Siva Sutta

Sīva Sutta is a Buddhist text found in the Saṃyutta Nikāya (SN i 2.21), recounting a night-time visit by the deva Śiva to the Buddha in Jeta’s Grove at Sāvatthī. Sīva recites a series of stanzas extolling the virtue of associating with the good, cultivating intimacy with virtuous beings, and learning the Dhamma. The Buddha responds with a final verse emphasizing release from suffering through that very path.

Historical and religious significance

The Sīva Sutta is especially notable because of its interlocutor. The deva named Sīva is not the same as the later Hindu deity Śiva of the Śaiva tradition, but the shared name has drawn attention from scholars of Indian religion.^[1]

In the early Buddhist context, Sīva appears simply as a celestial being who reveres the Buddha and praises the Dhamma. However, the use of the name—already associated with divine figures in Vedic religion—suggests an overlap of cultural and religious vocabulary between Buddhism and Brahmanical traditions.^[2]

See also

• Sutta Pitaka

References

1. Gombrich, Richard (2006). Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge. p. 73.
2. Bronkhorst, Johannes (2007). Greater Magadha: Studies in the Culture of Early India. Brill. pp. 256–258.