ShivaistheLordoft heLord.

Lor dShiv
a, Mahadevaisperhapsthemostcompl exof
Hindudeity.HeistheAuspi ci
ousone( Shi
va),Theter
ri
fi
cone( Rudra),
LordoftheDance
(Nataraj
a),
Lordoft heuniv
er se(Vishwanatha),HeistheDestroyerandtheTransf
ormer
.
Heislimitl
ess,t
ranscendent ,unchangi
ng, f
ormlessandalsotheonewi thoutbegi
nni
ng
orwithoutend.

“
SHIVA”meanstheauspi
ciousone.I
tishumanlyi
mpossi
blet
oexpl
ainShi
va,
justasi
t
i
simpossi
blet
oexplai
ntheuniver
seyetlet
’smakeanatt
empt.

Fr
om simpl
ehumanint
ell
ect
,hei
stheonef
rom whom t
heBr
ahmanemer
ges,
inwhom
i
tstay
sandwithi
nwhom i
tgoesback.

HereBrahmmani snotmeretheUniver
sebuti stheonewhoisthebaseandcauseof
theuni
verse.Brahmmanhol dstheuniv
erse.Shivaisr
easonsofal
lcauses.Hemustnot
beseenasaHuman- God.That’
sawr ongnotion.Scri
ptur
escal
lhi
mt heNirgun
Brahmanandt heSagunBrahmman

Shi
vaexi
stsi
n3st
ates

Nir
gun:
Inthisst
atehei
sfor
mless,
andt
hewhol
euni
ver
seandcr
eat
ionl
i
eint
he
per
vasi
venessofShi
va.
Saguna:I
ntheSagunastat
eShiv
ai stheent
ir
euniv
erseandhis“ansh”i
spresenti
nthe
tree,
thei
nsect
,theani
mal,mal
e,femaleandthewholecr
eat
ion.Inthi
sstat
ethoughal
l
formsari
seoutofhimyet,
noform candescr
ibehi
m.

Nir
gun- Sagun: Int
heNi rgun-Sagunstat eShivaisworshipedast heShival
ingam.The
wor dShi v
alingam hasbeender i
vedfrom Sanskr i
troot
sShi va(Lord)+Lingam
(Mar k/Chinha/Symbol).Hence, Shi
vali
ngam i sthemarkofl ordwithini
tscreati
on.
Every t
hingint heworldarisesoutofadome/ aball
/apindi .Beitat r
eewhi chcomes
fr
om aseedwhi chisround, achil
dwhi chcomesf rom acel lwhichisround,al
lheavenl
y
bodi esareround,themi nutesofcellsar eroundandourv eryear t
hisround.Every
thi
ng
beingr oundi samar koftheLor d/Shi
v a.Si
nceShi vacan’tbecompr ehended,we
wor shiphismar korwewor shi
pthewhol eBr ahmmani naShi vali
ngam.

“
NATASYAPRATI
MAASTI
”

-
TheYuj
urVeda

“
THEREI
SNOI
MAGEOFHI
M”

Thus,i
tisi
mportantt
ounderstandt
hatheis“For
mless”
.Thoughall
formsbelongt
o
hi
m andheishappyinwhateverwayyoulookathimyetther
eisnosingl
efor
mi nt
he
worl
dthatdescr
ibeshi
m.

Thethr
eefor
msi nwhicht
heworl
dappear
si.
e.,
“HE-SHE-I
T”ref
err
edari
sesoutofhi
m.
Werefert
oShiv
aas“ HE”t
okeepupwitht
heconventi
ons.However,
Shi
var
efer
redbeto
as:

SI
VA–“
Mal
e”

SHI
VA–“
FEMALE”

SHI
VAM –“
NEUTRAL”
Hence,Hehi
msel
fisbeyondsexesofhe,sheandi
tandremai
nst
hebasef
rom wher
e
he,sheandi
temer
ges,stay
stransf
orm anddi
ssol
ves.

Whoi
sShi
va?

Shi
vaisthethi
rdgodint
heHi
ndutri
umv i
rat
e.Thetr
iumvi
rat
econsi
stsofthreegods
whoareresponsi
blef
ort
hecr
eati
on,upkeepanddestr
uct
ionoft
heworld.Theother
twogodsareBrahmaandVi
shnu.

Brahmaist
hecreatoroft
heuniv
ersewhil
eVi
shnui
sthepr
eser
verofi
t.Shi
va'
srol
eis
todest
royt
heuniversei
nordert
ore-cr
eat
eit
.

Hindusbel i
evehi
spower sofdestructi
onandrecr
eationareusedev ennowt odestr
oy
theil
lusionsandimperf
ectionsofthisworl
d,pavi
ngt hewayforbeneficialchange.
AccordingtoHindubeli
ef,thi
sdestructi
oni
snotarbitrar
y,butconst
ruct i
ve.Shivai
s
ther
eforeseenast hesourceofbot hgoodandevilandisregardedast heonewho
combi nesmanycontradi
ctoryelements.

Shiv
aisknownt
ohaveuntamedpassi
on,whi
chleadshimtoextr
emesinbehav
iour
.
Someti
mesheisanascet
ic,
abst
aini
ngfr
om al
lwordlypl
easur
es.Atot
her
sheisa
hedoni
st.

I
tisShi
va'
srel
ati
onshi
pwithhi
swi
fe,Parvat
iwhichbri
ngshim bal
ance.Thei
runi
on
al
lowshi
mt obeanascet
icandal
over,butwit
hintheboundsofmarri
age.

Hi
nduswhowor
shi
pShi
vaast
hei
rpr
imar
ygodar
emember
soft
heShai
vi
sm sect
.
WhatdoesShi
val
ookl
i
ke?

Shi
vasi
tt
ingi
nthel
otusposi
ti
onShi
va©

Inhi
srepr
esent
ati
onsasaman,Shi
vaal
wayshasabl
uefaceandthroat
.Str
ict
ly
speaki
nghi
sbodyiswhi
te,
buti
magesoft
enshowhim wi
thabluebodytoo.

Shi
vai
srepr
esent
edwi
tht
hef
oll
owi
ngf
eat
ures:

At
hir
dey
e

Theextr
aeyerepresentsthewisdom andinsightthatShiv
ahas.I
tisal
sobeli
evedtobe
thesour
ceofhisuntamedener gy.Ononeoccasi on,whenShivawasdi
str
actedinthe
midstofwor
shipbyt helovegod,Kama, Shi
vaopenedhi sthi
rdeyei
nanger.Kamawas
consumedbythefirethatpouredfor
th,andonlyreturnedtol
if
ewhenParvatii
nter
vened.

Acobr
aneckl
ace

Thissi gnif
iesShiva'
spowerovert
hemostdanger
ouscreatur
esi
ntheworl
d.Some
tradit
ionsal sosaythatt
hesnakerepr
esent
sShi
va'
spowerofdestr
ucti
onand
recreation.Thesnakeshedsit
sskintomakewayfornew,smoot
hskin.

Thev
ibhut
i

Thev i
bhutiaret
hreeli
nesdrawnhorizontal
l
yacrosstheforeheadi
nwhiteash.They
repr
esentShiva'
sall
-perv
adingnat
ure,hissuper
humanpowerandweal t
h.Also,
they
coveruphispower f
ulthi
rdeye.Member sofShai
vism of
tendrawvibhut
ili
nesacross
thei
rforehead.

Thet
ri
dent

Thet
hree-
prongedt
ri
dentr
epr
esent
sthet
hreef
unct
ionsoft
heHi
ndut
ri
umv
irat
e.

Whil
eothergodsaredepi
ctedinlavi
shsur r
oundi
ngs,Shivai
sdressedi
nsimpl
eanimal
ski
nandinauster
esetti
ngs,usuall
yinay ogi
cposit
ion.Parv
ati
,whenev
ershei
spresent
,
i
salway
satt hesi
deofShiva.Theirrel
ati
onshipi
soneofequalit
y.
Ev
ent
houghShi
vai
sthedest
roy
er,
hei
susual
l
yrepr
esent
edassmi
l
ingandt
ranqui
l
.

Ot
herr
epr
esent
ati
ons

Shi
vai
ssomet
imesrepresent
edashal
fman,halfwoman.Hisfi
gureisspl
ithal
fway
downt
hebody
,onehalfshowinghi
sbodyandthesecondhal
fthatofParv
ati'
s.

Shi
vaisal sorepr
esent edbyShivalinga.Thi
sisaphalli
cstatue,r
epresent
ingtheraw
powerofShi vaandhi smasculini
ty.Hindusbeli
eveitr
epresentstheseedofthe
uni
verse,demonst rat
ingShiv
a'squal i
tyofcr
eation.Worshi
ppersofShivacelebr
ate
Mahashivratr
i,afesti
valatwhichtheShi val
ingaisbat
hedi nwater,mil
kandhoneyand
worshipped.

Whoi
shel
i
nkedwi
th?

Shiva'
sconsortisDevi
,theMother-
goddess.Dev ihast
akenonmanyf
ormsi nt
hepast,
i
ncludingKali
,thegoddessofdeath,andSati
,thegoddessofmar
it
alf
eli
cit
y.Herbest
knowni ncar
nationi
sParvat
i,Shi
va'seter
nalwife.

Hi
ndusbel
i
eveShi
vaandPar
vat
ili
vei
ntheKai
l
ashmount
ainsi
ntheHi
mal
ayas.

Lor
doft
hedance

Danceisanimportantartfor
mi nIndi
a,andShivaisbel
ievedt
obet hemasterofi
t.He
i
softencall
edtheLordofDance.Ther hythm ofdanceisametaphorfort
hebalancei
n
t
heuniversewhichShivaisbeli
evedtoholdsomast erf
ull
y.

Hismosti
mport
antdancei
stheTandav.Thisi
sthecosmi
cdanceofdeat
h,whi
chhe
perf
ormsatt
heendofanage,t
odestroytheuni
ver
se.

Accor
dingt
ooneHi
ndul
egend,
Shi
vaal
mostsi
gnal
l
edt
heendoft
hisuni
ver
seby
per
for
mingt
hisdanger
ousdancebef
orei
tst
ime.Thi
sist
hest
ory
.

Oneday,t
hef
atherofthegoddessSat
ideci
dedt ohol
dapray
ercer
emony
.Atthi
s
pr
ayercer
emony,al
lthegodswouldbeinvi
tedandoff
eri
ngswoul
dbemadetothem.

ButShi
vahadmarri
edSat
iagai
nstt
hewi shesofherf
atherandhewasnoti
nvi
ted.Sat
i
wasdeepl
yoff
endedonbehal
fofherhusband.

I
nanger,Sat
ipr
ayedi
ntensel
yandj
umpedi
ntot
hesacr
edf
ir
ethatwasbur
ningont
he
dayoft
heceremony.

Duri
ngthi
stime,
Shi
vahadbeeninthemidstofdeepmedi
tat
ion.ButwhenSat
ijumped
i
ntothefi
re,
heawokei
ngreatanger,
real
i
singwhathi
swif
ehaddone.

Thest
orybecomeslesscert
ainatt
hispoint
,buti
tisbel
i
evedt
hatShiv
ast
art
edthe
cosmi
cdanceofdeath.Thewholeuniv
ersewasabouttobedest
roy
edbef
oreitwas
ti
me.

Thegodswhower epresentattheprayerceremonywereveryconcerned.I
nordert
o
paci
fyhi
m, t
heyscatt
eredtheashesofSat ioverhi
m.Thisdidthetr
ick.Hecalmeddown
anddidnotcomplet
ethedance.Buthewenti nt
omedit
ationformanyy ear
s,deepl
y
upsetovert
hedeathofhiswife,i
gnori
ngallhisgodl
yduti
es.

I
twasnotunt
ilSat
iwasr
ebornasParv
atit
hatShivafi
nal
l
ycameoutofmedi
tati
on.
Thr
oughherl
oveandpat
ience,
shet
aughthim aboutf
amil
yli
feandt
hei
mportanceof
moder
ati
on.

Shi
vaandPar
vatiar
eheldupastheper
fectexampl
eofmar
it
albl
i
ssbymanyHi
ndus,
andonei
srar
elydepi
ctedwi
thoutt
heother.
Sy
mbol
sofLor
dShi
va

LordShivai
soneoft heprominentHi
ndugodsandoneoft he"tr
imurti
"(
holytr
ini
ty)of
theHindupantheon.Knowaboutthedif
fer
entsymbolsofLordShivaassy mboli
zedby
thevari
ousthi
ngsassociatedwit
hHim.Eachofthesesigni
fyadiff
erentaspectofhis
SupremeBeing.Readtoknowaboutthem.Ifyouenjoythi
sarti
cleontheSy mbolsof
LordShiva,

Got
hrought
hisbr
iefdescr
ipt
ionaboutt
hesy
mbol
sofLor
dShi
va:

Uncladbodysmear edwi
thashes:Thisf
orm ofLordShivasymbol i
zest he
transcendent al
aspectofhisnatur
eandindicat
esthathispresenceismuchhi ghert
han
thisphysicalphenomenon.Theashesont heLord'
sbodyi scemet eryash,whichpoints
tothephi l
osophyoft heli
feanddeathandshowst hatdeathistheultimatereali
tyofthe
l
ife.Mostt hingsintheuni
versereducet
oasheswhenbur nedandt hisaspectofnature
i
ssuggest edbyt heash-
smearedappearanceofLordShiva,whoi sheldtobet heGod
ofdest r
uct i
oninHindumy thol
ogy.TheLordisbey
ondt hecycleofbirthanddeat h.

Jat
a( Mat
tedHair)
:Theflowofhismattedhairr
epr
esentsShiv
aast heLor
dofWi ndor
Vayu,whoisthesubt
leform ofbr
eat
hpr esenti
nal
lli
vi
ngbeings.I
tshowsthatShiv
ais
Pashupat
inat
h,LordOfAllLi
vingBei
ngs.

SacredGanga:Ther iverGanga( orGanges)isthemostsacr edri

verforpiousHi ndus.
Accordi
ngt oalegend, theriverGangahasi tssourceinShivaandflowsfrom hismat t
ed
hair
.Thisissymbolicallyrepresentedbydepicti
ngGangaasaj etofwaterspr i
nkli
ngout
oftheheadoftheLor dandf alli
ngont heground.Legendhasi tt
hattheLordal l
owedan
outl
ettothegreatri
v ertot r
av ersetheear
thandbr ingpuri
fyi
ngwatertohumanbei ng.
Hence,LordShivaisof tenreferredtoasGangadhar aor"
Beareroftheri
verGanga" .The
ri
verGangaalsodenot esfert
ilit
y ,
oneofthecreati
veaspectsoftheRudr a.Ital
so
i
ndicatesthatShiv
aisnotonl
ytheLordofdest
ruct
ionbutal
sot
hebest
owerof
knowledge,puri
tyandpeaceonthedevot
ees.

TheThi rdEye:InthegreatHinduepicMahabhar ata,LordShivai sdepictedasat hree-

eyedGod.Hence, heisoftenref
erredtoasTryambakaDev a,meani ng"thr
ee-eyedLor d"
.
Thesuni ssaidt obehi sr
ighteye,
themoont hel efteyewhi l
ef i
reishisthir
dey e.Whi l
e
hisothertwoey esindicat
ehisactivi
tyi
nthephy sicalworld,histhir
dey einthecent erof
hisforeheadlooksbey ondtheobvious.I
tstandsf orspiri
tualknowledgeandpower ,and
i
st huscalledtheeyeofwi sdom orknowledge.Likef i
re,t
hepower f
ul gazeofShiva's
thi
rdey ecansear chevilf
rom anywhereandanni hil
ateitcompl etel
y.Thisisthereason
whyev il
-doersfearhi
st hi
rdeye.

TheThi
rdEy
eofLor
dShi
va

Half-OpenEy es:Thehalf
-openeyesofLor dShivaconv eytheideat hatt
hecy cleof
universeisi
npr ocess.WhentheLor dopensHi sey esanewcy cleofcreati
onbegi ns
andwhenHecl osesthem i
tsigni
fiesthedestructi
onoftheuni verseforcreati
onoft he
nextcy cl
e.Thehal f
-openeyessignif
ythatcreationisgoingthroughanet ernalcycli
c
process,withnobegi nni
ngandnoend.

Crescent:LordShivai
stypicall
ypicturedaswear ingacrescent -
shapedor namenton
onesi deofhishead.Thisiswhyhei sof t
encalled'Chandrasekhara'meani ng"
Hav i
ng
themoonashi screst
".TheCr escentisact ual
lythemooni ni t
sf i
fthdayphaseand
symbol i
zestheti
mecy clethroughwhi chcreati
onev ol
vesf rom thebeginningt
otheend.
Themooni sameasur eoftime, andthust heCr escentonLor dShiva'sheadsigni
fi
eshis
controlovert
ime.TheLor distheEt ernalRealit
yandHei sbey ondt ime.Thus,the
crescentmooni sonlyoneofHi sornament s,andnotani ntegralpartofHim.

TheSnakearoundtheneck:LordShi
vaisoft
enshownwithasnakecurledthr
eeti
mes
aroundHisneckandlooki
ngtowardsHisri
ghtsi
de.Thethr
eecoil
softhesnake
symboli
zethepast,
presentandfut
ure-ti
meincycl
es.Thesnakelooki
nginther
ight
di
recti
onofLor dShivasi
gnif
iest
hattheLord'sperpetuall
awsofreasonandjust
ice
preserv
enat uralorderi
ntheuniv
erse.Thesnakei sbeli
evedtobetheVasukiNaga,a
deadlycobra.TheLor dweari
ngthedeadlysnakel i
keanor namentsi
gnif
iest
hatHeis
i
ndependentoft i
meanddeat h.I
talsosuggeststhedor mantener
gy,cal
l
edKundali
ni
Shakti
,thatresideswithi
nhim.

Snakear
oundt
heneckofLor
dShi
va

Vi
bhut
i:Thethr
eeli
neofashesdrawnonthefor
eheadoft
heLordi
sknownast
he
Vi
bhut
i.I
tsigni
fi
estheI
mmor t
ali
tyoft
heLordandhismani
fest
edgl
ory
.

TigerSkin:Hindumy t
hologystatesthattheti
gerist hevehicl
eofShakti,theGoddessof
powerandf orce.Lor dShivaisoftenshownseat eduponorwear ingatigerskin,
whi ch
emphasi zesthef actt hatheisthemast erofShaktiandi sbeyondandabov eanykindof
force.Tigerisalsot heembl em oflust.TheLord'
ssi tt
ingonTigerskinindicat
esthathe
hasconquer edl ust.Tigeralsorepresentsener
gy .LordShivaisthesourceoft he
creati
v eenergythatr emainsinpot enti
alfor
m dur i
ngt hedi
ssoluti
onstateofthe
universe.Heact iv
atest hisenergyusinghisownDi vi
neWi l
ltoprojectt
heuni v
ersein
endlesscy cl
es.

TheElephantandDeerSki
n:TheLordalsowearselephantanddeerskins.El
ephant
s
standinforpr
idewhi
ledeerr
epresentt
hefli
cker
ingmi nd.Wear
ingelephantanddeer
skinshowsthatLor
dShivahasconqueredboththesev i
ces.

RudrakshaNeckl ace:Heisalmostalwaysshownaswear inganeckl acehav i

ng108
beadsmadewi t
hseedsoft heRudrakshatree.Thebeadsr epresenttheelementsused
i
nt hecreati
onoft hewor l
d.TheRudrakshaneckl acepoi
ntstot he‘Rudra’aspectofthe
Lord,whichisalsoHi sothername.Thewor d'Rudra'means" str
ictoruncompr omisi
ng"
andakshameans" eye.
"Iti
ll
ustr
atesthefactthatLordShi
v aisfirm aboutHiscosmic
l
awsandst r
ict
lymai ntai
nslawandor derintheuniver
se.
Damar u( Dr
um) :
Iti
st hesmal lhourglass-shapeddr um t
hattheLordhol dsinoneofhi s
handsi naspecifi
cgest ur
ecalled'damar u-
hasta'.Thetwosidesoft hedrum separated
from eachotherbyat hinneck-li
kest ructur
erepr esent
sthetwout t
er l
ydiff
erentst
at es
ofexistence,unmanifestandmani fest .Whenadamar uisshaken,itproducesNada, t
he
cosmi csoundofAUM, whichcanbehear ddur i
ngdeepmedi tat
ion.AccordingtoHi ndu
scri
ptures,Nadaisthesour ceofcr eation.Thisisoneoft heatt
ri
butesofShi vainhis
famousdanci ngrepresentati
onknownasNat araja.

Damar
u,t
hesy
mbol
ofLor
dShi
va

Tri
shul(Tr
ident)
:Thetri
dent
,ort hespearwi ththreeprongs,isoneoft heaccessori
esof
theLordandsy mboli
zesHisthreef undament alpowersiccha(wi
ll
),kr
iya(acti
on)and
j
nana(knowledge).I
tal
sosignif
iesHi spowert odestroyev i
landignorance.AsHis
weaponandi nstr
umentofpunishmentt hetri
dentrepresentsLordShiva'smannerof
puni
shingtheevildoer
sonallthet hreeplanes-spiri
tual,subt
leandphy sical
.

TheTr
ishul
ofLor
dShi
va

Kamandal u:Thewat erpot(Kamandal u)of t

enshownadj acenttotheLordisanotherof
hisaccessor ies.Iti
ssaidtobemadef r
om adr ypumpki nandcontaini
ngamr i
t(nectar)
.
IndianYogi sandsagesar eseent ocarrytheKamandal uasani t
em ofbasicnecessity
.
Thecar ryingoft heKamandal ushowst hey ogicnatureoftheLord.Buti
thasadeeper
signif
icance.Asar i
pepumpki nhasbeenpl uckedf r
om aplant,i
tsfr
uitr
emov edand
shellcleanedf orcontai
ningthenect ar,
ani ndi
vidualtoomustgiveuphisattachmentt o
thephy sicalwor l
dandcleanhi sinnerselfofegoisti
cdesirestoexperi
encetheblissof
theSel f,
sy mbolizedbythenect arintheKamandal u.
Kundalas:TheKundalasrefertothetwoearrings,Al
akshya( meaning"whichcannotbe
shownbyanysi gn")andNi r
anjan(meaning"whichcannotbeseenbymor t
aleyes"),
wornbyt heLord.Theornament sintheearsoftheLordsignif
yt hatHeisbeyond
ordi
narypercepti
on.Iti
snotewor t
hythatthekundalaintheleftearoftheLordisoft he
typeusedbywomenandt heonei nHisri
ghtearisofthetypeusedbymen.Thedual
typeofKundalasrepresenttheShivaandShakti(maleandfemal e)pri
ncipl
eofcr eat
ion.

MountKai l
ashaorMountKai l
ash:Lor
dShi vai
smostof t
enshownt obeseatedwitht
he
beautifulHimalayasservi
ngashisbackdrop.MountKail
ashintheHimal
ayasissaidt
o
beHi st r
adit
ionalabode.I
nHindumy t
hology,MountKail
ashaissai
dtorepresentt
he
centeroft heuniv
erse.Thisdenot
esthatLordShi
vais'Kail
as'
-thebest
owerofpeace
andal so'Kail
ashadhipat
i'
meaning"LordOfMountKailash"
.

TheMountKai
l
asha

Nandi,
theBull:
Nandii
stheBullofLordShivaandi ssai
dt obehi
sv ehicl
e.Thebul
li
sa
symbolbothofpowerandignorancewhichsuggest st
hatLordShivaremov es
i
gnoranceofhisdevot
eesandgi v
esthem thepowerofwi sdom.InSanskritabul
li
s
cal
led"Vr
isha"whi
chalsomeans" ri
ght
eousness".TheNandi bul
lbesideLordShi
va
i
ndicat
esthatHeistheeter
nalcompanionofrighteousness.

Thesear
elor
dshi
vaheal
i
ngsy
mbol
s,needst
obedr
awnoncr
ownwhi
l
emedi
dat
ing.
YourMast
er
Raj
endr
aSi
ngh