Shiva is one of the main deities of Hinduism . His name is also spelled Śiwa or Śiva.

Shiva

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Shiva and his family at the burning ground

Shiva, bronze statue, Madras, c. ad 900.

Shiva and Uma, sandstone, from Banteay Srei, Angkor, Cambodia, late 10th century; in the National Museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Height 60 cm.

Southern gopura of the Shiva temple at Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India, c. 1248.

For Students

Shiva summary

Shiva

Q: What does Shiva look like?

Shiva is usually depicted as white, from the ashes of corpses that are smeared on his body, with a blue neck, from holding poison in his throat. His wears a crescent moon and the Ganges River as decorations in his hair and a garland of skulls and a serpent around his neck. He has three eyes and, according to different myths, either two or four hands.

Q: What forms does Shiva take?

Shiva is represented in a variety of forms: existing peacefully with his consort Parvati and son Skanda , as the cosmic dancer Nataraja , as a naked ascetic, as a beggar, as a yogi, as a Dalit with a dog, and as the androgynous union of himself and his female consort.

Q: What are Shiva’s roles as a deity?

Shiva performs several roles as a Hindu deity. He is the great ascetic, the master of fertility, the master of poison and medicine, and Lord of Cattle. His combined roles are exemplary of a tendency in Hinduism to see complementary qualities in a single ambiguous figure.

Hindu deity

Also known as: Śiva, Śiwa

Written by Wendy Doniger

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 3, 2024 • Article History

Sanskrit:: “Auspicious One”

Also spelled:: Śiwa or Śiva

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Who is Shiva?

What does Shiva look like?

What forms does Shiva take?

What are Shiva’s roles as a deity?

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Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, whom Shaivites worship as the supreme god. Among his common epithets are Shambhu (“Benign”), Shankara (“Beneficent”), Mahesha (“Great Lord”), and Mahadeva (“Great God”). Shiva is represented in a variety of forms: in a pacific mood with his consort Parvati and son Skanda, as the cosmic dancer (Nataraja), as a naked ascetic, as a mendicant beggar, as a yogi, as a Dalit (formerly called untouchable) accompanied by a dog (Bhairava), and as the androgynous union of Shiva and his consort in one body, half-male and half-female (Ardhanarishvara). He is both the great ascetic ...(100 of 586 words)

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