Description of Lord Shiva

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

 

I found a very nice description of Lord Shiva. Not sure about the

source of this. Can anyone clarify if this is correct?

 

Rgds,

Nilesh

 

About Lord Shiva

 

Lord Shiva represents the aspect of the Supreme Being

(Brahman of the Upanishads) that continuously

dissolves to recreate in the cyclic process of

creation, preservation, dissolution and recreation of

the universe. Lord Shiva is the third member of the

Hindu Trinity, the other two being Lord Brahma and

Lord Vishnu. Owing to His cosmic activity of

dissolution and recreation, the words destroyer and

destruction have been erroneously associated with Lord

Shiva. This difficulty arises when people fail to

grasp the true significance of His cosmic role. The

creation sustains itself by a delicate balance between

the opposing forces of good and evil. When this

balance is disturbed and sustenance of life becomes

impossible, Lord Shiva dissolves the universe for

creation of the next cycle so that the unliberated

souls will have another opportunity to liberate

themselves from bondage with the physical world. Thus,

Lord Shiva protects the souls from pain and suffering

that would be caused by a dysfunctional universe. In

analogous cyclic processes, winter is essential for

spring to appear and the night is necessary for the

morning to follow. To further illustrate, a goldsmith

does not destroy gold when he melts old irreparable

golden jewellery to create beautiful new ornaments.

 

Lord Shiva is the Lord of mercy and compassion. He

protects devotees from evil forces such as lust,

greed, and anger. He grants boons, bestows grace and

awakens wisdom in His devotees. The symbolism

discussed below includes major symbols that are common

to all pictures and images of Shiva venerated by

Hindus. Since the tasks of Lord Shiva are numerous, He

cannot be symbolized in one form. For this reason the

images of Shiva vary significantly in their symbolism.

The unclad body covered with ashes: the unclad body

symbolizes the transcendental aspect of the Lord.

Since most things reduce to ashes when burned, ashes

symbolize the physical universe. The ashes on the

unclad body of the Lord signify that Shiva is the

source of the entire universe which emanates from Him,

but He transcends the physical phenomena and is not

affected by it.

 

The unclad body covered with ashes: the unclad body

symbolizes the transcendental aspect of the Lord.

Since most things reduce to ashes when burned, ashes

symbolize the physical universe. The ashes on the

unclad body of the Lord signify that Shiva is the

source of the entire universe which emanates from Him,

but He transcends the physical phenomena and is not

affected by it.

 

Matted locks: Lord Shiva is the Master of yoga. The

three matted locks on the head of the Lord convey the

idea that integration of the physical, mental and

spiritual energies is the ideal of yoga.

 

Ganga: Ganga (river Ganges) is associated with Hindu

mythology and is the most sacred river of Hindus.

According to tradition, one who bathes in Ganga

(revered as Mother Ganga) in accordance with

traditional rites and ceremonies on religious

occasions in combination with certain astrological

events, is freed from sin and attains knowledge,

purity and peace. Ganga, symbolically represented on

the head of the Lord by a female (Mother Ganga) with a

jet of water emanating from her mouth and falling on

the ground, signifies that the Lord destroys sin,

removes ignorance, and bestows knowledge, purity and

peace on the devotees.

 

The crescent moon: is shown on the side of the Lord's

head as an ornament, and not as an integral part of

His countenance. The waxing and waning phenomenon of

the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which

creation evolves from the beginning to the end. Since

the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time.

Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His ornaments,

and not an integral part of Him.

 

Three eyes: Lord Shiva, also called Tryambaka Deva

(literally, "three-eyed Lord"), is depicted as having

three eyes: the sun is His right eye, the moon the

left eye and fire the third eye. The two eyes on the

right and left indicate His activity in the physical

world. The third eye in the center of the forehead

symbolizes spiritual knowledge and power, and is thus

called the eye of wisdom or knowledge. Like fire, the

powerful gaze of Shiva's third eye annihilates evil,

and thus the evil-doers fear His third eye.

 

Half-open eyes: when the Lord opens His eyes, a new

cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the

universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The

half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going

through cyclic process,

 

with no beginning and no end. Lord Shiva is the Master

of Yoga, as He uses His yogic power to project the

universe from Himself. The half-open eyes also

symbolize His yogic posture.

 

Kundalas (two ear rings): two Kundalas, Alakshya

(meaning "which cannot be shown by any sign") and

Niranjan(meaning "which cannot be seen by mortal

eyes") in the ears of the Lord signify that He is

beyond ordinary perception Since the kundala in the

left ear of the Lord is of the type used by women and

the one in His right ear is of the type used by men,

these Kundalas also symbolize the Shiva and Shakti

(male and female) principle of creation

 

Snake around the neck: sages have used snakes to

symbolize the yogic power of Lord Shiva with which He

dissolves and recreates the universe. Like a yogi, a

snake hoards nothing, carries nothing, builds nothing,

lives on air alone for a long time, and lives in

mountains and forests. The venom of a snake,

therefore, symbolizes the yogic power

 

A snake (Vasuki Naga): is shown curled three times

around the neck of the Lord and is looking towards His

right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the

past, present and future - time in cycles. The Lord

wearing the curled snake like an ornament signifies

that creation proceeds in cycles and is time

dependent, but the Lord Himself transcends time. The

right side of the body symbolizes the human activities

based upon knowledge, reason and logic. The snake

looking towards the right side of the Lord signifies

that the Lord's eternal laws of reason and justice

preserve natural order in the universe.

 

Rudraksha necklace: Rudra is another name of Shiva.

Rudra also means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha

means "eye." Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord

illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly -

without compromise - to maintain law and order in the

universe. The necklace has 108 beads which symbolize

the elements used in the creation of the world.

 

Varda Mudra: the Lord's right hand is shown in a boon-

bestowing and blessing pose. As stated earlier, Lord

Shiva annihilates evil, grants boons, bestows grace,

destroys ignorance, and awakens wisdom in His

devotees.

 

Trident (Trisula): a three-pronged trident shown

adjacent to the Lord symbolizes His three fundamental

powers (shakti) of will (iccha), action (kriya) and

knowledge (jnana). The trident also symbolizes the

Lord's power to destroy evil and ignorance.

 

Damaru (drum): a small drum with two sides separated

from each other by a thin neck-like structure

symbolizes the two utterly dissimilar states of

existence, unmanifest and manifest. When a damaru is

vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are

fused together by resonance to create one sound. The

sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound

of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation.

According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is the source of

creation.

 

Kamandalu: a water pot (Kamandalu) made from a dry

pumpkin contains nectar and is shown on the ground

next to Shiva. The process of making Kamandalu has

deep spiritual significance. A ripe pumpkin is plucked

from a plant, its fruit is removed and the shell is

cleaned for containing the nectar. In the same way, an

individual must break away from attachment to the

physical world and clean his inner self of egoistic

desires in order to experience the bliss of the Self,

symbolized by the nectar in the Kamandalu.

 

Nandi: the bull is associated with Shiva and is said

to be His vehicle. The bull symbolizes both power and

ignorance. Lord Shiva's use of the bull as a vehicle

conveys the idea that He removes ignorance and bestows

power of wisdom on His devotees. The bull is called

Vrisha in Sanskrit. Vrisha also means dharma

(righteousness). Thus a bull shown next to Shiva also

indicates that He is the etemal companion of

righteousness.

 

Tiger skin: a tiger skin symbolizes potential energy.

Lord Shiva, sitting on or wearing a tiger skin,

illustrates the idea that He is the source of the

creative energy that remains in potential form during

the dissolution state of the universe. Of His own

Divine Will, the Lord activates the potential form of

the creative energy to project the universe in endless

cycles.

 

Cremation ground: Shiva sitting in the cremation

ground signifies that He is the controller of death in

the physical world. Since birth and death are cyclic,

controlling one implies controlling the other. Thus,

Lord Shiva is revered as the ultimate controller of

birth and death in the phenomenal world.