Siva

1. God of paradox – Dharma & moksha.  Householder & ascetic

a. Transformation of the ascetic ideal: assimilated into the householder ideology (ashramas; Gita)

b. The emphasis in Shaivism is on asceticism, but it developes in ways that assert both asceticism and householding as two parts of a dynamic process that sustains the entire universe.

c. A union of opposites.