Symbology of wearing skins in Shaivism

[Note: for the context of this text, see chapter 3.8 section IV.7]

Coming to the wearing of the skins, the Puranas have made for Him all kinds of skins. One may point out at this place the great transformation effected, by the Tamilians in the horrid and terrific forms. It has already been noticed by us that these terrific forms with which Shaivism started from its early beginnings, are not so very prevalent in the Tamil Country, though believing in a federation of sects and creeds, they never said anything derogatory of any sect or any form worshipped by it. They have, on the other hand, tried to understand the inner spirit and enjoy their mystic experience giving expression to this in their own mellifluous verses, as is made clear by the suggestive descriptions of Arurar and Cekkilai already quoted.

It is the lovable forms and the dance of Shiva that have captivated the Tamilians. More than this the Tamilians have made the terrific forms themselves beautiful and lovable. The Kapalika form has already been referred to and according to the Kapalika vrata, God has to go a-begging to not more than seven houses. The seven houses are the houses of the seven great Rsis of the Great Bear. The begging at the door of the Rsis has a similarity with another story of the Lord’s feat—begging at the doors of the Rsis of Darukavana, which had already been referred to. By transplanting the terrible and horrid form of Kapali to this atmosphere of love and beauty, the Tamilian has worked a miracle; one gets the sublimation and universalization of this story.

The skin worn here is not the skin of the ass but the skins of all varieties which we see in the lady’s corner of a modern leather emporium—the skin of the tiger, the lion, the elephant and the deer. The enraged Rsis performed a sacrifice from which sprang these wild beasts and rushed, at the behest of the Rsis, to kill Shiva. We have studied the Gajasura Samhara but from what Arurar states, it is clear, the elephant, the Lord flayed, was really the one which jumped out of the sacrifice along with the other beasts of the fire rather than any other Asura.

“Tankiya nuatavattin talal velviyin ninru elunta
cinkamum nil puliyum celumal kariyotu alara-p
ponkiya por purintu pilantu ir uri porttatu enne”?

‘Because of their abiding great tapas or penance, there came out of the Sacrifice of fire, the lion, the tiger and the huge and great elephant. You fought with them bubbling up with the spirit of war, made them shriek, split each one of them and wore their wet skins. Why was this’?

The poet makes Him wear the skins and in some places he does not specify the skin. He is satisfied that he is clothed in the skin according to Kapalika vrata: “Utaiyum tole” —‘His dress is skin’; “Tunivannattin Tnklum dr tolututtu”; “Tayanku tolai yututta cankaran”, “Tolum nulum tutainta varai marpan He of the mountain-like chest on which squeeze the skin and the thread, yajnopavita.’

“Pay pulictol" —‘The skin of the tiger jumping on its enemy’ is a favourable phrase. God wears the tiger’s skin—“Pulittol utaiyan”; “Venkai ataiyinay'’; “Van talai vay atupuli ataiyan' —The skin of the tiger is His cloth. The ‘puli’ probably implies the cat family as is clear in Telugu; it may mean the leopards which are more prevalent in the Tamil Country. “Pay puli” is the tiger, which jumps in one long stretch, at the victim. ‘Venkai’ by the suggestion of the cruelty means the tiger. “Vanralai vay atupuli” is the murderous tiger with its strong head and mouth. The skin is called the ‘tol' but he has also used the word ‘atai\ The term ‘Uri suggests that the skin is flayed. It becomes the ‘atai’ (cloth) and ‘utai’ (the garment),

The Tiger’s skin is worn as an undergarment and is tightened at the waist—“Pay pulittol araiyil vikki”; “Araimel puli ir urivai”; “Araiyar puli atal”;” “Pulittolai araikkacaittu”.

The skin of the tiger is His cloth—“Venkai dtaiyinky”; “Vantalai vay atupuli ataiyan”; “Pulittdl utaiyan'; "Kayum puliyin atal utaiyar”.

The poet suggests that He tightens the cloth of the tiger’s skin with the girdle of a serpent dancing with its hood—“Koi pulitto-Un mel atu pampatu araikkacaitta” and the poet is charmed by this beauty and exclaims, “alakane” —‘O, thou beautiful One’. ‘You do not like the white cloth; You are fond of the skin of the tiger’—“Vellatai venpdy venkaiyin tolai virumpinky”,

But the tiger’s skin is worn as an upper garment as well. He places it on His shoulders—“Pulittol piyarkum ittu,”.

The skin of the deer He wears—“Mavin ir uri utai punain-tan” ‘He adorned Himself with the wet skin garment’. The word ‘ruk’ may mean the deer but probably refers to the elephant which we had separately discussed. Our poet is more specific when he mentions the particular species of the deer—“Uravamullator ulaiyin uri utaiyan' ‘He has the flayed skin of the deer full of strength’. In passing, we may note that the root ‘ura’ implying violence and strength becomes ‘uravu’ and with the suffix ‘dm’ assumes the form ‘uravam’ in Arurar—a peculiarity which we find in him. It is a wet skin which He wears probably immediately after flaying the deer—“Ulai ir uriyum utaiydn”.

The skin of the lion comes in, in the puranas in two ways, as the skin of Narasimha and as the skin of the lion sent by the Rsis already referred to by Arurar. With the lion’s skin the Lord covers Himself up—“Cinkatturi mututir” and then the gods are worshipping—“Tevar kanam tola nimr”.

Arurar refers to a combination of skins—“Arttavar ataravam araimel puli ir urivai pdrttavar anaiyin tol utai. vempulal kai akalap pdrttavar innuyir par pataittdn ciram ancilonrai-c certta-var” ™—‘He wore the tiger’s wet skin as an undergarment and tied it all with the serpent at His waist. He covered Himself up with the skin of the elephant and He holds the head of Brahma’. It is clear the reference is to the Kapali form. There is a combination of the tiger’s skin and the garment of the bark of a tree. Apastamba, we found, mentions the wearing of a cloth of hemp. Arurar mentions the bark of a tree ‘maravuri’ instead. He covers over the tiger’s skin on the waist, with the bark of a tree—“Maravuri puli atal arai micai maruvinan”. Arurar makes a combination of these three garments of skin—“Manai-t tol onrai ututtu-p pulit-tol piyarkum ittu ydnai-t tol porppatu arintomel nam ivarkku dtpatome’' —‘It we had known that He clothes on deer’s skin, places on His shoulders the tiger’s skin as upper garment and covers Himself with the elephant’s skin as a shawl we would not have come to serve Him’.

We have stated that the Kapali form has been beautified. The Agamas describe a fully adorned beautiful form. According to them, the Lord wears a red coloured upper garment and an under garment of silk and tiger’s skin. Uttar a Kamikdgama directs: “Kusumambaramjitam kuryat”—‘the wearing of the white silk garment’. Probably this is referred to by Arurar when he addresses the Lord as one roaming about dressed in skin, gold and silk: “Tukilotu pon tol ututtu ulal-vane”—“Kocikamum araiyir kovanamum atalum........paravi k kai tolal enru kold”? —‘The silk and the loin cloth at waist and the skin—when am I to praise and worship these with (folded) hands’?—this probably also refers to the description given in the Agamas,