Lord Siva

Om Namassivaya namah......http://dharma.hindujagran.com/gods.htm
Lord Shiva

. When the religiosity has fallen to such low standards in the world, that
it is no longer worth living, He destroys it in order to enable a new creation
filled with 'dharma'. He is also known as "Nataraj" - Lord of the Dance - who
dances the world into and out of existence.

The Lord's attributes represent his victory over the demonic activity, and
calmness of human nature. As is seen in other places in Hindu religion, Shiva
shows the union of opposite principles which make him a representation of the
totality of life. He is at the same time -- the Creator and Destroyer; ascetic
and erotic ; life denying and life affirming; spiritual and material.


Lord Shiva has matted hair that holds the flowing Ganga river and a
crescent Moon ; a cobra snake coiled round his neck, a Trishul (trident) and
Tiger skin cloth and ashes all over his body. Shiva-Linga, a sign of the Lord is
adored instead of him and Shiva temples have ShivaLinga as the main deity. In
ShivaLinga, God is sought to be represented as having form as well as without
form; Saguna as well as Nirguna.


The symbolic significance of Shiva's body :

a.. His arms: In one of his upper arms, Siva holds the kettle drum (damroo)
whose sound symbolizes creative energy. The other upper arm holds the fire pot
of destruction. The lower right hand shows abhaya (Do not fear) mudra . The
lower left hand points to the Lord's lifted foot saying "Your salvation lies in
worshipping my feet !"
b.. At the base of the crown of hair on Siva's head is a skull - this is
symbolic of Siva's destroying energy.
c.. River Ganga on his head denotes fertility.
d.. The crescent moon on his head ( Siva is Chandrasekhara) signifies Siva's
grace and also Time.
e.. The cobra on his head indicates Kundalinishakti at Sahasrara-chakra
f.. His third eye stands for omniscience or wisdom.
g.. On his right ear, Siva wears makara-kundala, signifying the male principle
and on the left, the tatanka (being Ardhanarisa) denoting the female principles.
h.. His necklace of skulls of Brahma, Vishnu and others proclaim that he is
the arbiter of numberless creations and destructions
i.. The ashes smeared all over his body are symbolic of purity. It reminds us
that in the love of transient Samsara we should not lose sight of the God. The
body will end up in ashes.
j.. Beads of Rudraksh he wears represent the solidified tears of pity Shiva
sheds at the woes of his bhaktas.
k.. He wears the Upavita or the sacred thread consisting of 96 strands
representing the 96 tatvas , this represents that he is the arbiter of all
actions.
l.. The Tiger skin he wears on his loins tells us that we must strip ourselves
of ahankara or pride which is equated to the tiger.
To sum up, Lord Narayan expands Himself as Lord Vishnu, whose mind-born
son is Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma later gave birth to Lord Siva (Rudra). Hence,
the god is one - Narayan.

Lord Vishnu's most celebrated incarnations are Rama and Krishna.
That is why, in India, Rama and Krishna are the most worshipped entities,
people are not worshipping multiple Gods, but different forms and expansions of
the same God.
The Triad are always working in continuity: Brahma creates a new universe,
Vishnu maintains it, and then, Siva destroys it, and the cycle starts all over
again.



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