Shiva who is

Therefore, those who have Shani Dosha worship Lord Shiva. This form of Lord Shiva was born to Sage Shilada. The sage performed intense penance to seek Lord Shiva's blessings and asked for a child who would remain immortal. Therefore, pleased by Sage's devotion, Lord Shiva took birth as Nandi, who then became the gate-keeper of Kailasha Lord Shiva's heavenly abode and the mount of the Lord.

The Veerabhadra avatar of Lord Shiva is one of his fiercest forms. Lord Shiva incarnated as Veerabhadra after his wife Sati's death. The Bhairava Avatar also is one of the fiercest avatars of Lord Shiva. Referred to as Dandapani, the Bhairava Avatar punishes those who are greedy, lustful and arrogant.

These negative traits often lead to one's downfall, and hence the purpose of the Bhairava avatar. Ashwatthama Avatar. Guru Dronacharya had performed intense penance to please Lord Shiva. He wanted the Lord to be born as his son. Therefore, pleased by Guru Dronacharya's devotion, Lord Shiva took birth as Ashwatthama, an able warrior who played a pivotal role in the Mahabharata.

Sharabha avatar. This form of Lord Shiva appeared to calm Lord Narasimha after the latter killed demon Hiranyakashipu. The Sharabha avatar is one of its kind.

The Lord appeared as a being that partly looked like a lion and bird. In some texts, the Sharabha avatar is said to have eight legs. The Grihapati avatar of Lord Shiva was born to a sage named Vishwanar and his wife, who lived on the Narmada banks.

The sage's consort wanted Lord Shiva to be born as her son. Therefore, the sage performed intense penance in Kashi. A few days later, pleased by Vishwanar's devotion, Lord Shiva was born as Grihapati to the sage and his wife. He was known for being short-tempered and commanded respect both from the humans as well as the Devas.

As per a legend associated with this avatar, Lord Shiva appeared as a bull to kill the sons born to Lord Vishnu and the Patala Loka women. Lord Vishnu's sons caused destruction, and hence at Lord Brahma's behest, Lord Shiva appeared as Rishabha to save creation. Yatinath Avatar. The Yatinath avatar of Lord Shiva appeared to test a tribal couple, who were known for their hospitality.

The tribal man named Aahuk lost his life while safeguarding his guest, Yatinath. Instead of mourning, his wife took pride in him for giving away his life for the sake of a guest.

Pleased by the couple's devotion, Lord Shiva blessed them by saying that they would be born as Nala and Damayanti in their next birth. Shiva saw no sense in the transitory pleasures of life, so he rejected samsara, smeared his body with ash, closed his eyes and performed austerities. Shiva's tapas generated so much heat that his body transformed into a pillar of fire - a blazing lingam that threatened to destroy the whole world.

The gods did not know how to control Shiva's fire. Suddenly there appeared a yoni - the divine vessel of the mother-goddess. It caught the fiery lingam and contained its heat, thus saving the cosmos from untimely destruction. Shiva is often pictured in a pacific mood with his consort Parvati, as the cosmic dancer Nataraja, as a naked ascetic, as a mendicant beggar, as a yogi Dhakshinamurthy, and as the androgynous union of Shiva and Parvati in one body Ardhanarisvara.

Shiva also takes the form of Ardhanari, his androgynous form. The right side of the sculpture is Shiva and the left side is Parvati. The attributes of each are split directly down the middle. Another example of Shiva's apparent synthesis of male and female attributes is seen in his earrings. He often wears one earring in the style of a man and the other as a female. Shiva is commonly depicted with a third eye.

The third eye is a symbol of higher consciousness. It is also something with which he can destroy his enemies "with fire. Shiva's third eye first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, therefore plunging the world into darkness and putting it in danger of destruction. This discount will be extended to our Canadian customers as well! The story becomes less certain at this point, but it is believed that Shiva started the cosmic dance of death.

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. It was not until Sati was reborn as Parvati that Shiva finally came out of meditation. Through her love and patience, she taught him about family life and the importance of moderation. Shiva and Parvati are held up as the perfect example of marital bliss by many Hindus, and one is rarely depicted without the other. Search term:.

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Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Shiva Last updated On this page Find out more Page options Print this page. Who is Shiva? Hindus who worship Shiva as their primary god are members of the Shaivism sect.

What does Shiva look like? Shiva is represented with the following features: 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.

A cobra necklace This signifies Shiva's power over the most dangerous creatures in the world. Some traditions also say that the snake represents Shiva's power of destruction and recreation.