What do Erlang Shen and Shiva have in common?

They share no domain in this atlas: Erlang Shen holds war, water, engineering, truth, while Shiva holds destruction, transformation, meditation, time, dance.

Which traditions do they belong to?

Erlang Shen belongs to the Chinese Pantheon; Shiva belongs to the Hindu Pantheon.

Side by side

Erlang Shen vs Shiva

Erlang Shen already lists Shiva; both are fierce warrior-ascetic gods with a third eye

At a glance

Chinese Pantheon

tradition

Hindu Pantheon

war, water, engineering, truth

domains

destruction, transformation, meditation, time, dance

three-pointed double-edged lance, third eye, celestial hound Xiaotian, armor

symbols

third eye, trident, crescent moon, snake, drum

Yang Jian, Lord of Sichuan, True Lord Erlang

also called

Mahadeva, Rudra, Nataraja, Maheshvara

Where they meet

shared symbolsthird eye

Where they part

Erlang Shen alone

war, water, engineering, truth

Shiva alone

destruction, transformation, meditation, time, dance

Why they are compared

Erlang Shen already lists Shiva; both are fierce warrior-ascetic gods with a third eye
Both possess a powerful third eye that sees truth and can unleash destructive power

How each was worshipped

Erlang Shen

Cult sites: Erwang Temple at Dujiangyan, Erlang temples in Sichuan.

Festivals: Local temple fairs in Sichuan.

The third eye and the hunting dog. Irrigation, oaths, and opera stages. A regional god who travelled with the novel and the garrison.

Shiva

Cult sites: Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Chidambaram Nataraja, The twelve Jyotirlinga shrines.

Festivals: Maha Shivaratri, Pradosha.

Linga, ashes, and the cremation ground. Householders and ascetics share him. Shivaratri is a night of waking and water on stone. He is destroyer only in the sense that every finished thing is his.

Erlang Shen

Chinese Pantheon

A powerful warrior god with a truth-seeing third eye, nephew of the Jade Emperor. He is famed for defeating Sun Wukong in combat and for controlling floods.

Born of the Jade Emperor's sister and a mortal scholar, Erlang Shen grew up knowing his mother was imprisoned under a mountain for her forbidden love. He trained with immortal masters, developed his third eye, and eventually freed his mother by splitting Peach Mountain with his divine axe.

Erlang Shen is one of Heaven's greatest warriors, distinguished by the all-seeing third eye in the center of his forehead. He serves the Jade Emperor but maintains a complicated relationship with the celestial court due to his mother's forbidden marriage to a mortal.

Read the full Erlang Shen entry

Shiva

Hindu Pantheon

The destroyer and transformer, third member of the Trimurti. Shiva destroys the universe at the end of each cosmic cycle to allow recreation. God of meditation, yoga, and the arts.

Shiva is eternal and was never born. He manifested in various forms throughout cosmic time. He lives on Mount Kailash with his consort Parvati. His meditation sustains the universe.

Shiva is the third god of the **Trimurti**, the cosmic destroyer who dissolves the universe at the end of each cycle to enable its recreation. Far from merely destructive, Shiva transforms and regenerates, making way for new creation.

Read the full Shiva entry

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At a glance

Chinese Pantheon

tradition

Hindu Pantheon

war, water, engineering, truth

domains

destruction, transformation, meditation, time, dance

three-pointed double-edged lance, third eye, celestial hound Xiaotian, armor

symbols

third eye, trident, crescent moon, snake, drum

Yang Jian, Lord of Sichuan, True Lord Erlang

also called

Mahadeva, Rudra, Nataraja, Maheshvara

How each was worshipped

Erlang Shen

Cult sites: Erwang Temple at Dujiangyan, Erlang temples in Sichuan.

Festivals: Local temple fairs in Sichuan.

The third eye and the hunting dog. Irrigation, oaths, and opera stages. A regional god who travelled with the novel and the garrison.

Shiva

Cult sites: Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Chidambaram Nataraja, The twelve Jyotirlinga shrines.

Festivals: Maha Shivaratri, Pradosha.

Linga, ashes, and the cremation ground. Householders and ascetics share him. Shivaratri is a night of waking and water on stone. He is destroyer only in the sense that every finished thing is his.