What are the mysteries and secrets of the cave of Lord Shiva?

 There are two stories regarding the secret cave of Shiva.

One is the Yana caves, Karnataka and the other is Shivkhori, Jammu.

Locals of Yana say that, when the Asur Bhasmasura wanted to put his hand on Shiva and turn Shiva into ash, Lord Vishnu came as Mohini and put an end to Bhasmasura. This incident occurred at the Yana cave, Karnataka.

(Yana cave, Karnataka )

In this cave there is a Swayambhu Shivlinga, water drips from the roof over the Linga, adding to the sanctity of the place.

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• Yet another story says, this incident happened in Jammu, and the cave or Khori where Shiva took shelter thus became famous as Shivkhori.

This cave is situated in the Reasi district of Jammu amd Kashmir, and is often reverred as the Home of Gods.

• It is believed that Shiva stays in the Shivkhori and there is a secret route, which connects it to Amarnath. This cave has a natural Shiva lingam (Swayambhu) which is 2 to 3 meters in height.
• The cave has a secret route which connects it to Amarnath.
• The cave is now closed as some Sadhus who dared to go inside the cave, never returned. The cave is mere 200 meters in length and one Meter wide.
• There cave’s roof is carved with snake formations, and there is a continuous flow of water from the roof onto the Shiva lingam.

Source : Wikipedia

Which are some must-visit temples as a Shiva Bhakt?

 God Shiva is omnipresent so He resides in each and every element in this universe, there is no such place where Shiva doesn't exist.

When you have Shiva in your thoughts, your mind, then you see Shiva in the Panchabhootas( five elements of the nature) and in every living being. When you see a Shiva linga, you can see the Mahadev in it, else it would be a mere stone to you, when you don't believe and love God Shiva.

Coming to the question what are the must visit temples as a Shiva Bhakt, I feel every Shiva temple which has a Linga is a must visit.

But if you want to grow spiritually and realise that this materialistic things are all perishable and the only one who is Nityamu(forever) and Satyamu (truth) is Shiva, then the must visit temple is Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

The Kashi temple visit for me was a life changer. I can't describe in words, the wonderful spiritual experience I felt in the holy and favourite place of Shiva.

• Foremost, seeing the beautiful Ganga River I was spellbound, since I don't consider Ganga as just a water body, but as a mother who provides life and helps you to wash away few sins. When I touched the water, I could feel a mother cuddling a baby, could see her beautifully flowing and take a permanent place in God Shiva’s hair. Ganga stretches to a massive 2500 kms, I thought Oh Shiva, Ganga which is in Kashi is just a part of the huge River, how could you hold such massive River in your hair ?? My Mahadev, I bow to you.
• The Ganga Aarti which is performed daily in the evening is a must watch to feel the spiritual bliss.

• The various temples like Kalabhairava, Annapurna, Vishalakshmi, the Shakti Peetas, Vyasa Lingam ( the linga which was installed by Sage Vyasa) etc. around the main Kashi Vishwanath temple are amazing.

• The boat ride in the holy Ganga which covers all the 64 Ghats is beautiful ( Ghat means the steps which lead us to the river Ganga).
• The most important thing which will lead us to vairagya and self questioning is when we see the dead bodies which people bring from across the country to perform last rites here in the Harishchandra Ghat. Seeing the continuous burning of the bodies ( at once six pyres are lit), make us realize that the beautiful physical body which we always boast of, will turn into a pile of ash one day.

• And according to Shiva Purana, Mahadev daily at afternoon 12 comes to take a dip in the holy Ganga at the Manikarnika Ghat, smearing the cremation ash on His body.
• You can find many sanyasis in Kashi wearing the Saffron clothes, vibhoothi smeared on their entire body, Rudraksha mala around their necks, holding a trishul, having matted hair and chanting the mantra “ Namah Shivaya “. Mahadev is present in every atom of this holy city Kashi, which is believed to be created by Himself as the city rests on Mahadev's trishul.

I conclude by saying that, Kashi is a holy place, which is to be visited at least once in your lifetime. If I have another birth, then I would pray Shiva I be born in Kashi , the moksha provider place.

Om namah Shivaya

Om Kashi_Vishwanathaya Namaha

Om Kashi Annapurneshwari Namaha

Om Kashi Vishalakshi Namaha

Which is the biggest Shiva temple in the world?

 The biggest Shiva temple in the World is Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

The temple was built by Raja Raja Chola I. The temple is more than 1000 years old.

• The temple structure is an example of Dravidian architecture and it portrays the ideology of Tamil Civilization and Chola Empire.
• The temple has the world's largest Vimanam ( temple tower ) and it's Kumbam (the structure on the top ) weighs approximately 80 tons.
• The temple has a huge statue of Nandi at the entrance. The statue is carved out of a single rock and weighs around 20 tons.

• The main Shiva Linga inside the temple is 8.7 meters tall.
• Brihadeeswarar temple is one of the few temples, that has Ashta-dikpaalakas ( Guardians of the Eight directions) idols.
• It's the first complete granite temple in the World, around 60000 tons of granite is said to be used to build the temple.
• It was constructed by interlocking technology without using binding materials.
• It has a tunnel from the temple to the pasupatheeswharar temple in the district of Karur. It is believed that the Saint karuvurar (his grave is in this Karur temple) came all the way through this tunnel to open the brihadheswarar temple.
• This temple's vimans shadow never fall on the ground.
• The temple's replica was built by Raja Raja Cholas son, Rajendra chola in a place called Gangai konda chollapuram, as a memory in defeating the ganges plains.

What are some famous Shiva lingams that are growing in size each year?

 I heard in few pravachanams ( religious discourses) that the Shiva Lingas at Bhuteshwar, the linga at Tekkali and Shukreshwara at Guwahati, Assam are growing in size every year.

But the Linga which I visited in my childhood and which was nailed to stop the growth is the Amareshwara Linga or Amaralingeshwara.

One day I and my dad were sitting in the Hall and watching TV. Then my brother came and complained that his trouser has become short( in length) and it is fitting only upto his ankle.

My dad : You are growing taller day by day, so all your trousers are becoming short to your height. I think we have to put a nail on your head so as to stop your growth, he said this and started to laugh

I was shocked to hear this and said “ Father, are you seriously going to put a nail on brother's head?

My dad : no child, I was just joking.

I : Why did you say about the nail, is there any story, wherein someone was nailed on their head to stop their growth ??

Dad :: yes, a nail was planted on top of a Linga, to stop it growing further

I : but dad, Shiva ( Linga) would have felt so much pain, how can anyone do this ??

Dad : yes child, now you Listen to the story ::

Once upon a time there lived a demon by name Tarakasur. He did rigorous penance for God Shiva and when Shiva appeared, he asked a boon that no one can kill him except Shiva's son. He cleverly asked this boon, as he knew Shiva was a vairagi, so He would never marry, so begetting a son by Shiva is impossible. Thus his death is ruled out completely.

Because of this boon Tarakasur became very powerful and almost immortal, he started to trouble all the devas. All devas wexed with him approached first Lord Brahma to help them.

Then Brahma instructed Indra to install a linga and pray for Mahadev to relieve them from the demon Tarakasur.

Then Indra installed a Shiva Linga at Amaravathi ( a town in Andhra Pradesh), since Indra and all other Gods took shelter in this place fearing Tarakasur. Indra prayed to God Shiva by doing meditation sitting in front of the Linga for many years. Shiva pleased with Indra devotion appeared and asked him to wish for any boon.

Indra says “ Hey mahadev, we are not able to bear the atrocities of Tarakasur, so please kill him”.

Shiva says “ Indra, you know that, it is possible only by my son. So you have to wait for that day, since goddess Shakthi has still not taken birth, but I promise you that Tarakasur's end is very near. You all reside in this place up to that time. I will take care of you devas, so I will be here in my Linga form. Shiva in order to bless Lord Indra and all the living beings, manifested himself as a Linga.

*** According to few Scriptures, Vindhya mountain did penance for Shiva by creating two Lingas, one with clay and other with sand. And did penance for many years. Shiva appeared before him and gave a boon that he would be the biggest mountain in the Universe.

Then Shiva manifested as two Lingas, since He was very happy with Vindhya devotion. And few say Shiva manifested as only one Linga but split the Linga into two halves, One half is called Omkareshwar Linga which is in Madhya Pradesh near Narmada River and the other half of the Lingam fell here in Amaravathi, near Krishna River. Since the Lingam fell here, it was growing continuously and so has to be nailed on its top ***

But the astonishing thing that happened was, the Linga was growing continuously and how much ever they tried, they could not stop its growth.

Then few sages suggested to nail the Shiva Linga. Then Indra planted a nail on its top and it stopped growing, but the shiva linga started to bleed, then all the devas performed Abhishekham with milk and then the blood stopped to ooze. The most amazing thing is those blood markings are visible as stripes on the Shiva linga even to date.

Later a temple was constructed for Amareshwara, situated on the southern bank of River Krishna. The consort of Lord Amareswara Swamy is Bala Chamundika.

The Sivalinga here is very tall that the archakas mount a pedestal platform, and perform the daily rituals as well as Abhishekams.

This Shrine of God Shiva in Amaravathi is named as Amara lingeswara deriving the name from the first worshipping deity Indra, who is the king of dieties, (Amara means immortal / devas and Eshwar means Lord, Lord to the devas is Indra).

For more details refer to Amaralingeshwara temple on Wikipedia.

Why do Shiva temples seem to have more visitors, but Vishnu temples generate more revenue? What's driving these differences?

 

While delivering a discourse, the revered Garikapati Narasimha Rao garu shared an interesting observation:

A devotee once asked him, "Among the many types of temples, why are Siva's temples always so crowded?"

He replied, " Close your eyes for a moment and visualize a picture of the Siva family—whether one you have at home or one you have seen elsewhere. Lord Siva sits there with a gentle smile. Goddess Parvati sits close to Him, her head resting almost upon His shoulder. Vinayaka and Kumaraswamy sit nearby; often, one of them is even seated in the Mother's lap.

Looking at them feels just like looking at a family photograph of one's own eldest maternal uncle or paternal uncle.

Visiting a Siva temple feels like visiting the home of such an uncle; it brings peace of mind. That is why people frequent Siva temples," he said.

It struck me as a truly wonderful explanation.

It occurred to me that Siva is easily accessible to His devotees (Bhakta-sulabha). When someone approaches Him, He does not dwell on how corrupt they might have been or how many people they might have hurt—those matters are for others to address later. Instead, Siva simply asks, "My dear one, what brings you here?" and listens to their troubles with compassion, offering solace.

Just a short distance away sits the Mother—the embodiment of boundless compassion (Avyaja-karuna-murti)—wearing a gentle smile. Her face radiates a serene, beaming smile. She embodies the quality of Sattva (purity and goodness); anger never touches Her. One is comforted and sent on their way with the assurance to leave all troubles behind; the mind finds peace.

As one moves forward, one beholds Lord Vinayaka—who ensures that all tasks proceed smoothly and without obstacles—Lord Subrahmanya Swamy, who constantly protects us from danger, and Nandi, the embodiment of Dharma.
What does a living being need more than mental peace? This is found in a Siva temple. There is no doubt about it.
The general feeling is mostly poor and middle class people visit Siva temples frequently.

May all this be offered to Lord Siva.

Subhamastu

Are Kali and Shiva the same?

 Yes, absolutely.

Kali is Shiva in his absolute femininity. The projection or the executive power (Shakti) of Shiva depicted in a female form is Kali. And vice versa, the stable base or the consciousness that eternally holds Kali depicted in a male form is Shiva. The relationship of Shiva and Shakti is beyond everything, unlike in humans or animals where there are two different entities or souls that come into a relationship, for example.. A husband and wife, in case of Shiva and Shakti, it's one Supreme Entity that functions in duality.. However, the truth is non-duality.

So definitely, Shakti is not separate from Shiva. The Ultimate Brahman has two aspects– Purush and Prakriti.

One is the static, unmoving, still consciousness and the other is the flowing, active, dynamic energy. The static aspect has the flowing energy to keep it charged and the flowing aspect has the static consciousness to hold it in a right direction.

The union of these two aspects is the one complete reality. It is only for the expansion that the split happens and then creation takes place, from one to two to infinite forms are taken by Parabrahman.

Shiva's own reflection manifests as Kali (Shakti)

Har Har Mahadev 🙏 Jai Mahakali 🙏

What are the Ashtamurti forms of Lord Shiva?

 

According to the Siva Purana, Lord Shiva governs creation through His eight forms (Ashta Murthis).

They are : The five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and S/space), the Sun, the Moon, and the Being (the individual soul/Jiva) are known as these eight manifestations.

The Eight Manifestations of Siva and Their Significance:

Sarva (Earth): Symbolizes the element of Earth. The form that sustains all living beings and vegetation. (Example Shrine: Kanchi – Ekambareswarar Temple).

Bhava (Water): Symbolizes the element of Water. The form of water that is the life-source for all living beings. (Example Shrine: Thiruvanaikaval – Jambukeswarar Temple).

Rudra (Fire): Symbolizes the element of Fire or Radiance (Tejas). The power that illuminates and dissolves all things. (Example Shrine: Tiruvannamalai – Arunachaleswarar Temple).

Ugra (Air): Symbolizes the element of Air (Vayu). The form that provides breath to all living beings. (Example Shrine: Srikalahasti – Srikalahastiswarar Temple).

Bhima (Ether/Space): Symbolizes the element of Ether (Akasha). The form of the void that serves as the foundation for everything. (Example Shrine: Chidambaram – Nataraja Temple).

PaSupati (Master/Individual Soul): The embodiment of the Soul, who is the Lord of all living beings (paSUs) and the patron of those who perform sacrifices.

Mahadeva (The Moon): Symbolizes the essence of the Moon; the nourisher of medicinal herbs and the presiding deity of the mind.

ISAna (The Sun): Symbolizes the essence of the Sun; the visible deity who provides light and heat to the entire universe.

Devotees believe that worshipping these Ashtamurtis (Eight Forms)—which pervade all worlds with their divine presence—cleanses one of all sins and leads to liberation.

There is nothing more or less than these 8 forms, we see or notice or feel.

One close devotee asked Ramana Maharshi " what is the use of sitting here always, if you visit Haridwar, Kedarnath or Kasi, you can get more happiness and satisfaction ".

Maharshi said " I am also planning to visit other places. If you find anywhere other than the five elements viz. Earth, water, air, Fire and Sky, come and tell me immediately, I will visit that place ".

Except these five created by Almighty and recognised by our ancient Rishis, nothing else was created or invented so far.

Subhamastu

Which is the biggest Shiva temple in the world?

 I will tell that the biggest Shiva temple in this world is Chidambaram Natarajar Temple(40 acres).But as it is already mentioned I will go for the second largest one in Tamil Nadu,THAYAGARAGAR TEMPLE,TN.(33 acres).

It is in this place that the great chola king punished his own son for his son had killed a calf by running a chariot over it.Hearing this ,the Chola king gave the justice to the mother cow that his own son will be run under the chariot for killing the calf .

Thyagaragar Temple is Shaivite temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located in the town of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshiped as Moolanathar, and is represented by the lingam. The temple complex covers 33 acres, and is one of the largest in India. It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with four stories and a height of 30 metres (98 ft).

The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple has the largest chariot in Tamil Nadu and the annual festival is celebrated during the month of April.

The present masonry structure was built during the Chola dynasty in the 9th century, while later expansions are attributed to Vijayanagar rulers .

Nobody knows since when the Shiva Lingam came into existence in this temple as its of a SUYAMBU(self manifested) lingam

It takes one full day to see this temple completely as it as many sculptures

This temple houses 365 lingams depicting the total days in a year and hence some states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala follows Solar calendar (365 days)instead of Lunar calender.

1 emarald Lingam

9 Gopurams,the Raja Gopuram being 98 feet in height

80 Vimanas

A 1000 pillared hall

12 Big Madhilgal(doors of wood)

13 Mantapas

15 holy wells

3 gardens

5 prakarams

100 Sannidhis for various Gods

86 Ganapathi Vigrahams(statues)

24 small inner temples

1 holy pond

and a big 90 feet height Chariot which is of 300 tons having 7 storeys.

There are 3 lingams of which one is emarald(installed by Lord Indra),one installed by Vishnu and one by the chola King.Daily poojas are offered to his idol referred to as Maragatha lingam(Lingam is made of EMARALD). His consort Parvathi is depicted as Kondi. The presiding deity is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam having 365 songs dedicated to this temple.

OM MAHADEVAYA NAMAH.

Who is the husband of maa Ganga? Is it Shiva or Shantanu?

Shantanu is husband of Mata Ganga in Mahabharata. They had sons whom she drowned in the water due to a curse on them but their last son Devvrata was saved by his father Shantanu and Ganga left him as he broke his promise of never questioning her.

Lord Shiva is not considered as husband of Mata Ganga except in few regional folklores. In Valmiki Ramayana, his seed was transferred in Ganga’s womb by Agni and she delivered it on her banks and then Kritikas cared for the child. So, Ganga is like surrogate mother of Skanda (Kartikeya) and Kritikas is his foster mothers while Parvati being his true mother.

So, Lord Shiva might be her husband in regional folklores but traditional Puranas don't mention any such thing. He's simple bearer of Ganga not husband of Ganga.

Why did Shiva cut Brahma's head?

 According to our Puranic texts, Brahma Dev had 5 heads out of which 4 would sing Vedic mantras and all the positive traits were associated with those 4 heads. But the 5th head was the head of ego, ignorance.

Because of that head of ego, Brahma challenged Bhagwan Vishnu stating that he is superior than him and Bhagwan Shiva. This led to a competition between Brahma and Vishnu, both of them had entered the body of Shiva who had taken the form of a pillar. The condition of victory was that the one who finds either the start or the end of the pillar would win. Vishnu after searching the end point, came out and accepted that the infinite cannot have an end. However, Brahma in order to win the competition lied that he had found out the starting point of the pillar. Shiva then cursed Brahma for lying, saying that Brahma would not be worshipped as the primary deity despite becoming the creator of the material world. But because of the fifth head which represented the ego & ignorance, the words of Brahma’s head came out of arrogance and he insulted Shiva. Blinded by the ego, Brahma forgot that Shiva is unborn and Brahma himself had emerged from Vishnu’s navel, despite being a manifestation of Vishnu.. because of maya (illusion), Brahma declares himself superior to Vishnu and Shiva.

In order to destroy the negativity within Brahma, from the wrath of Shiva appeared a terrifying fierce form of Shiva which was called Kaal Bhairava.

Kaal Bhairava chopped off the 5th head of Brahma just by the nail of the small finger of his left arm. This was to enlighten Brahma, helping him to identify his real self. Brahma is the first and foremost Brahmin who gave all the knowledge. This act of Bhairava cutting the fifth head of Brahma was identified as Brahma hatya, it’s a sin though it was a divine act. Although Bhairava (Shiva) is Almighty, he doesn't need to do any penance for anything, but to give a message that the laws of nature are to be followed, Bhairava roams with Brahma’s skull around the world, that skull gets attached to his hand. He roams and asks the question to everyone but no one could answer, finally he goes to Vaikuntha. Vishnu being the purest, quickly identifies that it was only the leela of Shiva and he asks Bhairava to visit Kashi, the city created by Shiva himself which liberation to everyone. Finally after reaching Kashi, the skull of Brahma gets detached from Bhairava’s hand and falls in a place called Kapal mochan.

So here the message is that it's our ego which makes us blind. Bhairava removes that and makes us aware about the reality. Brahma lied because of ego and got his head chopped off, we as Jeevas are the reflection of Brahma, having both positive as well negative traits. Bhairava removes that negativity within us. Brahma’s skull represents the entire Universe because Brahma is the creator of the Universe, but even higher than the Universe is the destroyer Bhairava who is holding the Universe, Vishnu the operator understands it completely.

So when Shiva asks Bhairava (his own form just different for leela purpose) to roam with the skull, going everywhere, it was Vishnu who was able to give the answer that only Kashi can free him from the sin, it is because he was completely free from ego, he is Achyuta, the infallible since ego cannot touch him. Understanding the leela of Shiva, Vishnu gave the right answer which means that when we will be free from our ahankar, that is when we can see the reality as it is.

This was the Hari Har Leela, here Brahma became the medium in order to give us this message through the divine act.

ॐ नमः शिवाय 🙏 ॐ नमो नारायण 🙏