All About Gods

SHIVA is a major Hindu god and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God.Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Saiva).Shaivism, along with Vaisnava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Sakta traditions that focus on the goddess Devi are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.

Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.In some Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.

Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra, and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in a number of Hindu traditions. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.
Some related terms used and seen with lord shiva are:

SHIVA is belived to have certain powers that does not resembles with any other god in hinduism and is believed to be teriffic when he uses his third eye and blue throat.

Third eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kama) to ashes. There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva’s name Tryambakam, which occurs in many scriptural sources. The third eye when opened is believed to have a great disasters and developes an anger in lord shiva.

Blue throat: Shiva due to his blue throat is popularly also known as neel kanth. The epithet Nilakantha  refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean. The Hari Vansa Purana, on the other hand, attributes the colour of Shiva’s throat to an episode in which Vishnu compels Shiva to fly after taking him by the throat and nearly strangling him.

Crescent moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon. The epithet Chandrasekhara ( chandra = “moon”, sekhara = “crest, crown”) refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva. The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly emplored, and in later literature, Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the moon.

Sacred Ganga: The Ganga river flows from the matted hair of Shiva.The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva’s hair.

Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.

Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.

Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula): Shiva’s particular weapon is the trident.
Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru . This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ?amaru-hasta (Sanskrit for “?amaru-hand”) is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kapalika sect.

Nandi: Nandi, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva’s mount or vahna. Shiva’s association with cattle is reflected in his name Pasupati, or Pashupati, translated by Sharma as “lord of cattle” and by Kramrisch as “lord of animals”, who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.

Attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the Boothaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. They are often invoked to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva.

Mount Kailasa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailasa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.

Varanasi: Varanasi (Benares) is considered as the city specially loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.