“Shravana Special: How Tribal India Has Held Onto Shiva”, Swarajyamag, July 19, 2025:
“There is no god in the Hindu pantheon more paradoxical, or more intimate, than Shiva. He is the Lord of Yogis, the Protector of Animals and the God of Ghosts. The ascetic who embraces cremation grounds, the householder with the cosmic family. He lives on the icy peaks of Kailash but also in forest shrines, termite mounds, and sacred groves across Bharat.
Shiva does not belong to the elite alone. He never has. In fact, the most elemental, unbroken, and organic worship of Mahadev does not come from philosophy classrooms or grand temples. It comes from Bharat’s forest people, its Vanvaasis, hill tribes, and pastoral communities who have, in quiet tenacity, preserved the oldest memories of him.
While mainstream retellings of Shaivism often begin with Varanasi or the Puranas, the deeper civilisational truth is this: many of Bharat’s tribes have worshipped Shiva in forms predating classical Sanskritic codification……”
Read the full article at Swarajyamag.com
