Symbols of Lord Siva

1. Third eye Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes. This very story explains the use of the third eye. The third eye is believed to be the eye of 'wisdom'. It is always closed.
2. Shiva burned the God Kāma by opening this third eye.
3. This is a symbolical explanation of wisdom overpowering the desire in human life.Half-open eyes...
4. When the Lord opens His eyes, a new cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going through cyclic process, with no beginning and no end.
5. Lord Shiva is the Master of Yoga, as He uses His yogic power to project the universe from Himself.
6. The half-open eyes also symbolize His yogic posture. Blue throat:The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (nīla = "blue", kaṇtha = "throat") refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.
7. This shows that Shiva is a Lord wh is willing to sacrifice Himself for the well-being of His devotees.Crescent moon:Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon. The epithet Chandraśekhara ("Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = "moon", śekhara = "crest, crown") refers to this feature.
8. The story goes that God Moon was cursed by his father in law to gradually dissappear. Moon went to Lord Shiva for help to remove the curse.
9. Shiva took him and placed him on His head so that the moon will grow again after the dissappearance.
10. This explains that any catastrophe that befalls us humans, God is the only refuge we can go to.
11. Matted hair:Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair", and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair" or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion". A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly.
12. Lord Shiva is the Master of yoga. The three matted locks on the head of the Lord convey the idea that integration of the physical, mental and spiritual energies is the ideal of yoga.
13. Sacred Ganga:The Ganga river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gaṅgādhara ("bearer of the river Gaṅgā") refers to this feature.
14. The Ganga (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair.
15. The ashes of Hindus are to be washed in Ganga. This explains that when we humans are dead, there is only one place we will reach, God.
16. Ashes,Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma).
17. Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy.
18. These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.
19. Tiger skin:He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.
20. He also wears tiger skin as His clothing, showing that He is constantly meditating. Lord Shiva is married with children, yet He does not revell in the happiness of family life. Instead, He uses most of His time meditating.
21. This shows that our worldly life is a duty for us to complete. But our true goal to achieve is the Moksha.
22. Serpents:Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake. The snake is shown curled three times around the neck of the Lord and is looking towards His right side.
23. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future - time in cycles. The Lord wearing the curled snake like an ornament signifies that creation proceeds in cycles and is time dependent, but the Lord Himself transcends time.
24. The right side of the body symbolizes the human activities based upon knowledge, reason and logic. The snake looking towards the right side of the Lord signifies that the Lord's eternal laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe.
25. Trident:(Sanskrit: Trishula) Shiva's particular weapon is the trident. A three-pronged trident shown adjacent to the Lord symbolizes His three fundamental powers (shakti) of will (iccha), action (kriya) and knowledge (jnana). It symbolises that any success to be achieved can only be attained all three are in our perfect control.
26. Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass known as a damaru (Sanskrit: ḍamaru)This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect. This small drum with two sides separated from each other by a thin neck-like structure symbolizes the two utterly dissimilar states of existence, unmanifest and manifest.
27. When a damaru is vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are fused together by resonance to create one sound. The sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation.
28. According to Hindu scriptures, Nada is the source of creation.
29. Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana).
30. Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati, or Pashupati, translated as "lord of cattle". The bull is associated with Shiva and is said to be His vehicle. The bull symbolizes both power and ignorance. Lord Shiva's use of the bull as a vehicle conveys the idea that He removes ignorance and bestows power of wisdom on His devotees. The bull is called Vrisha in Sanskrit.
31. Vrisha also means dharma (righteousness). Thus a bull shown next to Shiva also indicates that He is the etemal companion of righteousness.
32. Gaṇa:The Gaṇas are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the Boothaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee.
33. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title gaṇa-īśa or gaṇa-pati, "lord of the gaṇas".
34. Mount Kailāsa,Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode. In Hinduism, mythology,Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe. The White of the mount suggests that The Lord only resides in the pure and uncontaminated hearts.
35. Rudraksha necklace:Rudra is another name of Shiva.
36. Rudra also means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha means "eye." Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly - without compromise - to maintain law and order in the universe.
37. The necklace has 108 beads which symbolize the elements used in the creation of the world.
38. Kundalas (two ear rings):Two Kundalas, Alakshya (meaning "which cannot be shown by any sign") and Niranjan (meaning "which cannot be seen by mortal eyes") in the ears of the Lord signify that He is beyond ordinary perception. Since the kundala in the left ear of the Lord is of the type used by women and the one in His right ear is of the type used by men, these Kundalas also symbolize the Shiva and Shakti (male and female) principle of creation.
39. Shiva (pronunciation: [ʃɪ.ʋə]; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, lit. "Auspicious one" ) is a major Hindu god and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God.
40. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God.
41. Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).
42. Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.
43. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Maya, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the lord of the dance.
44. In some other,Hindu denominations, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.