शैव [ śaiva ] [ śaiva ]1 m. f. n. ( fr. [ śiva ] ) relating or belonging or sacred to the god Śiva , coming or derived from Śiva Lit. R. Lit. Kathās. Lit. Pur.

[ śaiva ] m. patr. fr. [ śiva ] Lit. Pāṇ. 4-1 , 112

" a worshipper or follower of Śiva " , N. of one of the three great divisions of modern Hindūism (the other two being the Vaishṇavas and Śāktas , qq. vv. ; the Śaivas identify Śiva-rather than Brahmā and Vishṇu-with the Supreme Being and are exclusively devoted to his worship , regarding him as the source and essence of the universe as well as its disintegrator and destroyer ; the temples dedicated to him in his reproducing and vivifying character ( as denoted by the Liṅga q.v. ) are scattered all over India ; the various sects of Śaivas are described in Lit. RTL. 86 )

a particular religious rite in honour of Durgā (consisting of devout meditation and prostration of the body) Lit. MW.

the thorn-apple Lit. L.

a kind of plant (= [ vasuka ] ) Lit. L.

(with Jainas) , N. of the fifth black Vāsudeva Lit. L.

[ śaivī ] f. N. of the goddess Mānasā Lit. Cat.

[ śaiva ] n. auspiciousness , welfare , prosperity Lit. BhP.

N. of a Śāstra and of a Tantra and of a Purāṇa (see below) .