The epithets sahasra-bāhu ('thousand-armed') or sahasra-bhuja ('thousand-handed') commonly appear in Indian literature from the Ṛgveda onwards applied to various personages (e.g. Kartavirya Arjuna), including the gods Shiva and Vishnu. It has been suggested that the thousand arms of Avalokiteśvara is another example of an attribute of Shiva being assimilated into the bodhisattva, with the thousand arms being a symbol of the victory of Avalokiteśvara (and Buddhism) over Shiva, whose name 'Īśvara' he appropriates, and his cult. (Cf. Trailokyavijaya, one of the five Wisdom Kings, depicted as trampling on Maheśvara - the Buddhist version of Shiva - and his consort.) The thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara's eleven heads, meanwhile, are thought to be derived from the eleven Rudras, forms and companions of Shiva (Rudra).