Learn About Shiva and His Place in Hindu Culture

by John Agbo age 13

In Hindu mythology, Shiva is known as the cosmic dancer, untouchable, Lord of Cattle, merciless slaughterer, master of fertility, great god, and many more. He is one of the three main deities and is worshiped by the Shivites.

Shiva is sculpted and painted as white from the ashes of his fallen foes. His throat is blue because during the Great Churning, the creation of the universe in Hinduism, a poison appeared and was a threat to the universe. Shiva, to protect the universe, held the poison in his throat, burning it blue. According to myths, Shiva brought down the Ganges River from the Milky Way.

Shiva’s hair is an arranged coil of glorious, matted locks or a topknot adorned by the Ganges, a skull, and a crescent moon. He has three eyes, and when he opens his vertical third eye, he has visions and causes mass destruction. He wears a necklace of heads and snakes as bracelets.
 He has four hands and carries a deerskin, a small hand drum, a trident, or a staff with a skull on top. The skull tells of the one time he cut off the fifth head of Brahma – the creator and one of the three main gods in Hinduism – for wanting his daughter.

Shiva rides on a mount, called a Vahana in Hinduism. Shiva's Vahana is a mighty a spirit creature called Nandi, a white bull representing his unlimited strength.

Shiva holds the universe inside of him. He is regarded as the destroyer because Hinduism believes the universe goes through a regeneration cycle every 2.16 billion years. At the end of the cycle, Shiva destroys it so it can be remade anew. He performs the cosmic dance while in a circle of fire, representing the endless flow of time. The divine fire that he holds destroys the universe, and the drum makes the first sound of creation.

Shiva's family has a dramatic history. He once accidentally cut off the head of his son, so he replaced it with the head of an elephant. Shiva’s wife was Parvati. He tried to marry her in her past life as Sati, the daughter of the god Daksha. When her father forbade her marriage, she killed herself. Shiva went on a rampage until the gods appealed to him. Then Sati was reborn as Parvati in her next life and finally married Shiva.

Hinduism remains the oldest religion in the world. There are still many worshipers of Shiva out in the modern world.

[Sources: World History Encyclopedia; Encyclopedia Britannica]