Lord Shiva on Maha Shivratri

Lord Shiva on Maha Shivratri, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

Shiva (Śiva, /ˈʃɪvə/ About this sound listen (help·info) meaning "The Auspicious One"), also known as Mahadeva, Mahesh ("Great God") or Bholenath ("Simple Lord"), is a popular Hindu deity and considered the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in Hinduism.[1][2] Shiva is regarded as one of the primary forms of God, such as one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition,[1] and "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer"[3] among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.[4][5][6]
Shiva is usually worshipped in the aniconic form of Lingam.[7][8][9] Shiva of the highest level is limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formless.[10][11][12][13][14] However, Shiva also has many benevolent and fearsome forms.[15] In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash,[3] as well as a householder with wife Parvati and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya or as the Cosmic Dancer. In fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. The most recognizable iconographical attributes of the god are a third eye on his forehead, a snake around his neck, the crescent moon adorning and the river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the trishula as his weapon and the damaru as his instrument.
Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra. Some historians have also suggested that a Shiva-like deity existed in pre-Vedic times, but not all historians agree on this.

Origins[edit]
For the early history, see Rudra.
The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[36][37] Some historians believe that the figure of Shiva as we know him today was built up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure.[37] How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented.[38] Axel Michaels the Indologist suggests Shaivism like Vaişhņavism, implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.[39]
An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.[40] The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri.[41] Khandoba has been assimilated as a form of Shiva himself,[42] in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam.[40][43] Khandoba's varied associations also include an identification with Surya[40] and Karttikeya.[44]
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. (The trident, like almost all other forms in Hinduism, can be understood as the symbolism of the unity of three worlds that a human faces - his inside world, his immediate world, and the broader overall world. At the base of the trident, all three forks unite.)
Third eye: (Trilochana) Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes,[96] called "Tryambakam" (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम् ), which occurs in many scriptural sources.[97] 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".[98] 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".[99][100] These three mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikās.[101] 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.[102]It has been mentioned that when Shiva loses his temper badly, his third eye opens which can destroy most of the things to ashes.
Crescent moon: (The epithets "Chandrasekhara/Chandramouli")- Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon.[103] The epithet Candraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - candra = "moon"; śekhara = "crest, crown")[104][105][106] 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.[107] The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, 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.[108] 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: (The epithet "Bhasmaanga Raaga") - Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Ashes represent the final reality that a human being will face - the end of all material existence.[109] 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.[110] These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism.[111] One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.[112] It is interesting to see the peaceful acceptance of cremation ground temples of Batuk Bhairava, a form of Lord Shiva, by the general populace. At Ujjain, near the Kaal Bhairava temple lies such a cremation ground temple of Batuk Bhairava, with its legendary disciple Baba Dabral known throughout Central India (as he is blessed, people say, with the ability to literally read out incidents of the future in one's life just by holding one's palm).
Matted hair: (The epithet "Jataajoota Dhari/Kapardina") - Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair",[113] and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair"[114] or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion".[115] 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.[116] 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")[117][118] since Shiva drank the Halahala poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to eliminate its destructive capacity. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvati strangled his neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck itself and prevent it from spreading all over the universe supposed to be in Shiva's stomach. However the poison was so potent that it changed the color of his neck to blue.[119][120] (See Maha Shivaratri.)


Shiva bearing the descent of the Ganges River as Parvati and Bhagiratha and the bull Nandi look, folio from a Hindi manuscript by the Narayan, circa 1740
Sacred Ganges: (The epithet "Gangadhara") Bearer of Ganga. Ganges river flows from the matted hair of Shiva.[121][122] The Gaṅgā (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair.[123] The flow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality.
Tiger skin: (The epithet "Krittivasana").He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin,[109] an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.[124] Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tiger’s skin indicates that He has conquered lust.
Serpents: (The epithet "Nagendra Haara"). Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.[125] 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 of the mind (i.e., attained maturity and firmness in thought process). Deer jump from one place to another swiftly, similar to the mind moving from one thought to another.
Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula): Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.[109] 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).[126][127] This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation[128] known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum.[129] This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.[130]
Axe: (Sanskrit: Parashu):The parashu is the weapon of Lord Shiva who gave it to Parashurama, sixth Avatar of Vishnu, whose name means "Rama with the axe" and also taught him its mastery.
Nandī: (The epithet "Nandi Vaahana").Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana).[131][132] Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati, or Pashupati (Sanskrit: पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle"[133] and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.[134] 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".[135]
Mount Kailāsa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode.[109] In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.[136]
Varanasi: Varanasi (Benares) is considered to be the city specially loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.[137]
Lingam[edit]


Lingam at Jambukesvara temple in Thiruvanaikaval, Tamil Nadu
Main article: Lingam
Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam, or linga, is also important.[138][139][140] These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column. Shiva means auspiciousness, and linga means a sign or a symbol. Hence, the Shivalinga is regarded as a "symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspiciousness".[141] Shiva also means "one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution".[141] Linga also means the same thing—a place where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Shivalinga represents symbolically God Himself.[141] Some scholars, such as Monier-Williams and Wendy Doniger, also view linga as a phallic symbol,[142][143] although this interpretation is disputed by others, including Christopher Isherwood,[144] Vivekananda,[145] Swami Sivananda,[146] and S.N. Balagangadhara.[147]

Maha Shivaratri[edit]


Celestial Marriage of Shiva and Parvati in presence of all depicted at Elephanta Caves
Main article: Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night or the 14th day of the new moon in the Krishna Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna in the Hindu calendar. This festival is of utmost importance to the devotees of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the 'Tandava' and it is also believed that Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. [236] The holiday is often celebrated with special prayers and rituals offered up to Shiva, notably the Abhishek. This ritual, practiced throughout the night, is often performed every three hours with water, milk, yogurt, and honey. Bel leaves are often offered up to the Hindu god, as it is considered necessary for a successful life. The offering of the leaves are considered so important that it is believed that someone who offers them without any intentions will be rewarded greatly. [237


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva