Shiva Avatars

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The sages requested Sutji to describe about the different incarnations (Avtar) of Lord Shiva. Sutji told them that, although Lord Shiva took many incarnations (Avtar) but five of his incarnations (Avtar) were very important- Sadhojat, Namadeva, Tatpurush, Aghoresh and Ishan.


EIGHT IDOLS OF SHIVA
After describing about the five chief incarnations of lord Shiva, Sutji explained about the eight famous idols of lord Shiva- Sharva, Bhava, Rudra, Ugra, Bheema, Pashupati, Ishan and Mahadeva.

TEN GREAT INCARNATION OF SHIVA (DASH AVATAR) and TEN INCARNATION OF SHAKTI (DASH MAHAVIDYA)

Describing about the ten incarnations and their corresponding power (Shakti), Sutji said-
The first incarnation of lord Shiva was as 'Mahakal' and his Shakti was called 'Mahakali'.
Lord Shiva took his second incarnation as 'Tar' and his Shakti was called 'Tara'.
The third incarnation of Lord Shiva was as 'Bhuvaneshwar' and his Shakti was called 'Bhuvaneshwari'.
Lord Shiva took his fourth incarnation as 'Shodash' who was also known as 'Srividdyesh' and his Shakti was called 'Shodashi' or 'Shri'.

Lord Shiva took his fifth incarnation as 'Bhairav' and his Shakti was called 'Bhairavi'.
The sixth incarnation of Lord Shiva is famous as 'Chhinamastak' and his Shakti by the name of 'Chhinamasta'.
Lord Shiva took his seventh incarnation as 'Dhoomvan' and his Shakti was known as 'Dhoomvati'.
The eighth incarnation was as 'Baglamukh' and his Shakti as 'Baglamukhi'.

The nineth incarnation of lord Shiva became famous as 'Matang' and his Shakti as 'Matangi'.
Lord Shiva took his tenth incarnation as 'Kamal' and his Shakti as 'Kamala'.
If these ten incarnation of Shiva are worshipped along with his ten Mahavidyas then a man attains salvation.

THE ORIGIN OF ELEVEN RUDRAS
Lord Shiva, later on took birth as eleven Rudras from the womb of Kashyap wife Surabhi. The name of these eleven rudras were as follows-
1) Kapali   2) Pingal   3) Bheem   4) Virupaksha   5) Vilohit   6) Shastra   7) Ajapaad   8) Ahirbudhnya   9) Shambhu   10) Chand and  11) Bhav.

These eleven Rudras fought battles with the demons and killed them. The deities were relieved after the death of the demons. They worshipped these eleven rudras to express their gratitude and indebtedness.



Lord Shiva Avatars:
Lord Shiva is considered as the supreme God in the Hinduism. For setting up an ideal work on the earth in front of his creatures, he had taken variety of the avatars and incarnations. Some of his avatars are related to protecting his devotees from the devils and proud Gods as well. However, five avatars of all his incarnations are hideously important as well as assumed to be the most valuable and effective for his devotees. The most important five incarnations are: Tatpurush, Namadeva, Aghoresh, Sadhojat and Ishan.
1) Tatpurush
Tatpurush is the most popular third incarnation of the Lord Shiva which was manifested in the 21stKalpa of the planet known as Peetavasa. It was appeared by the prayer of the Lord Brahma.
2) Naamdeva:
During the 20th Kalpa known as the Rakta, Lord Brahma got his complexion changed to a red. Another entity was appeared from him of the red complexion, which was name by him as a Namadeva. It is considered as the Naamdeva was also the incarnation of Lord Shiva.
3) Aghoresh
In the Shiva Kalpa (after the Peetavasa Kalp), an entity of black color complexion was appeared by the Lord Brahma when he was in deep meditation state. Lord Brahma named that entity as Aghor Shiva and considered as another form of Lord Shiva.
4) Sadhojat
During the 19th Kalpa known as Shweta Lohit, there appeared an entity by the Lord Brahma while he was meditating, which was named by him as Sadhojat. It is considered that this form of the Lord Shiva was the first incarnation. Four disciples of the Sadhojat were appeared by his own body named Nandan, Vishwanandan, Sunand and Upanandan.
5) ISHAN
In the Vishwaroop Kalpa, Ishan form of the Lord Shiva and Saraswati were manifested. Four divine entities like Mundi, Shikhandi, Caste and Ardhamundi were manifested from the Ishan Shiva. Lord Brahma was blessed by all of them for the creation facility.

picture source : Shiva Devotional Artwork by SC & AJ

Incarnations of Lord Shiva
Apart from all the above incarnations of the Lord Shiva, he had taken some other incarnations which are described as below:
1. Ardhnaarishwar Avatar: Ardhnaarishwar form of the Lord Shiva includes half body of Lord Shiva and other half of the Mata Parvati. This form is very calm and peaceful, provides blessings to the devotees.
2. Nandi Avatar: Lord Shiva had taken lots of avatars on the earth according to the requirement for their devotees. Nandi avatar is one of all the avatars.
3. Sharabh Avatar: This form of the Lord Shiva was the 6th avatar of him.
4. Grihpati Avatar: Grihpati avatar of the Lord Shiva was the 7th avatar of him.
5. Neel Kanth Avatar: Neel Kanth avatar is also a main form of him. Once there was arisen a lot of Vish from the churning of the ocean. Lord Shiva had drunk all the Vish to prevent his beautiful world from the bad effects of Vish. Mata Parvati had stopped the Vish to fall below the neck by putting her palm on his neck. So, this form of him is known as the Neel kanth avatar.
6. Rishi Durvasha Avatar: It is considered as this avatar of the Lord is the main avatar. He has taken this avatar on the earth to maintain the discipline of the universe.
7. Mahesh Avatar: Mahesh avatar is also a peaceful form of the Lord Shiva which blesses his devotees.
8. Hanuman Avatar: hanuman avatar is considered as the supreme avatar of him. Lord Shiva has taken this avatar during the time Lord Rama to present a good example of the Lord and Bhakt in front of the people.
9. Brishabh Avatar: Brishabh avatar is the very significant form of the God Shiva.
10. Piplaad Avatar: Lord Shiva helps their devotees to get free from the Shani Dosha in this form. It is considered as the name of this avatar was given by the Lord Brahma.
11. Vaishyanath Avatar: This is the main avatar of the Lord Shiva to his devotees.
13. Yatinath Avatar: Yatinath avatar of the God Shiva represents a peaceful form of him to his devotees.
14. Krishna Darshan Avatar: Lord Shiva, in this form had represented the significance of the yagya and important religious rituals in Hinduism.
15. Awdhuteshwar Avatar: In this form Lord Shiva had crushed the ego of proud Indra.
16. Bhichhuwarya Avatar: In this form, Lord Shiva protects his all creatures from any difficulty.
17. Sureshwar Avatar: This form of Lord Shiva represents the love and care of him towards his devotees.
18. Bramhchari Avatar: Lord Shiva had taken this avatar to test the Mata Parvati. When Sati rebirth on the earth to the Himalaya’s house as his daughter, Parvati and started worshipping the God Shiva to marry him.
19. Sunatnartak Avatar: Lord Shiva had taken this form to ask the hand of Parvati from her father, Himalaya.
20. Saddhu Avatar: Lord Shiva had taken Sadhu avatar many times according to the need of his devotees.
21. Vibhuashwathama Avatar: Lord Shiva had taken this avatar in the Mahabharat as Ashwatthama (son Dronacharya).
22. Kiraat Avatar: Lord Shiva, in this form had taken the test of Arjuna.
23. Veerbhadra Avatar: This avatar was taken by the Lord Shiva after the sacrifice of the Sati into the Daksha’s yagya. This form of the Lord Shiva was very terrible, face was full of angry, hair opened, indicated his love and care towards his wife.
24. Bhairav Avatar: Lord Shiva has taken Bhairav avatar to protect the Sati pindas. After the death of Sati into the yagya of Daksha, Lord Shiva was wandering all over the world by taking the Sati body. Lord Vishnu had cut the body of Sati into many pieces (52) by his wheel. Those pieces were fallen on the earth. So to protect those Sati pindas from the devils, Lord Shiva had taken the Bhairav avatar.
25. Allama Prabhu: This is one of the incarnations of the Lord Shiva. This form was involved with the Kalyanapuri revolution where Bijala Raja was slain.
26. Khandoba: This is another incarnation of the Lord Shiva having horse as his vehicle and loaded with the sword, trident, bowl and trident.

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Sharabha , GandaBerunda, Pratyangira

STORY OF SHARABA( SHIVA INCARNATION), GANDA BERUNDAM(VISHNU FORM),

PRATYANGIRA( MAA DURGA FORM)

Narasimha -Sharabha Avatar of Lord Shiva.

The Narasimha-Sharabha legend is linked to gods assuming mythical animal forms to slay or subdue as the case may be. First, Vishnu assumed the form of Narasimha to slay Hiranyakashipu, an asura (demon) king, who was terrorizing the universe and devotee of Shiva. The Shiva Purana mentions: After slaying Hiranyakashipu, Narasimha’s wrath was not appeased. The world trembled, fearing what he might do. The Devas (the gods) requested Shiva to tackle Narasimha. Initially, Shiva brings forth Virabhadra, one of his terrifying forms, in order to calm Narasimha. When that failed, Shiva manifested as the human-lion-bird Sharabha. Shiva then assumed the Sharabha form. Sharabha then attacked Narasimha and seized him up until he was immobilized. He thus quelled Narasimha’s terrifying rage. Narasimha became a devotee of Shiva after being bound by Sharabha. Sharabha then decapitated and de-skinned Narasimha so Shiva could wear the hide and lion-head as a garment.The Linga Purana and Sharabha Upanishad also mention this mutilation and murder of Narasimha. After the mutilation, Vishnu assumed his normal form and retired to his abode, after duly praising Shiva. It was from here on that Shiva came to be known as "Sharabeshamurti" or "Simhagnamurti".

The Skanda Purana considers Narasimha as a mere irritation and not a threat to the world, contrary to what was brought out in the Shiva and Linga Puranas. The perception was that Vishnu may permanently adopt the fierce form of Narasimha, which would be detrimental to his role of doing good deeds. Hence, the purpose of Shiva assuming the form of Sharabha was to ensure that the lion body of Vishnu was discarded and he got united with his original divine form. Narasimha struck Sharabha with his body, it was Vishnu who groaned in pain and not Sharabha who was in an "adamantine body".

Shiva Purana describes the Sharabha for like this:

He had a thousand hands and wore matted locks. His head was adorned by the crested moon. He appeared like a bird with wings and beak. His body was fierce and fully developed.

His fangs were very sharp. Adamantine claws were His weapons. His neck was black in colour. He had huge arms and four legs. He was blazing like fire.

His voice was resonant and terrible like the rumbling sound of the clouds that gather at the end of the yuga. His three eyes were wide and blazing as the fire of the evil spirit of great fury.

His fangs and lips were clearly visible. He was producing a hissing sound of humkara. Shiva of such a form appeared in sight.

This fierce form of Shiva is also known as Sarabheswara.

It was then that Vishnu realised that Sharabha was none other than Shiva and bowed and praised Sharabha. Shiva then blesses Vishnu and gives him a boon to kill demons.[22] A Purana ends the story with gods fearing that Sharabha may not be able to control his rage and thus urging Shiva to give up his Sharabha form. Thereafter, Shiva dismembered Sharabha’s form; his limbs were given away and his torso became a Kapalika.

 The Vamana Purana too discusses the tale, ending with Narasimha becoming the calm Vishnu again and Sharabha becoming a lingam, the symbol of Shiva.

 One version also mentions that Sharabha after subduing Narasimha, assumed his original form of a lion, the mount of Durga, and returned to rest at the feet of Durga.

 In the Kalika Purana, Varaha - Vishnu’s boar avatar - had amorous dalliance with the earth goddess. He and his three boar sons then created mayhem in the world, which necessitated Shiva to take the form of Sharabha, to kill the Varaha form. Even, Vishnu requests Shiva to destroy Varaha, unable to control his own form. Here, Narasimha appears to aid Varaha. Sharabha kills Narasimha first and then kills Varaha, allowing Vishnu to reabsorb the energies of both his fierce forms. Finally, Vishnu defeats Sharabha.

After the Avatar or Sharabha - In some puranas says the narasimha swamy was more angered and took form of  GandaBerundam

 Ganda Berunda is described  as below.

GandaBerunda having two heads, fearful rows of teeth, black in complexion and with wide blazing wings. The destructive energy of Narasimha (Vishnu) in the form of the two-headed bird, began to fight fiercely with Sharabha (Shiva) for eighteen days. After the eighteenth day, Mother of all gods and trinity  form of 3 Godess Lakshmi Parvathi , Sarasvati - Godess Durga Devi took form of Maa Pratyangira  upon seeing maa prtyangira Lord vishnu  was finally able to overcome his infinite fierce energy, and regained control over it. In order to save the universe from Vishnu and Shiva's fiercest forms (Berunda and Sharabha), Vishnu stopped the fight, and Sharabha easily tore apart the two-headed bird. Narasimha (Vishnu) himself displayed now his peace, and Shiva finally transformed back in his usual form.

there are plenty Alternative endings from vyshnavites and shaivites

However, the motive of Lord Shiva as Sharaba was to pacify the ferocious Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. Keeping this very motive as central, Sharaba succeeds in pacifying the Lion avatar, by subduing the energies of Vishnu which at that point of time were manifested as Narasimha and Berunda. The very purpose of Sharaba was to bring a sense of calm and well being to the three worlds which were frightened by Narasimha. In a sense, it takes to be even more powerful and superior to calm violent rage and anger.

Throughout Vedic literature there are many stories depicting Shiva resolving situations caused by Vishnu and similarly, instances where Lord Vishnu has taken superior forms to resolve situations of Lord Shiva. Shiva taking the Halahala soon after the great churning of the ocean and Vishnu taking the form of Mohini to end Bhasmasura, are some of them. The Vedas clearly state - Shivaya Vishnu Roopaya Shiva Roopaya Vishnave. The Smartha traditionalists and the Advaita school of thought go by that statement and accept both Vishnu and Shiva as equally powerful if not one and the same.
And it is believed that all the 3 gods are just different form  for doing different duties of the god. 

there are some different version of the same story
http://antaryamin.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/lord-narasimha-lord-sharabha-and-goddess-prathyangira/

But the final Intention was calm down 2 gods for the world peace.
Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namo Narayanah, Jaganmatha namo nama

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