शिव
Shiva
Mahadeva · The Auspicious One
“The silent yogi of Kailasa who dissolves the old so the new can be born.”
Shiva is the Transformer/Destroyer in the Trimurti, responsible for the dissolution of the universe so it can be recreated. He is also the supreme yogi, meditating eternally on Mount Kailasa. Shiva represents both the ascetic and the householder — the ultimate paradox of Hindu philosophy.
- Vahana
- Nandi (bull)
- Consort
- Parvati
- Abode
- Mount Kailasa
- Tradition
- Shaiva
Devi's Insight · What few people know
Namah Shivaya is a Vedic mantra
Many think the five-syllable mantra “Namah Shivaya” is a later devotional chant. It actually appears in the Sri Rudram, one of the oldest Vedic litanies, where Rudra is saluted as “Shiva” and “Shivatara”, the auspicious one and the most auspicious. The fierce Vedic Rudra and the gentle Shiva are praised in the same breath.
Source: Krishna Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Samhita 4.5 (Sri Rudram)
Iconography
Reading the sacred form
- 1
Third eye: wisdom and destruction of evil.
- 2
Crescent moon: mastery over time.
- 3
Ganga flowing from matted locks: purification.
- 4
Snake around neck (Vasuki): mastery over fear and death.
- 5
Trident (Trishul): three gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas) or three aspects (creation, preservation, destruction).
- 6
Damaru (drum): the rhythm of creation.
- 7
Tiger skin: conquest over animal nature.
- 8
Blue throat (Neelakantha): from swallowing poison during Samudra Manthan to save the universe.
- 9
Nandi (bull): dharma, strength, devotion.
- 10
Consort: Parvati/Shakti.
From the scriptures
Did you know?
He became Neelakantha, the blue-throated one, by holding the Halahala poison from the churning of the ocean in his throat.
— Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 8
He caught the descending Ganga in his matted locks so her force would not shatter the earth.
— Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda
Maha Shivaratri honours the night he manifested as the endless pillar of light.
— Shiva Purana
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