Cool, chic (Shiva wears a dreadlock), fun, unpredictable
(unlike most Gods), and extremely popular with the young and the old alike,
Lord Shiva deals with the cosmos, meditates most of the time, likes to mind his
own business, has a crazy mix of anger and calm, and is someone whose stories
have managed to appeal to every generation of people.
Here are some fun stories and interesting facts about him
Hanuman, son of Anjana
and Kesari, is actually an avatar of Lord Shiva
It is believed that Hanuman is the eleventh avatar of
Lord Shiva. Several texts present him as an incarnation of the god Shiva. Known
for his devotion to Lord Rama, the son of Anjana and Kesari, blessed by the
Hindu God of wind, Vayu, Hanuman is celebrated for his devotion to Lord Rama.
Ravana, the primary
antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana, was one of the greatest devotees of Lord
Shiva
It is said, when Ravana tried to uproot Mount Kailash
Even Kamadeva, the Hindu
God of love and Cupid's equivalent, could not distract Shiva successfully with
his tricks. He had to face the consequence when he tried to
When Devas were waging a war against Tarakasur, they
needed Shiva's help but Shiva was busy meditating. So the Devas asked Kamadeva
to pierce Shiva with his love arrows. But Shiva, who was in deep meditation,
woke up in rage and burned Kamadeva down to ashes with his third
eye.
Lord Shiva's first wife
Sati killed herself because she was frustrated with her father who insulted
Shiva. Shiva took his revenge and how
As per mythology, Sati, and not Parvati, (as most of us
may not know), was the first wife of Shiva and was very fond of him. The
daughter of a priest, her father did not approve of the ways of Shiva. When
Sati's father decided to perform a sacrifice, he invited everyone except for
Shiva. This move to insult Shiva really bothered her and she killed herself in
the sacrifice. A furious Shiva killed her father in a rage.
The snake around Shiva's neck reinforces a sense of
stillness
The mountains, snow and the snake around Lord Shiva's neck
is a symbol representing his sense of calmness. Self-contained and content,
Shiva is a symbol of calm and peace.
Shiva's Trishul or Trident symbolizes the unity of
three worlds
The Trident or Trishul of Lord Shiva unites the three
worlds a human being is associated with - his inside world, the immediate world
around him and the broader world. The trident shows a harmony between the
three.
Ganja/Cannabis is
one of the primary offerings in Shiva's worship
On the auspicious day of Shivaratri, the Shaivites, a sect
of followers, consume Bhang (a beverage prepared from cannabis) and smoke weed. Popular among the followers, this is one hell
of an offering for a God!
Shiva takes the form of
Nataraja to suppress Apasmara - the symbol of ignorance
It is believed, the dwarf demon 'Apasmara', who
represented ignorance challenged Lord Shiva. It was then that Lord Shiva took
the form of Nataraja and performed the famous Tandava or the dance of
destruction, eventually crushing the arrogant Apasmara under his right foot.
Since Apasmara (ignorance) should not die to preserve the balance between
knowledge and ignorance, it is believed that Lord Shiva forever remains in his
Nataraja form suppressing Apasmara for eternity. His Nataraja avatar is a message that
ignorance can only be overcome by knowledge, music, and dance.
Ardhanarishwar is
Shiva's androgynous form
Often cited as an example of perfect marriage, Shiva
along with his consort Parvati is represented in the Ardhanarishwar form - which is a half male and half
female icon. It is believed that this androgynous form shows that the masculine
energy (Purusha) and feminine energy (Prakrithi) of the universe in a
synthesis.
Shiva accepted Nandi,
who was offered to Him by other Gods, as his doorkeeper and his vehicle
As the story goes, Surabhi, the mother of all cows
started giving birth to a lot of cows, and the cows started flooding Kailash
with their milk. Furious at this, Shiva used his third eye and destroyed many
of them. To calm him down, the Gods sought to offer Nandi the magnificent bull
to Lord Shiva.
In stories, Lord Shiva
is naked and sports an erect phallus
According to Devdutt Pattanaik, in Epified, Shiva is naked and sports an erect
phallus in almost all the stories. It is to save the public from discomfort
that he clothes himself in an animal hide. According to Pattanaik, Shiva being
content and disconnected from the outside world is aroused not by external
stimulation but by perpetual internal bliss.
The ash Shiva is
smeared with symbolizes permanence and destruction
Like we all know, Shiva is smeared with ash. It is a
symbol of destruction as well as permanence for it is created by burning things
but cannot be burnt itself. It is a symbol indicating the permanence of the
immortal soul, which is released when the matter is destroyed.
The three lines of
ash on his forehead refers to destruction of the three worlds
Shiva has three lines of ash smeared on his forehead in a
horizontal orientation. The lines represent the destruction of the three
worlds of Hinduism. It suggests inertia and lack of movement and refers to
the merging of the three worlds to become one with the self.
Shiva has a blue throat
because he drank Halahala poison during the churning of the milky ocean.
The Devas and Asuras started churning the milky ocean in order to
obtain Amrit. In the
process, they found a fatal poison - the Halahala poison, that had to be sucked
out of the ocean. Without thinking of the consequences, Shiva drank all the
poison and Parvati pressed his throat in order to stop the poison from
spreading to other parts of his body - which is the reason behind his blue
throat.
The story of the
infinite pillar of fire - when Brahma and Vishnu fought over who the real God
was, Shiva made it clear who it really was.
In a conflict between Brahma and Vishnu regarding who the real God
was, Shiva appeared as an infinite Linga fire-pillar. Determined to find
the ends of the pillar, Vishnu as Varaha tried to find the bottom of the Linga
while Brahma tried to find its top. Vishnu came back and admitted that the
pillar was endless. Brahma, however, lied about the pillar's limits and claimed
that he was the true God. Just then, the pillar broke open and Shiva appeared.
Accusing Brahma of lying and denying he is a God, he appreciated Vishnu for his
honesty and suggested that Vishnu was on his way to becoming a God - in the
process stating that he was the one true God. We see what you did there!
According to a Hindu
legend, Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity in the Amarnath Cave
It is believed,
this is the cave where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his
divine consort, Parvati. Every year, followers and devotees of Lord Shiva pay
their visit to the famous Amarnath cave. The cave also houses an ice
stalagmite Lingam.
Shiva was attracted to
Vishnu's female form, Mohini, as a result of which Ayyappa was born
In the Bhagavata Purana, after Vishnu deceived the demons
in his female form, Shiva wanted to see the bewildering Mohini again. When
Vishnu agreed and revealed his Mohini form, Shiva got lured by Mohini, while
the abandoned wife Parvati looked on. Shiva is overcome by Kama
(love and desire). His 'unfailing' seed escaped and fell on the ground. From
these seeds of Shiva, Ayyappa was born.
Shiva calmly trapped Ganga
back in his hair because of her arrogance. He let her out but in small streams
As it goes, Bhagiratha asked Brahma to bring the river Ganges down to earth so that he could perform a ceremony
for his ancestors. Brahma asked Bhagiratha to propitiate Lord Shiva, for only
Shiva could break Ganga 's landfall. Ganga arrogantly flew down to earth but Shiva calmly
trapped her back in his hair and let her out in small streams. It is said, the
touch of Shiva further sanctified Ganga .
Lord Shiva punished one
crore Gods and Goddesses for not waking up on time and turned them into stone
images
As per Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva was on his way to Kashi
along with one crore gods and goddesses. He asked all of them to wake up before
sunrise the following day, before taking a night's rest in Unakoti, Tripura.
But in the morning, no one except Shiva woke up. This made him furious and he
set out for Kashi on his own, cursing the others to become stone images.
