Fascinating Facts About Lord Shiva: Why He’s Both Innocent and Fearsome

Lord Shiva is one of the revered deities in Hinduism with numerous temples across India. He is one of the most loved gods worshipped for centuries. 

The holy book Shiv Mahapuran depicts his adventures and leelas. 

However, despite showering so much devotion on him, how familiar are we with his two different versions - one as Bholenath and another as Rudra? If not, let us know today.

The Serene Meditator: Bholenath or Bhole Baba

We are all familiar with Lord Shiva as Bholenath. The word ‘Bhola’ represents innocence and simplicity. If we refer to the Puranas, we will know the real facts about it. 

It says that Lord Shiva is so innocent that he never judged the devas and asuras based on their characteristics. 

He often got pleased by the asuras' devotion towards him, and granted them a boon. Ravana and Banasura are two big examples. 

The Lord never classifies his worshippers by wealth, status, and appearances; he is moved with ardent devotion towards them. In most of the depictions, we see Shiva in a calm and composed state. 

Unlike other Hindu gods and goddesses, he demands very simplistic offerings from his devotees. These include a betel leaf, water, datura, white flowers, and complete devotion.

He is seen sitting in a meditative pose with ashes of the cremation ground on his body. For Shiva, all living beings are equal to him, including those downtrodden by humans and society. 

His austere lifestyle teaches us that the divine never complicates things; we humans do. 

The Ferocious Natraj: Rudra

Now, in contrast to his serene image, Shiva as Rudra becomes a fearsome identity. In this, he is shown howling with rage. 

With his third eye, he turned Kamadeva into ashes, creating a trembling fear in the universe. Now one may wonder what forced him to such intimidating form. 

So the answer for this is that he is being the Mahakaal. However, his anger is not linked to cruelty but to destroying negativity, ignorance, pride, and evil.

Some Prominent Names of Lord Shiva: Their Meaning

Natraj

Among many names of Shiva is Natraj, meaning King of Dance. The dance he does is called Tandav because he did it in anger. 

However, this dance of Shiva symbolises the cycle of life - birth, old age, and death. Natraj is known to be one of the powerful dance forms of Shiva in Hinduism.

Neelkanth

Lord Shiva is also called Neelkanth, the one whose throat is blue. 

According to Hindu mythology, he earned this name during Samudra Manthan, when he drank the Halahal poison that could threaten the universe. 

After consuming it, his throat turned blue. To prevent the poison from spreading, his consort Parvati pressed her hands on his throat.

Chandrashekhar

Shiva is called Chandrashekhar because he wears the crescent moon on his head. It symbolises immortality, purification, cooling his fiery Rudra form, and serenity in chaos. 

Ashutosh

Shiva is addressed as Ashutosh because of his easily pleased nature. He is very innocent and blesses devotees with minor offerings and prayers. 

Trilochan

Shiva is called Trilochan because he has three eyes. One at the centre. It is that portion which is usually closed, but when it opens can create havoc in the universe. 

Avatars of Lord Shiva

Usually, it is the Lord Vishnu who takes different avatars. Dashavatara is one example. But as for Shiva, there are few, including Kirat, a hunter in the Mahabharata era. 

He took this form to challenge Arjuna and remove his arrogance. It all began when Arjuna was meditating to appease Shiva. 

When a wild boar came rushing to kill him, he shot the bow on noticing it. But to his surprise, the animal was shot by other arrows. 

He was Shiva in the form of Kirat. When Arjuna encountered him, Shiva defeated him. Later, realising his mistake in recognising him, Shiva offered him a Pashupatastra. 

Other than Kirat, Hanuman is one of his 11th Rudra avatars which he took to help Lord Rama in his battle against the tyrannical Lankan king, Ravana.

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Lord Shiva Family Tree

Lord Shiva is the father of three children, Karthik, Ganesh, and Ashok Sundari. Well, there are not many facts about his daughter, but it is said that Parvati created her to ease her loneliness. 

The meaning of her name indicates remover of sorrow. Kartik, also known as Murugan, was born from Shiva’s energy to kill Tarakasura. 

Next is Ganesha. Parvati created her from her remains. She appointed him to guard her until she got free from bathing. 

As a dutiful son, he obeyed his mother and stood outside the cave. When he countered Shiva from entering, it led to a fight between the two, resulting in Shiva beheading Ganesha. 

On finding the lifeless body of her son, Parvati threatened to destroy the whole universe. To appease her anger, Lord Vishnu intervenes and places the elephant head on his headless corpse. 

Shiva then granted Ganesh a boon that he would be the first worshipped deity. 

How do we learn through Lord Shiva to live together in happiness?

Shiva is a deity who symbolises peace among chaos. The one example starts with his family. Every member has a different vahana, each enemy of the others. 

Shiva sits on a bull (Nandi), Parvati or Shakti, sits on a lion or a tiger, Ganesh sits on a mouse, and Kartik sits on a peacock. 

And to make one mention more, Shiva wears a garland of a Vasuki snake on his neck. Now, if you look closely, they all are enemies to each other, but in the family of Shiva, all live together with love. Hence, there is no space for hatred.

FAQs

Q: What life lesson can we learn through Lord Shiva?

A: There is a lot much to learn from Lord Shiva. We can learn from him how to be calm amidst chaos, focus, and practice simplicity.

Q: Why is Shiva called a Destroyer, when he is called Bhole?

A: Shiva’s destroyer role is to eliminate evil, ignorance and pride. He is called Bhole when he is at peace and blesses devotees with simple offerings.

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