Shiva (
Sanskrit:
शिव
Śiva,
meaning "auspicious one") is a major Hindu deity,
and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti,
the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of
the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the
world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power, he lives
a life of a sage at Mount Kailash.
In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as
the Supreme God and has five important works: creator, preserver,
destroyer, concealer, and revealer (to bless). In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God.
Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit
Śaiva).
Shaivism,
along with
Vaiṣṇava
traditions that focus on Vishnu and
Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess
Shakti,
is one of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.
Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, He is represented as a
handsome
young man
immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Apasmara,
the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja,
the Lord of the dance, goodness, humility, and every good quality a
human should have. It is said that He looks like an eternal youth
because of his authority over death, rebirth and immortality. He is also
the father of Ganesha, Murugan
(Kartikeya), and Ayyappan (Dharma Sastha).
The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari:
शिव,
śiva) is an
adjective meaning "auspicious, kind, gracious".
As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One", used as a name for Rudra
In simple English transliteration it is written either as
Shiva
or
Siva. The adjective
śiva, meaning "auspicious", is used
as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several
other Vedic deities.
Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of
the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu
interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", or
"the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)" or "the One who purifies everyone by the very
utterance of His name."
Swami Chinmayananda, in his
translation of Vishnu sahasranama, further elaborates on that verse: Shiva
means "the One who is eternally pure" or "the One who can never have
any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas".
Shiva is considered as the Hindu God who has no Aadi or Anta i.e. no
birth/death.
Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his
epithets
Mahādeva ("Great God";
mahā
= Great +
deva = God),
Maheśhvara
("Great Lord";
mahā = Great +
īśhvara
= Lord),
and
Parameśhvara ("Supreme Lord").
There are at least eight different versions of the
Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras)
listing many names of Shiva.
The version appearing in Book 13 (
Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata
is considered the kernel of this tradition.
Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the
Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the
Śatarudriya,
is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names
Five is a sacred number for Shiva.
One of his most important mantras has five syllables (
namaḥ
śivāya).
Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the
pañcabrahmans. As forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct
iconography:
- Sadyojāta
- Vāmadeva
- Aghora
- Tatpuruṣha
- Īsāna
These are represented as the five faces of Shiva and are associated
in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the five
organs of perception, and the five organs of action.
Doctrinal differences and, possibly, errors in transmission, have
resulted in some differences between texts in details of how these five
forms are linked with various attributes.
The overall meaning of these associations is summarized by Stella
Kramrisch:
Shiva's form: Shiva has a Trident in the right lower arm,
with a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or
like an ice clad mountain. He has fire and Damaru and Mala or a kind of
weapon. He wears five serpents as ornaments. He wears a garland of
skulls. He is pressing with his feet the demon Muyalaka, a dwarf holding
a cobra. He faces south. Panchakshara itself is his body. It is
believed that Shiva became a god through meditating everyday.
Third eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third
eye, with which he burned Desire (
Kāma) to ashes,
called "Tryambakam" (Sanskrit:
त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in
many scriptural sources.
In classical Sanskrit, the word
ambaka denotes "an eye", and in
the
Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is
sometimes translated as "having three eyes".
However, in Vedic Sanskrit, the word
ambā or
ambikā
means "mother", and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the
translation "three mothers".
These three mother-goddesses who are collectively called the
Ambikās.
Other related translations have been based on the idea that the name
actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some
traditions were shared with the goddess
Ambikā.
Crescent moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon.
The epithet
Chandraśekhara (Sanskrit:
चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest"
-
chandra
= "moon";
śekhara = "crest, crown")
refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a
standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to
prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva.
The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon
with ,
and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly
implored, and in later literature, Soma and Rudra came to be identified
with one another, as were Soma and the moon.
The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an
ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the
time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end.
Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time. Thus, the
crescent moon is only one of His ornaments. The wearing of the crescent
moon in his head indicates that He has controlled the mind perfectly.
Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma).
Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old
Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by
some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy.
These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in
the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.
One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground"
(Sanskrit:
śmaśānavāsin, also spelled
Shmashanavasin),
referring to this connection.
Matted hair: Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the
epithets
Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair",
and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair"
or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda)
fashion".
A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell,
or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly.
His hair is said to be like molten gold in color or being
yellowish-white.
Blue throat: The epithet
Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit
नीलकण्ठ;
nīla = "blue",
kaṇtha
= "throat")
refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison
churned up from the world ocean. (See Halāhala.)
Sacred Ganges: The Ganges
river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet
Gaṅgādhara ("bearer of the river
Gaṅgā") refers to this feature.
The
Gaṅgā
(Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made
her abode in Shiva's hair.
The flow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality.
Tiger
skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin,
an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the
Brahmarishis.
Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tiger’s skin indicates that
He has conquered lust.
Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.
His wearing of serpents on the neck denotes wisdom and eternity.
Deer:His holding deer on one hand indicates that He has
removed the Chanchalata (tossing) of the mind. Deer jumps from one place
to another swiftly. The mind also jumps from one object to another.
Trident: (Sanskrit:
Trishula):
Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.
His Trisul that is held in His right hand represents the three
Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He
rules the world through these three Gunas. The Damaru in His left hand
represents the Sabda Brahman. It represents OM from which all languages
are formed. It is He who formed the Sanskrit language out of the Damaru
sound.
Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a
damaru
(Sanskrit:
ḍamaru).
This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing
representation
known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra)
called
ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "
ḍamaru-hand")
is used to hold the drum.
This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the
Kāpālika
sect.
Nandī:
Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit:
vāhana).
Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name
Paśupati,
or Pashupati
(Sanskrit:
पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle"
and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is
particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.
Rishabha or the bull represents Dharma Devata. Lord Siva rides on the
bull. Bull is his vehicle. This denotes that Lord Siva is the protector
of Dharma, is an embodiment of Dharma or righteousness.
Gaṇa:
The
Gaṇas
(Devanagari:
गण) are attendants of Shiva and
live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the
bhutaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally
benign, except when their lord is transgressed against, they are often
invoked to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha
was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's
title
gaṇa-īśa or
gaṇa-pati,
"lord of the
gaṇas".
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Lord shiv also known as
Destroyer
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