Lord Shiva appears in a meditating but ever-happy
posture. He has matted hair which holds the flowing Gange
s
river and a crescent moon, a serpent coiled around his neck,
a trident (trishul) in his one hand and ashes all over his body.
The Lord's attri butes represent hi victory over the demonic
activity, and calmness of human nature. He is known as the"giver"
god. His vehicle is a bull (symbol of happiness and strength)
named Nandi. Shiva-Linga, a sign of the Lord, is adored instead
of him. Shiva temples have Shiva-Linga as the main
Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following
Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which
Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible
for change both in the form of death and destruction and in
the positive sense of the shedding of old habits. In Satyam,
Shivam, Sundaram or Truth, Goodness and Beauty, Shiva also represents
the most essential goodness.
Shiva is the god of the yogis, self-controlled and
celibate, while at the same time a lover of his spouse (shakti).
Shiva's first wife was Sati and his second wife was Parvati,
also known as Uma, Gauri, Durga,
Kali
and Shakti.
His sons are Ganesha and Kartikeya.
Shiva lives on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.
Shiva's main attributes are the trident that represents
the three gunas and the snakes that show he is beyond the power
of death and poison and also stand for the Kundalini energy.
The vehicle of Shiva is the white bull called Nandi (the joyful).
When Ganga incarnated on Earth, Shiva captured her
in his hair to avoid that she would flood all of Earth
