Intro

Welcome to my website! Before you explore any further, let me first introduce myself. I am Shiva, the Destroyer of Evil, and the God of Destruction. You might also commonly associate me with the "Big 3" or the Trimurti, also including Brahma and Vishnu. I have many sides to me. In peaceful times you will find me on Mount Kailash near current-day Tibet, living with my wife, Parvati (you will hear more about her later). However, in times of need you will find me fighting demons.

My appearance holds much significance, especially my third eye. The third eye represents when I burned the god of desire, Kamadeva, into ashes after he woke me from my sleep. The Sacred Ganga you see is the holy Ganga river flowing down my hair. Yet, I am also seen in what is called a lingam, which is a more abstract version of my appearance (as you can see above!). The main Shiva lingam, also called Atmalinga, resides in the Mahabaleshwar Temple in Gokarna, India. According to the legend, Ravana brought forth the lingam to pray but was tricked into placing the lingam on to the ground and thus it could not be removed! Lingams are also found in smaller shrines dedicated to me, so do not be surprised when you see one!

But now that is enough information about me. The real reason I made this website was to share my enormous family and forms. My family is far-reaching and varied and so are my representations when I descend on to Earth. Here, I will focus on three stories that hold much significance to me, in particular my animal representations and forms.

The first story will follow as I battled Narasimha, a ferocious man-lion that began to ravage the Earth defeating a powerful demon. Here I come down as Sharabha, a part-lion and part-bird bird who can leap over a valley in one jump.

The second story focuses on my child, Ganesha. Although a story that I am sometimes hesitant to tell, I will share how he came to possess an elephant head.

Finally, my third story will focus on my wife Parvati as she transformed into Bhramari, the Goddess of bees, to stop a demon before he took over the heavens. For this story, I will have Parvati narrate!

I hope you all have enjoyed getting to me and look forward to learning more about my family and me!

Respectfully,

Shiva

Destroyer of Evil

Mount Kailash

Lingam Image