The stories about God Shiva

Everybody knows that Shiva is 'shakti' or power. Shiva is the destroyer, the most powerful god of the Hindu pantheon and one of the godheads in the Hindu Trinity. Known by many names - Mahadeva, Mahayogi, Pashupati, Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava, Bhole Nath - Lord Shiva is perhaps the most complex of Hindu deities. Hindus recognize this by putting his shrine in the temple separate from those of other deities.

Today we will tell you about How Lord Shiva was born, which most people don’t know. Also, read in this story about Shiva’s unknown roles and powers.

Lord Shiva is the destroyer and also has a positive side in that destruction usual leads to new forms of existence. Lord Shiva is described in art with four hand, four faces and three eyes. The third eye keesp this power to destroy the creation, not only creation including gods and humans.

In the Vedas, a collection of ancient sacred texts, Lord Shiva is identified with the storm god Rudra.

How was Lord Shiva born?

There is a very interesting story behind the birth of lord Shiva. One day Brahma and Vishnu both were arguing about which of them were more powerful. That time one great blazing pillar appeared whose roots and branches extended beyond view into the earth and sky.

Now the Gods, Brahma and Vishnu began to find out the start and the end of that pillar. Brahma turned into goose and flew up to find the top of the pillar, while Vishnu turned into a boar and dug into the earth to look for its roots. After being unsuccessful, both came back and saw Lord Shiva emerging from an opening in the pillar.

Recognizing Shiva’s great power, they both accepted that there is the third power who rules over the universe.

Roles and power of Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is a very complex God having many roles and powers. If we will talk of his destroyer role, Shiva often hunts cemeteries, wearing a headdress of snakes and a necklace of skulls. A band of terrifying demos, hungering for blood, accompanies him. Shiva can help human as well as Gods.

He acts a divine judge who shows no mercy on the wicked. He gains the spiritual strength from periods of meditation – deep though – in the Himalayas. When Shiva dances, he represents truth, and by dancing he banishes ignorance and helps relieve the suffering of his follows.

According to one myth, Shiva saved the gods and the world from destruction by swallowing the poison of Vasuki, a serpent the gods used to produce the water of life. Drinking the poison made Shiva's neck blue, and he is often shown that way in art. One of Shiva's greatest services to the world was to tame the sacred Ganges River, which flows from the Himalayas. At one time, the Ganges passed only through the heavens, leaving the earth dry. After a wise man changed the course of the river, it became a raging torrent and threatened to flood the earth. Shiva stood beneath the river and let its waters wind through his hair to calm its flow.

In another story, the gods were threatened by demons and asked Shiva for help. He agreed—on the condition that the gods lend him some of their own strength. However, after defeating the demons, Shiva refused to return the borrowed strength. As a result, he became the most powerful being in the universe.

Shiva also has many weapons that make him unbeatable, including a club with a skull on the end, a sword and spear made from thunderbolts, and a bow made from a rainbow.