He has two notable children, namely, Vinayaka and Kartikeya or Muruga. His consort is Goddess Parvati. She is the daughter of Mount Himavan. Shiva is the presiding deity of the cremation ground.
He is said to be donned in tiger skin. He is adorned with a snake around his neck and the digital moon over his head. Ganges is said to flow from his head down to the earth.
In fact, it is said to have fallen on to his head as the heavenly Ganges. Brahma is said to be bestowed with the quality of Rajas or activity. Shiva is said to be bestowed with the quality of Tamas and Vishnu is Sattvic in character.
The quality of Sattva gives rise to calmness and peace. Tamas gives rise to dullness and sleep. Shiva is said to be an expert in Tandava dance, whereas Vishnu once appeared in the form of a woman as Mohini. Your email address will not be published. For the average worshiper, the sexual power of Shiva is seen in the most common image that represents him, the lingam. This is typically a cylindrical stone several feet tall, with a rounded top, standing in a circular base.
On one level, this is the most basic image of divinity, providing a focus for worship with a minimum of artistic embellishment, attempting to represent the infinite. The addition of carved anatomical details on many lingams, however, leaves no doubt for the worshiper that this is an erect male sexual organ, showing the procreative power of God at the origin of all things. Shiva typically carries a trident and has a third eye in his forehead, signifying his all-seeing nature.
He often has a serpent wrapped around him like a scarf and wears a skull and the crescent moon in his matted hair piled high upon his head. Strictly speaking his body is white, but images often show him with a blue body too. Even though Shiva is the destroyer, he is usually represented as smiling and tranquil. While other gods are depicted in lavish surroundings, Shiva is dressed in simple animal skin and in austere settings, usually in a yogic position.
Parvati, whenever she is present, is always at the side of Shiva. Their relationship is one of equality. Shiva is represented with the following features: 1 A third eye: The extra eye represents the wisdom and insight that Shiva has. It is also believed to be the source of his untamed energy. On one occasion, when Shiva was distracted in the midst of worship by the love god, Kama, Shiva opened his third eye in anger.
Kama was consumed by the fire that poured forth, and only returned to life when Parvati intervened. Some traditions also say that the snake represents Shiva's power of destruction and recreation. The snake sheds its skin to make way for new, smooth skin.
They represent Shiva's all-pervading nature, his superhuman power and wealth. Also, they cover up his powerful third eye. Members of Shaivism often draw vibhuti lines across their forehead. Shiva is sometimes represented as half man, half woman. His figure is split half way down the body, one half showing his body and the second half that of Parvati's. Shiva is also represented by Shiva linga. This is a phallic statue, representing the raw power of Shiva and his masculinity.
Hindus believe it represents the seed of the universe, demonstrating Shiva's quality of creation. Worshippers of Shiva celebrate Mahashivratri, a festival at which the Shiva linga is bathed in water, milk and honey and worshipped. He is known, according to some ancient authorities, by 1, epithets: among these are Nilakantha, "the blue-throated"; Panchanana, "the five-faced"; Nataraj, "The Lord of Dancers"; and Trilochana, "the three-eyed".
Shiva is often shown with Parvati; he is also shown as ardhnarishwara, half-man and half-woman. Lingams or lingas are the phallic symbols that honor Shiva and represent male energy, rebirth, fertility and the creative forces of the universe..
They are found in varying sizes in many Hindu temples. A typical one is shaped like an erect phallus and made of polished stone. The vertical shaft is sometimes divided into the parts symbolizing the Hindu Trinity, with the upper rounded part associated with Shiva, the middle part linked to Vishnu, and the bottom part representing Brahma. Carved wooden lingam Steven M. He is sometimes depicted with two arms but more frequently four, and he often carries a trident.
In the center of his forehead is a third eye, shown vertically. His hairlocks, long and matted from his ascetic practices, are piled up in a tall chignon. Lingams are usually set on a round base called a yoni , which represents Shakti and the female force. A channel is carved on the base to allow ablutions to flow out. Shiva worshipers like to pour cows milk on lingams, sprinkle them with flowers and red powder and make offering of fruits and sweets. The lingam and the base together are a sort of ying and yang statue that symbolizes the entire universe and the union and interaction between male and female power.
The trident is another symbol associated with Shiva. The three forks are said to represent creation, preservation and destruction. Depictions of Shiva with three faces also represent the same balanced trilogy: two of the faces are usually opposites: maker and destroyer, or acetic and family-man, with the third face in the middle being a peaceful, reconciling force.
Shiva is often depicted with matted hair. This eludes to his time spent as an ascetic. He sometimes wears a necklace of skulls that symbolize his role as a destroyer and demon slayer. The eye is always closed if it is open the universe will be destroyed. Shiva is closely associated with Varanasi and death. It is said that anyone who dies in Varanasi will join Shiva straight away in Mt. Meru regardless of how much bad karma they have accumulated.
Young Shiva slaying demons Shiva has many consorts that help express his many sides and bring out male and female power. The nature of this relationship is believed to be based on ancient mother goddess cults that were absorbed into Hinduism. Devi has taken on many forms in the past, including , Gauri, Durga, Sati, the goddess of marital felicity and Kali, the powerful Goddess of Death.
Devi's best known incarnation is Parvati, Shiva's primary and eternal wife. Shiva and Parvati are held up as the perfect example of marital bliss by many Hindus, and one is rarely depicted without the other. Hindus believe Shiva and Parvati live in the Kailash mountains in the Himalayas. Parvati is the daughter of the sacred Himalayas. She and Shiva have two sons: Skanda, the god of War, and Ganesh the popular elephant-headed god.
Natarja, an incarnation of Shiva, is the goddess of dance. She is often depicted in old bronze statues with four arms and one leg raised and the other crushing Apasmara, a dwarf-demon associated with confusion and ignorance. One hand assumes the gesture of protection, one points to a raised foot, one hold the drum that keeps the beat of the rhythm of creation. The forth holds the fire of dissolution. It represents fertility; is often as white as the Himalayan peaks; and marks the entrance to a Shiva temples.
Parvati, the consort of Shiva, with the lion as her vehicle, is a major deity in her own right. As Durga, she slays demons whom the other gods are unable to control. One of her most celebrated feats is the destruction of the buffalo demon Mahisha.
Two other deities are considered their children. Elephant-headed Ganesha is the god who removes obstacles and is worshipped at the start of any undertaking; his vehicle is the mouse.
Skanda, a warlike youth, rides the peacock. The concept of reality as the complex interplay of opposite principles, male and female, thus finds its highest form in the mythology of Shiva and his consort Parvati also known as Shakti, Kali, or Durga , the daughter of the mountains. This most controlled deity, the meditating Shiva, then has still another form, as the erotic lover of Parvati, embracing her passionately. Shiva and Parvati have two sons, who have entire cycles of myths and legends and bhakti cults in their own right.
One son is called variously Karttikeya identified with the planet Mars or Skanda the god of war or Subrahmanya.
He is extremely handsome, carries a spear, and rides a peacock. According to some traditions, he emerged motherless from Shiva when the gods needed a great warrior to conquer an indestructible demon.
In southern India, where he is called Murugan, he is a lord of mountain places and a great friend of those who dedicate themselves to him. Some devotees vow to carry on their shoulders specially carved objects of wood for a determined number of weeks, never putting them down during that time. Others may go further, and insert knives or long pins into their bodies for extended periods. Another son of Shiva and Parvati is Ganesh, or Ganapati, the Lord of the Ganas the hosts of Shiva , who has a male human's body with four arms and the head of an elephant.
One myth claims that he originated directly from Parvati's body and entered into a quarrel with Shiva, who cut off his human head and replaced it later with the head of the first animal he found, which happened to be an elephant.
For most worshipers, Ganesh is the first deity invoked during any ceremony because he is the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles. People worship Ganesh when beginning anything, for example, at the start of a trip or the first day of the new school year.
He is often pictured next to his mount, the rat, symbol of the ability to get in anywhere. Ganesh is therefore a clever figure, a trickster in many stories, who presents a benevolent and friendly image to those worshipers who placate him. His image is perhaps the most widespread and public in India, visible in streets and transportation terminals everywhere.
The antics of Ganesh and Karttikeya and the interactions of Shiva and Parvati have generated a series of entertaining myths of Shiva as a henpecked husband, who would prefer to keep meditating but instead is drawn into family problems, providing a series of morality tales in households throughout India. Shiva is also known as Nataraj, the Lord of Dancers. He is often called the Lord of Dance. The rhythm of dance is a metaphor for the balance in the universe which Shiva is believed to hold so masterfully.
His most important dance is the Tandav. This is the cosmic dance of death, which he performs at the end of an age, to destroy the universe. The image of Shiva as Nataraj is indelibly stitched into the Indian imagination. No doubt the root idea behind all of these dances is more or less one and the same, the manifestation of primal rhythmic energy. Though there are minor variations, the characteristic features of Nataraj are as follows: he is shown with four hands, two on either side.
The upper left hand holds a flame, the lower left hand points down to the demon Muyalaka, who is shown holding a cobra. The demon is being crushed by Shiva's right foot; the other foot is raised. The upper right hand holds a drum, the lower one is in the abhaymudra, 'be without fear'. Shiva's hair is braided and jewelled, but some of his locks whirl as he dances; within the folds of his hair are a wreathing cobra, a skull, and the figure of Ganga. The entire figure stands on a lotus pedestal and is fringed by a circle of flames, which are touched by the hands holding the drum and the fire.
The symbolic significance of every aspect of the representation of Shiva is furnished by many texts, such as the Chidambara Mummani Kovai: "O my Lord, Thy hand holding the sacred drum has made and ordered the heavens and earth and other worlds and innumerable souls. Thy lifted hand protects both the conscious and unconscious order of thy creation. All these worlds are transformed by Thy hand bearing fire.
Thy sacred foot, planted on the ground, gives an abode to the tired soul struggling in the toils of causality. It is Thy lifted foot that grants eternal bliss to those that approach Thee.
These Five-Actions are indeed Thy Handiwork. One day, the father of the goddess Sati decided to hold a prayer ceremony. At this prayer ceremony, all the gods would be invited and offerings would be made to them. But Shiva had married Sati against the wishes of her father and he was not invited.
Sati was deeply offended on behalf of her husband. In anger, Sati prayed intensely and jumped into the sacred fire that was burning on the day of the ceremony. During this time, Shiva had been in the midst of deep meditation. But when Sati jumped into the fire, he awoke in great anger, realising what his wife had done. The whole universe was about to be destroyed before it was time. The gods who were present at the prayer ceremony were very concerned. In order to pacify him, they scattered the ashes of Sati over him.
This did the trick. He calmed down and did not complete the dance. But he went into meditation for many years, deeply upset over the death of his wife, ignoring all his godly duties. Through her love and patience, she taught him about family life and the importance of moderation. How are the three forms of god in the trimurti related to Brahman, the Ultimate Reality? They represent three important aspects of Brahman the Divine One, or God. Hindu gods — the trimurti Three of the most significant forms of Brahman are Brahma , Shiva and Vishnu.
The three forms of God that make up the Hindu trimurti are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. Worship of the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult for embodied beings. Bhagavad Gita How would his creations survive if there was no earth?
He therefore requested Vishnu to bring up the earth from under the water. There are many Hindu scriptures that tell creation stories. This short extract narrates the making of the universe and shows that two of the trimurti gods played cooperative parts.
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