What are the 10 powerful avatars of Shiva and their hidden meanings?

 Foremost, God Shiva didn’t take any avatars. Shiva means the untouched one(who doesn’t take any birth and so there is no death). He is the ultimate consciousness.

There are many forms of God Shiva. Here forms mean, God Shiva according to the dire need of the Universes and its resident’s well-being, manifests Himself in many form and upholds dharma. So, Manifestation here doesn’t mean an Avatar. The following are examples for God Shiva’s Ansh(child/form/ possessing few qualities).

• Rudra, it’s the most ferocious form of God Shiva. Rudra word means the roaring sound. He is represented in the form of fire. In this form, He annihilates the evil forces in the multiverses and destroys our ego and gives us salvation from this illusion called world.

• Veerabhadra : When Sati Devi immolated herself, Shiva angrily pulled one of His hair strand and Veerabhadra took birth from that hair strand. He destroyed the Daksha Yagna and beheads Daksha Prajapathi.
• Virupaksha, the fiercely wide eyed God. Mahadev manifested in this form when Sati Devi immolated herself when subjected to humiliation at her father’s abode. God Shiva not able to bear the pain of losing her beloved wife, transformed into Virupaksha and destroyed all with His immense anger.
• Kalabhairava, this form was taken by God Shiva to behead Lord Brahma’s head, to relieve him from his arrogance and Kalabhairavas are the protectors of all Shakthi Peetas(the places where Sati Devi’s body parts fell on Earth after her immolation).
• Dakshinamoorthy, this form of Mahadev is the most pleasant one. In this form, Mahadev sits in the south direction under a banyan tree and preaches to the sapta Rishis(the seven sages) as the Adi Yogi and through only silence.
• Kapali, this form of God Shiva resides in the Rudra Kshetra(cremation grounds) and wears the munda mala(garland of skulls) and in His hand holds the kapal(Lord Brahma’s skull in His hand). Whenever Goddess Parvathi takes an avatar and at the end of her every avatar, one skull is added to the garland of skulls.
• Pashupatinath is a prominent form of God Shiva meaning the "God to all living beings and animals”. This form signifies Shiva as the master who frees all the human souls, including animals from worldly illusion and ignorance (pashamu or attachments). In this form God Shiva has the most powerful weapon called Pashupatastra.
• Hanuman(the eleventh Rudra), Mahadev gave His powers to Hanuman in order to help Shri Rama upload dharma in the Tretayuga and thus kill King Ravana.
• Nataraja, in this form, God Shiva does the cosmic dance and in the end of this Kaliyuga, everything will get dissolved into Shiva and this world will end.
• Ardhanareeswarar, as the name suggests it’s half woman and half man. This portrays that male and feminine energies are equal and the world will cease to exist if there is misbalance among them. God Shiva gave His half body to His better half Goddess Parvathi and thus came the concept of Ardhanareeswarara. Mahadev took this form to explain Sage Bhringi that men and women are equal.
• Sharabha is a fierce, powerful manifestation of God Shiva combining the features of a lion and a bird, it was to pacify Lord Narasimha. According to the Shiva Purana, this form features eight legs, a lion-like face, and wings, which portrays the restoration of cosmic balance.

Hara Hara Mahadeva Shambho Shankara

Did Lord Shiva ever get angry with Goddess Parvati? What happened?

 

Lord Siva got angry and cursed Goddess Parvati once.

Sometimes, even actions performed in jest can lead to consequences that require great effort to rectify.

This applies not only to living beings but to the deities as well.

Once, in a moment of playful joy, Goddess Parvati playfully covered Lord Shiva's eyes—albeit for just a fleeting moment. Siva is known as Soma-Surya-Agni-Lochana—meaning the Sun, the Moon, and Fire are his eyes. What happens when those eyes are closed? While it was merely a split second for them, that duration translates to hundreds of thousands of years for us. The entire cosmos was shaken by the disruption. Angered, Siva rebuked Parvati, telling her to go perform penance to cleanse herself of the fault.

She came to Kanchipuram, performed penance, and became known as Goddess Kamakshi. Even while she was performing penance, the Lord did not leave her undisturbed; He unleashed a ferocious torrent of water. Unaware of the true nature of the flood, she sent Goddess Durga to contain it. Immediately, the current surged with even greater intensity. Realizing then that this was an expression of Siva's wrath, she embraced the Shiva Linga and cried out, "Kampa, Kampa" (meaning "Protect me" or "Trembling"). That very torrent of water became the "Kampa River."

Goddess Parvati then asked Siva what she should do next. He instructed her to go to Arunachalam and meet Sage Gautama. She became a disciple of the sage, listened to his magnificent discourse on the "Glory of Arunachalam" (Arunachala Vaibhavam), cleansed herself of her sins, and ultimately attained union with the Lord.

If Dharma is disregarded, the punishments will not be lenient.

Our Sanatana Dharma and its literature are unparalleled and will remain so for all time.

May all this be offered to the Supreme Goddess Kamakshi Devi.

Subhamastu

Are there any incidents of Vasuki helping or supporting lord Shiva?

 Yes, there are many incidents of Vasuki, the Snake which resides around God Shiva’s neck(Shankrabharanam) helping his Nath(God). The most important help is, Vasuki stays forever on Shiva’s neck, and so the Halahal(poison) stored in Shiva’s throat will not burn His throat, as Serpents are cold blooded animals, so Vasuki cools Shiva’s throat and provides Him the much needed relief from the burning poison :)

Foremost, how Vasuki, the King of the Cobras became Naagabharana(ornament to God Shiva) is

• Snakes and Eagles were enemies from times immemorial. So, eagles were killing all the snakes and then Vasuki approached God Shiva to save them from eagles. Then Shiva being the Pashupatinath(the God and saviour of all animals) protected Nagas from extinction and to showcase this, gave a permanent place to Vasuki around His neck and Vasuki became indebted to God Shiva.

And according to our Puranas, the serpent king Vasuki helped God Shiva many a time.

• During the Samudra Manthan(churning of the milk ocean) Vasuki acted as the churning rope. And during the manthan, first Halahal(Poison) oozed out of the Ocean. So, along with Mahadev, many snakes consumed the venom. Then Mahadev blessed all the serpents and gave a boon that, serpents Puja would be considered as His puja.
• The second instance when Vasuki helped Mahadev, was during the destruction of the three cities (Tripura) created by Tarakasura’s three sons. To destroy the Tripura, God Shiva made Mount Meru as His bow and the serpent Vasuki as the bowstring and Shri Vishnu Himself manifested His powers as the arrow and Mahadev within a split of a second destroyed Tripura and thus became Tripuranthakaaya(destroyer of the Tripura)

Mahadev wearing snakes around His neck and on His entire body represents fearlessness(as snakes were always feared for their venom) and thus winning over death and most importantly the spiritual energy, as Kundalini is in the shape of a serpent.

Om Nagabharanaya Namaha

Om Nagabhushanaya Namaha

Why does Lord Shiva destroy only to create again?

 According to our Mythology - there are 3 Deities - each one takes care of the following duties, to supervise this universe and keep the humans safe and sound.

They are -

Lord Brahma - the creator of this Universe, and each and every creature (including those bloody Cockroaches) and gives them Power, to live according to their Karma!

Lord Mahavishnu - HE is the Savior of all the creatures in this Universe, and conducts their life according to their Karma - the good and bad deeds they have committed in their previous birth (Janma)!

Lord Shiva - who carries out the destruction of every creature on this Universe - to pave way for new creatures, produced by Lord Brahma!

The Hindu Mythology says - unless Lord Brahma produces new lives, this Universe will be “Desert” with no creature living in it.

Unless Lord Mahavishnu provides the creatures the foods, they cannot sustain their life -till their destiny gives them life to live on this universe!

Finally unless the Lord Shiva destructs or erases the creatures, there will be no spaces at all for the new ones.

OUR RISHIS, SADHUS, SANYASIS, AND YOGIS HAVE CLEARLY MENTIONED THE ABOVE “DUTIES” ENTRUSTED TO THE ABOVE GODS.

The “Treasures” these Yogis left for the next generation is called our Sanadhana Dharma - Ancient Culture - we are following even today - everyday - ok?

Photos courtesy: online sites

What are the Lessons learned from Lord Shiva?

 The first thing to learn is to be idealistic, and never let your competitors or enemies take the better of you. Focus on your goal.

Always be calm composed and satisfied regardless of the situation.

The position which offers you lot of luxuries and power demands you to be very responsible too, be prepared for that.

Respect everyone, even if you and the other person aren’t on the same page.

Love nature.

Be loyal to your partner.

Believe in equality, regardless of gender, birth , caste etc.

Stand against your dear ones if they are doing something wrong.

Art is the beauty of life.

Keep your childlike innocence alive.

How can Lord Shiva love Punyakshi and got ready to marry her when he already loved Maa Parvati and had married her?

 Punyaaskshi or Kanyakumari is an incarnation of Parvati. She took this incarnation to kill an asura, being Aadishakti and Jagdamba, she is the saviour and mother of the Universe.

The asura Bana through his severe penance got a boon from Bhrama ji that only a young girl or let’s say a virgin girl will be able to kill her.

So, if Shiva Shakti would have united again, then the whole purpose of this incarnation would have failed.

Mahadev can never deny someone if the person calls him with pure devtion,here, the person was Aadishakti herself, so he agreed for marriage, but for the greater good of universe and Dharma devas played their trick and didn’t let them marry resulting into destruction of devil Bana.

And Shiv Shakti united again.

Who is the consort of Maa Katyani, Lord Krishna or Lord Shiv?

 Kātyāyanī is the wife of Śiva. In the Radha Tantra, Padminī (Radha) addresses Goddess Katyayani with deep reverence, calling her the “beloved of Śiva.” Later, in the same text, Lord Krishna prays to her for a boon to perfect his spiritual practices, saying, “I bow to you, dear to Śankara” it also notes that in the sacred circle of Mathurā, where Mahāmāyā appears as Goddess Kātyāyanī, she always resides with Śiva.

However, Kātyāyanī is also used for Śrī Lakṣmī.

Mṛtyuñjaya Tantra -

"गोविन्दमहिषीं देवीं कात्यायन्यां भयङ्करीम्,"

which directly translates to "The one who Kātyāyanī is the consort of Govinda".

In the context of Yogamaya, the Sarārthadarśinī commentary by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī explains that the Yogamāyā Devī, worshipped by the gopīs as Katyayani, is Lord Krishna’s own svarūpa-śakti. The commentary uses the term patitvaṁ to indicate her status as a consort of Lord Krishna, affirming that “YogaMāyā Katyāyanī, worshipped by the Gopakaṇyas, is the wife of the Lord.” Additionally, the Brahmāṇḍa Mahāpurāṇa describes Vṛndāvananāyikā Kātyāyanīdevī incarnating as the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, directly connecting her identity to Radha, Lord Krishna’s eternal beloved.

Is it true that Lord Shiva is a devotee of Lord Vishnu and vice-versa?

 Mahadev is the greatest Vaishnav and Narayan is greatest Shaiva.

Vishnu worships Shiva in his every incarnation.

Krishna did penance for many years meditating on Shiv-Shakti to get a boon regarding his children.

Ram send Hanuman to get a Shivlinga from Kashi, before leaving for Lanka, but, fearing that his prayer will be delayed to Mahadev he himself made a Shivlinga(Rameshwar temple).

Shivlinga is also found in Ayodhya, Ram janam bhoomi, when the land levelling was done. Shiva also provided Ram with the knowledge of Ishwar Geeta.

Parshuram Mahadev temple(Rajasthan) is the temple of Shiva made by Parshuram(6th incarnation of Vishnu) himself by cutting the rock with the fence, had performed rigorous penance for many years of Lord Shiva. On the basis of austerity, he had received Dhanush, Akshay Tumar and Divya Charias from Lord Shiva.

Shiva on the other hand always meditates on Vishnu.

Gopeshwar Mahadev is another temple which brings out the beauty of their relationship.Where Mahadev took a form of Gopi to enter Raasleela and Krishna realizing that Shiva is there declared that he should be worshiped every time before entering the Raas.

One can’t be a pure devotee if he/she is praying to one and disrespecting the other.

Why is Lord Shiva sometimes described as Tamasic when his devotees see him as Sattvik?

 Bhagwan Shiva is Nirguna actually. He is neither Tamasic or Sattvik, he is Trigunatita (beyond the three gunas).

Yes, for keeping the world stable, he himself takes the role of destroyer in the form of Rudra and eliminates the entities that cause instability. In this process, he assumes Tamo Guni attire, wearing garland of skulls, Halahal poison, living in cremation grounds with ghosts, spirits etc.

But the same Mahadeva is also in the Satvik Yogic state as he carries Maa Ganga, the embodiment of purity in his matted hair and Chandra Deva, the moon on his forehead.

He also does the Rajasik activities of creation, he shows his art in the form of Nataraja, the Ultimate Dancer.

So he takes up all 3 gunas and yet is beyond all three gunas.

Har Har Mahadev 🙏

What are some interesting facts/stories about Lord Shiva's Trident (Trishula)?

 Shiva's trident is the most powerful weapon of God Shiva.

• Only God Shiva and Goddess Shakthi can hold the trishul. Others can't even touch the Trishul, since none have the strength to bear the trishul’s immense energy.
• Shiva's trident ( the three spikes ) remove the three gunas namely Rajas, Tamas and Sattva. There is a mention of this in Rudrashtakam, Tryah _ Shoola Nirmoolanam Shoola paannim.
• The 3 spikes in the trishula indicate Shiva's three eyes, and Shiva as Trikala_darshi ( who knows past, present and future ).
• Once the trishul is released from Shiva's hand , it can never be reverted back until the task is fulfilled by the Trishul.
• Shiva has killed asuras namely Jalandhar and Sankhachooda with his Trishul.
• Shiva’s Trishul cuts one head of Lord Brahma only to relieve him from his arrogance, same in the case of Sun God and Lord Ganesha too. Later Shiva gave life to Ganesh and Sun God.
• The three spikes of the Trishul can be compared to the immense powers of The tridev (Vishnu , Brahma and Shiva), the three worlds namely heaven, Earth and paatal( under_Earth).
• Shiva always uses his deadliest weapon Trishul only for restoring peace and divinity in the Universe.

Who is Kaal Bhairav? Is he the form of Lord Shiva?

 

Who is Kaal Bhairav? Is he the form of Lord Shiva?

Kaal : It means eternal time

Bhairav : It means one; who removes Bhay (fear). It also means one with fearsome form.

Shivansh: Kaal Bhairav was created by Lord Shiva to vanquish evil forces.

Legend : In Shiva Mahapurana ; Lord Shiva created him to destroy arrogance of Lord Brahma.

He proverbially cut fifth head of Lord Brahma as a sin of decapitating head of a brahmin ; he went to Kashi to repent.

Guardian : Ever since, he stays in Kashi as Kotwal (guardian) of this oldest city.

His shrines are found in Ujjain and also in Himalayas (Uttarakhand ; Himachal ; Kashmir)

His blessings are must before worshipping Lord Shiva and Shakti.

Powers : His blessings are sought to find relief from supernatural ills.

He is also known to protect his devotees from any affliction caused by Lord Saturn (Shani) ; Rahu; Ketu.

Patron : He is patron of scholars ; artists and devotees.

Many tantriks adore him as their personal deity.

Fact : Baba Kaal Bhairav is very kind hearted deity.

Prayer : Sri Ganeshaya Namah Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Namo Parvatipataye Har Har Mahadev Jai Baba Sri Kaal Bhairav Sab Sukh Le Tumhari Sarna Tum Rakshak Kahu Ko Darna

Pic Credits : Google Images / Web

Why does Lord Shiva wear ash from the cremation ground on his body?

 

Lord Shiva is also known as Bhasma anga.

It means one with ash smeared body.

Bhasma : In Hinduism ; Bhasma (sacred ash) represents freedom.

Lord Shiva proverbially smears his body with ashes from cremation grounds.

Mukti : Seers and Yogi term Bhasma as a symbol of Jeewan Mukti (detachment)

In other words, Adi Yogi Lord Shiva is above likes and dislikes.

Sathyam : Bhasm represents eternal cycle of birth and death.

Thus, it reminds all about impermanence of body ; but permanence of soul.

Shivam : Shiva means auspiciousness and sacred.

Lord Shiva treats every event of life as sacred.

Sundaram : Yogis treat life and death as beautiful event.

Being Sri Vishwanath ; Shiva treats life and death as equally beautiful.

Fact : No wonder, Bholenath ji roams around in cremation grounds.

In Yogic sutras ; Bhasma is known for its curative qualities.

Prayer : Sri Ganeshaya Namah Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Namo Parvatipataye Har Har Mahadev

Jai Jai Jai Hanuman Gosai Kripa Karo Gurudev Ki Nai

Pic Credits : Google Images / Web

Why does Lord Vishnu not prevent Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma from giving boons to Asuras?

 This is because of the roles of Trideva.

Hero doesn't stop director or script writer from making villain a powerful character that would create chaotic situations in film.

What does that mean?

Let me explain it by simplifying it and explaining it in layman's language.

I really enjoy explaining about the world and Sanatan Dharma by simplifying it as a movie. Even Niralamba Upanishad states that this world is not real, the only Reality is God (ब्रह्म सत्यं जगत मिथ्या). One Eternal Consciousness is Real, otherwise Maya that takes us away from non-duality and keep us attach to this world.

Let us consider the world as a film. We need to understand the roles of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. We have 33 Koti Devi Devtas and each of them have different roles though there is one Ultimate Consciousness Para Brahman that has these many forms.

So Brahma is the creator, which means he is the script writer ✍️, He is Vidhata and he is the dispenser of the destiny of all the characters including positive and negative.

Now since the writer has to prepare a fair script, giving the scope to all characters, Brahma does give the boons to Asuras in that sense.

Then we have the Preserver, Vishnu. He is Bhagwan, the central character, the lead hero of the movie.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम्॥ (4.7)
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्‌।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे॥

Whenever Adharma dominates, He incarnates in various forms, defeats the Asuras and establishes Dharma. This is the exact work of a hero, Vishnu as Varaha slays Hiranyaksha.

As Narsimha he slays Hiranyakshap.

As Parshuram he slays Sahasra Bahu.

As Shri Ram, he slayed Ravan, Kumbhakaran and others.

As Shri Krishna he slayed Kansa, Shishupal and many others.

And in his last incarnation as Kalki, he will again defeat the evil and restore the order of the world.

So Vishnu is the main hero while Indra and other Devtas are the supporting characters. You will never see Vishnu giving boons to Asuras because he is the hero who has to defeat the villains.

Now let's come to Shiva. He has an entirely different role although. He is Ishwar. He is the main director of the film who has the authority of running this world in the way he feels like.

A director is also like hero but in a different way. Hero has to directly fight with evil characters and defeat them. So Vishnu enters the system and brings order and balance. But Shiva is more transcendental in a sense that he remains out of the system, he remains in Samadhi but has his third eye open to see the world, just like the director monitors every scene from behind the scenes.

A director does not differentiate between hero and villain when it comes to providing them the roles. He has to provide role to every character, so in the film, villain also has the scenes where he is dominating the good characters, just like Asuras after getting boons would defeat Devtas and capture Swarg Lok. So everyone worships Shiva, be it Devtas, Asuras, Rishis, Munis, or all others. Every character, either positive or negative has to maintain good relationship with the director.

So it's not a wrong thing done by Shiva or even Brahma. This is the role of the main director and also of the script writer/casting director to assemble the characters in film and give them their powerful roles.

So Mahadev is the one who can even change the script written by Brahma, like if director wants to make changes in script, he can definitely do that. Just like Rishi Markandeya was supposed to live only for 16 years, but since he being a positive character showed his potential and was a great devotee of Mahakal, he got the boon from Shiva and was saved by him from Yamraj. Similarly negative characters also got some or the other boons depending on their potential and Tapasya they did to impress the director Shiva.

So Vishnu doesn't stop Brahma or Shiva from giving boons to Asuras because none of them are wrong. They are all knowing and do their work.

Since the hero is the dearest character of the director and in the end of the film, the director would definitely support hero only. Hero is the exact projection of director's idea about the film and perhaps hero is the one who makes director's film hit and hero also needs director to thrive in his role. Director and hero complete each other.

So Narayan is the dearest of Shiva and that's why they always support each other.

So I hope my answer would help in understanding Sanatan Dharma better with the help of cinematic perspective.

Jai Brahma 🙏Jai Vishnu🙏Jai Mahesh 🙏