Lord Shiva Unplugged

Of all the Hindu Gods none appealed to the emotions of a Hindu mind as much as Lord Shiva, the dweller of the mountains and the bearer of the trident, who with His third eye symbolizes the all knowing awareness of the very Brahman.

Although universally acknowledged as one of the trinity gods of Hinduism, to His followers, He is Maheswara, representing the Trinity all by Himself, His different aspects manifesting themselves as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the worlds He creates. Symbolically He is worshiped as Lingeswara, which name stands more for His creative prowess than sexual.

Historians believe that He was a pre-Vedic god who was admitted into the Vedic Pantheon because of His immense popularity among many non-Aryan tribes. There is a theory that the seated yogi found on the seals of Indus Valley Civilization, was a prototype of Lord Shiva only. References to Him are found in the Rigveda.

In the Mahabharata we come across several references to Him. Both Arjuna and Krishna worshiped Him and obtained favors from Him. In the Ramayana too we come across several references to Him. Sage Valmiki depicted Ravana, the demon king and chief villain of the epic, as a great devotee and daily worshipper of Lord Shiva. It is believed that worship of His icons was widely prevalent as early as 2nd or 3rd Century B.C.

With the popularity of Saivism a great deal of literature grew around Him, which came to be recognized as Agama literature. So great was His popularity and fame that Agama literature was placed on equal footing to even the Vedas by His followers.

In the Svetavatara Upanishad He was elevated to the status of Brahman, by the sage who composed it, after he had a vision of Lord Shiva as the Absolute and Supreme Brahman. Saivism as a popular movement took shape mainly in South India because of the patronage of the Pallavas and the dedicated work of many great Tamil Saints, who built enormous bhakti or devotional literature in His honor and made His name a household name.

Megasthanese mentioned the worship of Siva in his book Indika. So did Patanjali, the composer of Yoga Sutras. A great devotee of Siva named Lakulisa lived some time during the early or pre Christian era and founded the Pasupatha sect, making in the process, Saivism a very popular movement in the sub-continent. Two great rulers of ancient India, Kanishka and Harshavardhana were His great followers. In the south the Cholas built many temples in His honor.

He is known by many names and tittles. As a god of anger, He is Rudra, the Red One, feared by one and all. As Kailasapathi, He is the Lord of Kailash, His Abode in the Himalayas. As Purusha, He is Iswara Himself. As the Lord of the beings, He is known as Pasupathinath. As the husband of Uma, the Mother Goddess, He is known as Umapathi or Parvathipathi.

As the bearer of the sacred river Ganges, He is known as Ganagadhar. Because of His matted hair, He is dearly called as Jatadhari, by His ascetic followers. As a perfect being He is Siddheshwar. With His Trident in His hands, He became popular as heroic and fearless Trisuladhari. As the world teacher, He was eulogized as Dakhshinamurthi by Adi Shankara in his famous book, "Hymns to Dakhshinamurthi".

To the connoisseurs of art , He is well known as Nararaja, master of all dance forms. As the perfect Yogi, He is credited with the source of all knowledge concerning the various yogas. Such was His prowess and divinity, that Lord Vishnu in His incarnations as Rama and Krishna, worshipped Him with great reverence. He was dearer not only to gods but also to demons.

Many demons like Ravana and Bhasmasur were His ardent followers, to whom He gave several boons out of His unbound love and in the process invited great trouble for Himself and for others. Ever willing to help those who are in distress, He saved the worlds and all the gods by partaking Halahal during the churning of the oceans.

It is interesting to note that while He is worshipped as a Sex-God by Tantrics, He is also known for destroying the physical form of Cupid with His third eye when the latter tried to disturb Him during His meditation. Men and women love Him alike for his unsurpassed qualities of love and generosity. Even today many young and unmarried girls in rural India worship Him and pray to Him seeking a devoted husband like Him.

Because of His close association with Vishnu, He is also known as Hari Har. Combining in Himself both the male and female aspects of creation, He earned the popular name of Ardhanariswara. As rider of the Bull Nandi, He is known to the world as Nandiswara. Loved by His children Ganesha and Skanda, and followed by His dutiful wife Parvathi, He became a symbol of ideal householder to His devotees despite of His well known image as an introvert and an ideal ascetic.

Although known as the most auspicious Being (Sivam), and white in color in contrast to Lord Vishnu who is darker, He has a darker side too. He has been the object of worship by many schools of tantra, some of whom follow sexual cults and other the negative paths in search of self-realization.

The fact that a great mass of heterogeneous cults and practices came to be associated with Him, suggests that in His unlimited wisdom and boundless love as a World Teacher and Father of all, Lord Shiva, gives immense freedom to His followers to chose whatever path they want to follow for their self-realization.

To the followers of Vira Saiva cult, He is Vira Bhadra, valor personified. In His terrific forms, He is worshipped as Bhairavamurthy, Pataleswar and so on. He has many temples built all over India and in many other places in the world. He has shrines in almost every village, on the banks of every river and even in remote hilly areas of India.

His names are endless. So does His popularity. Even as early as the 2nd Century A.D., His fame spread beyond the boundaries of the Indian Subcontinent and spread to Central Asia. As the Hindu culture spread to far east, temples were built in His Honor in many places like Java, Champa ( Indo-China), Kambhoja ( present day Cambodia) and in the adjoining areas of the now south east Asian countries. Some of these temples were built there as early as 5th Century A.D.

Symbols of Lord Shiva

Matted Hair

The matted hair represents Lord Shiva’s connection with the wind and Brahma's "breath of life". Lord Shiva is also the master of yoga, and the three matted locks on His head signify the ideal of yoga that involves the integration of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life.

Unclad Body and Ash

The unclad body symbolizes the transcendental aspect of Lord Shiva. It is also believed in Hinduism that ultimately all creation is destroyed by fire and becomes ash, only to be renewed again in a new cycle. The ash smeared on Lord Shiva’s body signifies that He transcends physical phenomena and is not affected by it.

Third Eye

Lord Shiva is also known as Tryambaka Deva, which literally means ‘three-eyed Lord,’ and is often depicted as having three eyes. His right and left eyes are the sun and moon respectively, while His third eye is the eye of wisdom. As His right and left eyes represent His activities in the physical world, the third eye in the middle of His forehead symbolizes spiritual wisdom and power, seeing beyond the apparent and also destroying evil and evil-doers.

Ganga

Ganga, or the river Ganges, is the most sacred river in India and represents the causal waters from which the earth arises. The holy water of the Ganges also signifies the essential element of ritual purification. By holding the Ganges in his matted hair, Lord Shiva allowed the holy river to traverse the earth and bring its purifying water to humans.

Crescent Moon

Often depicted on Lord Shiva’s head is a crescent moon, representing the cyclical nature of the universe. The waxing and waning of the moon symbolizes the cycle through which creation evolves. Furthermore, since Lord Shiva is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time and the cycle of creation.

Snake

Lord Shiva is often shown with a snake curled three times around His neck. The three coils of the snake represent the cycle of time – the past, present and future. The snake around Lord Shiva’s neck symbolizes his transcendence over the cycles of creation and time.

Trident

The three-pronged trident known as the Trishul shown with Lord Shiva symbolizes His three fundamental powers, or shakti, of iccha, kriya, and jnana (will, action and knowledge). The trident also represents Lord Shiva’s power to destroy evil and ignorance.

Tiger Skin

Lord Shiva is shown sitting on or wearing a tiger skin. The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power and force, and since Lord Shiva is the master of Shakti, He is beyond and above any kind of force. The tiger skin that Lord Shiva wears symbolizes His victory over every force. The tiger also represent lust, and Lord Shiva indicates, by sitting on the tiger skin, that he has conquered lust.