Note 26 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL-WORSHIP.
Reading edition
The tiger naturally takes the place of the lion. According to the comparative mythologists, “the tiger, panther, and leopard possess several of the mystical characteristics of the lion as the hidden sun. Thus, Dionysos and Siva, the phallical god par excellence, have these animals as their emblems.”26 Siva, it is true, is represented as sitting in his ascetic form on a tiger skin, but it is his consort, Durgâ, who uses the animal as her vehicle. Quite apart from the solar myth theory, the belief that witches are changed into tigers, and the terror inspired by him, are quite sufficient to account for the honour bestowed upon him.