Shiva (/ˈʃɪvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, lit.

'The Auspicious One', IAST: Śiva [ɕɪʋɐ]), also known

as Mahadeva (/məˈhɑːˈdeɪvə/; Sanskrit: महादेव:, romanized: Mahādevaḥ, lit. 'The Great
God' [mɐɦaːd̪ eːʋɐh]),[9][10][11] is one of the principal deities of Hinduism.[12] He is
the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. [13]

Shiva

God of Destruction

God of Time
 Lord of Yogis
 The Cosmic Dancer
 Patron of Yoga, Meditation and Arts
 Master of Poison and Medicine
The Supreme Being (Shaivism)[1]

Member of Trimurti

Shiva holding Trishula and Damaru

Other names  Shankara

 Bholenath
 Maheshvara
 Mahadeva
 Shambhu
 Affiliation  Trimurti
 Ishvara
 Parabrahman
 Paramatman (Shaivism)

Abode  Mount Kailash[2]

 Cremation Grounds

Mantra  Om Namah Shivaya

 Mahamrityunjaya Mantra

Weapon  Trishula
 Pashupatastra
 Parashu
 Pinaka bow[3]

Symbols  Lingam[3]
 Crescent Moon
 Tripundra
 Damaru
 Vasuki
 Third eye

Day  Monday
 Thrayodashi

Mount Nandi[4]

Festivals  Maha Shivaratri

 Shravana
 Kartik Purnima
 Pradosha
 Teej
 Bhairava Ashtami[5]

Personal information

Consort Parvati/Sati[note 1]

Children 
o Kartikeya (son)[6]
o Ganesha (son)[7]
Shiva is known as The Destroyer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also
includes Brahma and Vishnu.[2][14] In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord
who creates, protects and transforms the universe. [9][10][11] In the goddess-
oriented Shaktatradition, the Supreme Goddess (Devi) is regarded as the energy and
creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. [15][16] Shiva is
one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of
Hinduism.[17]
Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is
depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash[2] as well as a
householder with his wife Parvatiand his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. In his
fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi
(the first Yogi), regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation and the arts.[18]
The iconographical attributes of Shiva are the serpent king Vasuki around his neck,
the adorning crescentmoon, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair,
the third eye on his forehead (the eye that turns everything in front of it into ashes
when opened), the trishula or trident as his weapon, and the damaru. He is usually
worshipped in the aniconic form of lingam.[3]
Shiva has pre-Vedic roots,[19] and the figure of Shiva evolved as an amalgamation of
various older non-Vedic and Vedic deities, including the Rigvedic storm
god Rudra who may also have non-Vedic origins,[20]into a single major deity.[21] Shiva
is a pan-Hindu deity, revered widely by Hindus in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka and Indonesia (especially in Java and Bali).[22]
According to Monier Monier-Williams, the Sanskrit word "śiva" (Devanagari: शिव, also
transliterated as shiva) means "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind,
benevolent, friendly".[23] The root words of śiva in folk etymology are śī which means
"in whom all things lie, pervasiveness" and va which means "embodiment of grace".
[23][24]
The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda (c. 1700–1100 BCE), as an
epithet for several Rigvedic deities, including Rudra.[25] The term Shiva also connotes
"liberation, final emancipation" and "the auspicious one"; this adjectival usage is
addressed to many deities in Vedic literature. [23][26] The term evolved from the
Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shivain the Epics and the Puranas, as an auspicious
deity who is the "creator, reproducer and dissolver". [23][27]
Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskritroot śarv-, which means "to
injure" or "to kill",[28]interpreting the name to connote "one who can kill the forces of
darkness".[29]
The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the
Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of
that sect.[30] It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices,
such as Shaivism.[31]
Some authors associate the name with the Tamil wordśivappu meaning "red", noting
that Shiva is linked to the Sun (śivan, "the Red one", in Tamil) and that Rudra is also
called Babhru (brown, or red) in the Rigveda.[32][33] The Vishnu
sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", and "the
One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)".[34]
Shiva is known by many names such as Viswanatha (lord of the universe), Mahadeva,
Mahandeo,[35]Mahasu,[36] Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara,
Trilochana, Devendra (chief of the gods), Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha (lord
of the three realms),[37][38][39] and Ghrneshwar (lord of compassion). [40] The highest
reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great
god"; mahā "Great" and deva "god"),[41][42]Maheśvara ("Great Lord"; mahā "great"
and īśvara"lord"),[43][44] and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").[45]
Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from
aspects and epithets of a deity.[46] There are at least eight different versions of
the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva.[47] The
version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharataprovides one
such list.[a] Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in
the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a
devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names. [48][49]

Assimilation of traditions
See also: Roots of Hinduism
The Shiva-related tradition is a major part of Hinduism, found all over the Indian
subcontinent, such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,[50] and Southeast Asia, such as Bali,
Indonesia.[51] Shiva has pre-Vedic tribal roots,[19]having "his origins in primitive tribes,
signs and symbols."[52] The figure of Shiva as he is known today is an amalgamation
of various older deities into a single figure, due to the process of Sanskritization and
the emergence of the Hindu synthesis in post-Vedic times.[53] How the persona of
Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented, a challenge to trace
and has attracted much speculation.[54]According to Vijay Nath:
Vishnu and Siva [...] began to absorb countless local cults and deities within their
folds. The latter were either taken to represent the multiple facets of the same god or
else were supposed to denote different forms and appellations by which the god came
to be known and worshipped. [...] Siva became identified with countless local cults by
the sheer suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, e.g., Bhutesvara,
Hatakesvara, Chandesvara."[55]
An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity
named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.[56] The foremost
center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri.[57] Khandoba has been
assimilated as a form of Shiva himself,[58] in which case he is worshipped in the form
of a lingam.[56][59] Khandoba's varied associations also include an identification
with Surya[56] and Karttikeya.[60]
Myths about Shiva that were "roughly contemporary with early Christianity" existed
that portrayed Shiva with many differences than how he is thought of now, [61] and
these mythical portrayals of Shiva were incorporated into later versions of him. For
instance, he and the other gods, from the highest gods to the least powerful gods,
were thought of as somewhat human in nature, creating emotions they had limited
control over and having the ability to get in touch with their inner natures
through asceticism like humans.[62]In that era, Shiva was widely viewed as both the
god of lust and of asceticism.[63] In one story, he was seduced by a prostitute sent by
the other gods, who were jealous of Shiva's ascetic lifestyle he had lived for 1000
years.[61]