SHIV JI DESTROYER OF EVIL

Shiv Ji is associated with snakes (round his neck) an tiger skin (as his aasan). According to one legend, once Shiv Ji, accompanied by Vishnu Ji in the guise of a beautiful woman, appeared to subdue a group of hermits who were against religious orthodoxy. To counter this, the hermits uleased a fierce tiger and set it against Shiv Ji, who killed it and took its skin, to use it later as his aasan. Next, the hermits released a cobra to attack Shiv Ji, who tamed it also and placed it round his neck. Lastly, the hermits sent to a fierce dwarf to attack Shiv Ji, who put it under his feet and started performing a brilliant dance. After all this, the hermits acknowledged Shiv Ji as Pashupati, the master of animals. It may be noted that this also symbolises Shiv Ji’s control on animals instincts in humans.

ORIGIN

Sprang from the forehead of Braahma Ji,

ABODE

He is also omnipresent but his favoured place is Mount Kailas located in the Himalayas. Other places frequented  by him include Kashi and Triumbakeshwar located in Uttarachal and Maharashtra respectively. Shiv Ji is one among the holy trinity. He represents generation, destruction and regeneration. Origin of the practice of yog is credited to him.

SOME OTHER NAMES/EPITHET

Ardhnarishwar          Trinetra

Adinath                       Trinayana

Bhambhru                  Mrityunjaya

Bhima                         Tapakeshwsar

Bhairon                      Tribhunvan

Ekambereshwar       Mahadev

Gangadhar                 Neelkanth

Kailashpati                 Vishwanath

Ishan                            Natraj

Shankar                       Vaidyanath

Jatadhar                      Pashupati

Shambhu                     Yogiraj

Sarva                             Rudra

Sadashiv                      Yogeshwar

Mahesh                        Mahakal

TYPICAL DEPICTION

Sitting on a tiger skin, cobras around neck, long hair tied into a mop atop head, crescent on the mop of hair (acquired during samudra manthan), Ganga falling from above on to his head and then flowing down, holding trident, ash smeared all over his body, holding mendicant’s bowl. Accompanying him usually, are his wife Parvati Ji, son Ganesh Ji and his vehicle bull, named Nandi.

. A drum (damru) is also shown with him, either in his hand or affixed to his trident.

. A third eye on the forehead, which when opened, can destroy anything, even the whole universe.

. Represented as Shivling, symbolising his generative power.

SOME TEMPLES

. Chidambaram Temple (TN)

. 12 Jyotrilings said to be of divine origin (Somnath in Gujarat, Mahakaleshwar in MP, Omkareshwar at the confluence of river Narmada & Kaveri  in M.P, Kedarnath in Uttaranchal, Bhimashankar in Maharashtra, Kashi Vishvanath in Varansi U.P., Triumbakeshwar &Vaidyanath in Maharashtra, Naganath in Gujarat, Rameshwaram in TN and Ghrishneshwar in Maharashtra)

. Tapakeshwar Temple in Dehra Dun, Uttranchal

. Amarnath in Kashmir

RELATED FESTIVALS/CEREMONIES

SHIVRATRI IN THE MONTH OF Magh is in respect of Shiv Ji. It is based on a legend about a hunter who was sleeping on a tree when leaves kept falling below on a shivling, as the hunter kept adjusting his position. Shiv Ji was very pleased and bestowed the hunter with good luck. This legend gave rise to celebrate Shivratri, when throughout the night, worshippers keep showering leaves on Shiv Ji’s image.  Mondays are observed as day of fasting by Shiv Ji’s devotees to please him.

OTHER  INTERESTING INFORMATION

Ganga was brought from heaven by sage Bhagirath and as earth would not be able to bear the impact, it was received by Shiv Ji on his head and subsequently released to flow on earth.

During samudra manthan, ocean threw up poison, which could destroy all living beings. All the fods kept back except Shiv Ji who happily drank the poison to save others. While Shiv Ji was drinking this poison, Parvati Ji got alarmed in an effort to prevent harm to Shiv Ji, she tried to hold Shiv Ji’s  throat. As a result, poison got strck in Shiv Ji’s throat rendering a bluetinge. For this blue tinge in his neck, he is named Neelkanth.

As Natraj, he is said to have created the basis for dancing. To destroy the world at the end of each cosmic cycle, he performs a deadly dance called Tandav Nritya.

Shiv Ji cut off Brahma Ji’s one head in a quarrel. Feeling very bad about it, Shiv Ji retired to Kashi (Varanasi), Living as an ascetic and surviving on alms. Parvati Ji as Annapurna, followed him there so that he gets food properly. This great service of Parvati Ji so impressed Shiv Ji that out of love, he hugged Paravti Ji so intensely that both of them got merged, giving rise to the form of Ardhnarishwar, half man half woman.

. Shiv Ji is associated with the phrase, Satyam Shivam Sundaram meaning truth, supremacy and beauty. Literally, in Sanskrit, Shiv means good and auspicious.

. Marriage between Shiv Ji and sati can be called the first love marriage in this world.

After the death of his first wife sati, Shiv Ji was very annoyed and kept travelling all over the world with the dead body of Sati. To bring normalcy, Vishnu Ji used his Sudershan Chakra to cut off the body of Sati in order to disperse it. These cut off limbs fell at defferent places which Shaktipiths. Shiv Ji is understood to guard each of these spots in the form of Bhairav.

. 6 of the 18 Puraans are addressed to Shiv Ji