A small statue of Shiva.
Table of contents
Videogames
Final Fantasy (series)
Shiva – elemental deity
Shiva has appeared in every Final Fantasy since III bar XII. Final Fantasy's interpretation of Shiva is that of a divine ice goddess that can be summoned by the protagonists.
Shiva can manifest himself in different forms. One of them is a male-female form known as Ardhanari/Ardhanasvara (left), an amalgamation of Shiva (male) and Shakta (female). The Shiva of Final Fantasy (right) seems to be based on this form.
Mortal Kombat 3 (1995) / Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006)
Playable character: Sheeva
Another game where Shiva appears as a female figure, Sheeva made her first appearance in Mortal Kombat 3, only to reappear in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon nearly 11 years later. Like the Hindu god, she has four arms, and her victory pose is reminiscent of the way Shiva meditates (see the statue in Bengaluru). Another important detail: at the end of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, while playing as Sheeva, she becomes the Goddess of Destruction - just like the Hindu god is renowned for being the God of Destruction.
Shin Megami Tensei (series)
Shiva appears in most of the mainline Megami Tensei games. His appearance does not deviate too much from the Hindu god by the same name
Tomb Raider Underworld (2008)
Set piece/puzzle
In Tomb Raider Underworld, Lara is searching for Thor's Hammer. Her journey takes her first to the ruins beneath the Mediterranean Sea, where she encounters a statue of Shiva, the Hindu god.
March 10, 2009 at 6:50 pm
[...] Posts BioShock: Are you a man, or a slave? (spoilers)Shiva in popular cultureLegend of Zelda: A Link To The Past – Shintoism at play (spoilers)Spear of Destiny in popular [...]
March 22, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Western depictions of Shiva as a woman are all but entirely based on the western assumption that Shiva is a woman rather than having anything to do with Ardhanari/Ardhanasvara, and are formed out of ignorence and lack of research more than anything else. Hell, most people in the west think that Shiva is a SIX-armed goddess rather than a four-armed god. And I’m really not so sure that the Shiva in Final Fantasy is based on the real Shiva in any meaningful ammount, or that Sheeva from Mortal combat’s victory pose is even based on anything. It is an interesting article, and I’m glad to see Shiva’s depiction in popular culture addressed, but I would kinda like to see some documentation saying that they were indeed basing their version of Shiva on any particular manifestation of him. The way he’s shown in that picture from Megami Tensei looks about right, except that I think I see breasts.
March 22, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Ashvati: You should take that up with the Mortal Kombat designers – perhaps send an e-mail to Ed Boon or John Tobias – I don’t know if they can be bothered to respond, though (probably working on another game right now), or whether indeed they had anything to do with the character design of Sheeva. I think the similarities are clear and self-evident enough at face value – to me the form of the subject matter (‘Shiva’) is ambiguous enough that it lends itself to various interpretations – be it male, female or a combination of both.
As for western depictions: Final Fantasy is a game of Japanese origin, so if it were indeed ‘formed out of ignorance’, that ignorance would not be the sole preserve of western videogame developers. Going back to FF, nearly all the characters/monsters from that videogame series are taken from mythology or pre-existant religions. FFVII is a pretty clever reimagining of Norse Mythology, while FFX puts a good fictional spin on feudal Japan. Both still get their allegorical message across (in FFX, this is Shintoism’s caste system and the magistrates abusing the gullibility of the acolytes); so despite the occasional diversions into fantasy, there’s more to these two games than Buster Sword whacking or level grinds.
April 26, 2009 at 11:09 pm
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August 15, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Ashvati, last time I checked Japan was not in the west.