignored, since this will be sure to
provoke her wrath.
Shiv Sena
(“Army of Shivaji”) Militant Hindu orga-
nization formed in Bombay in the late
1960s by Bal Thackeray. It was originally
a movement made up of people native
to Maharashtra, a modern Indian “lin-
guistic state” formed to unite people
with a common language, to resist the
perceived dominance of outsiders, in
this case migrants from Tamil Naduwho
were taking away jobs from the
Maharashtrian “sons of the soil.” This
nativist bent is reflected in its name, tak-
ing as its symbol the Maharashtrian
hero Shivaji, who successfully resisted
the power of the Moghul Empire. In
more recent times the movement has
associated itself with Hindutva or
Hindu nationalism, projecting itself as
defending the interests of the larger
Hindu community against the “out-
siders,” in particular Muslims. The Shiv
Sena’s potential for violent action is well
known, and they have always been
ready to defend their interests with
physical force, as well as working
through official channels. The Sena’s
ability to provide “muscle power” has
given them political strength in
Maharashtra, both in the municipal
government of Bombay, and most
recently as a partner (with the Bharatiya
Janata Party) in running the state
government. This political strength
is being translated into a strong
presence in other areas, particularly
in labor unions, in which the Sena-
affiliated union is gaining greater
influence and membership. See also
Moghul dynasty.
Shiva
(auspicious) Along with the god Vishnu
and the Goddess, one of the three most
important deities in the Hindu pan-
theon. All three are notable for being vir-
tually absent from the Vedas, and their
collective rise to dominance (and the
gradual eclipse of the original Vedic
gods) points clearly to a definitive
change in the Hindu tradition. Of the
three, Shiva is not mentioned at all
in the Veda. He is identified with the
god Rudra, who first appears in a few of
the late Vedic hymns and who is later
identified in the Shvetashvatara
Upanishadas the single supreme deity
behind all things. The word Shiva
(“auspicious”) first appears in this
upanishad, but as an adjective modify-
ing the feminine noun body.
Despite Rudra/Shiva’s appearance in
the upanishad as a supreme divinity, his
position is not clear-cut. He is described
as a master of archery who dwells in the
mountains (and thus away from human
beings) and is implored not to use his
arrows to harm either man or beast. It is
certain that Rudra/Shiva is not a Vedic
deity, and some have claimed that his
roots lie in the ancient urban-cultural
center known as the Indus Valley civi-
lization, citing as evidence one of the
seals found in Harappa, an ancient city
of Pakistan, which shows a horned fig-
ure sitting cross-legged as if in medita-
tion. This identification is possible but
hardly compelling. A more likely possi-
bility is that he entered the pantheon as
a god worshiped by ascetics, who have
always been associated with mountain
dwellings. His connection with ascetics
is reinforced by several ascetic charac-
teristics attributed to Shiva, such as the
matted locks and ash-smeared body.
Ascetic origins would also account for
his marginal status among the gods,
since this would have rendered him an
“outsider” to Vedic sacrificial cult, which
was the “established” religion of the
time. Shiva’s dramatic entry into the
pantheon comes in the story of the
death of his wife Sati. In this story, hisShiva