ཞི་བ་པ་

ཞི་བ་པ། (Wyl. zhi ba pa ) Pron.: shyiwa pa

• Skt. शैवः, śaiva, Pron.: shaiva. From Sanskrit: fr. | relating or belonging or sacred to the god Śiva, coming or derived from Śiva | fr. | '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 Liñga | are scattered all over India | the various sects of Śaivas are described in | a particular religious rite in honour of Durgā (consisting of devout meditation and prostration of the body) | the thorn-apple | a kind of plant | N. of the fifth black Vāsudeva [Mahavyutpatti] [Sanskrit] MVP MW