Who is Shiva?

Shiva is the Transformer — one of the three great gods of the Hindu Trinity. He is Adiyogi, the first yogi; Nataraja, the cosmic dancer; Bholenath, the innocent lord; and Mahadeva, the greatest of gods. He is the dissolver of ignorance, the patron of all ascetics, and the beloved deity of yogis across the world.

Where Brahma creates and Vishnu preserves, Shiva transforms. His role is to dissolve the old so that the new may emerge. He destroys not out of cruelty but out of compassion — burning away the accumulated ego, attachment, and illusion that bind the soul to suffering. His weapon is not punishment but purification.

Shiva is depicted in many forms: as the meditating ascetic on Mount Kailash, covered in ash with the crescent moon in his matted locks and the river Ganga flowing from his hair; as Nataraja, dancing the cosmic dance of creation and destruction within a ring of fire; and as the lingam, the formless pillar of light that has no beginning and no end.

The Lore of Shiva

Shiva’s myths are among the most profound in world mythology. The story of his marriage to Parvati — the gentle goddess who won his heart through devotion and asceticism — is the template for the union of devotion and discipline. The story of Neelakantha — how Shiva drank the poison that emerged from the churning of the cosmic ocean to save the universe, turning his throat blue — is the model of self-sacrifice.

The most important myth for the yogi is the story of Shiva as Adiyogi — the first teacher of yoga. According to tradition, Shiva sat in meditation on the shores of Lake Mansarovar and, seeing that humanity had forgotten its divine nature, transmitted the science of yoga to the Saptarishis — the seven sages — who then spread it across the world. This makes Shiva not merely a god to be worshipped but the original source of the yogic path itself.

The Inner Meaning

For the Kriya yogi, Shiva is the supreme ideal. He represents the state of consciousness that the practice aims to produce: utterly still, completely free, unmoved by the pleasures and pains of the world. Shiva’s meditation on Mount Kailash is the image of the liberated soul — sovereign and serene.

Shiva’s role as the dissolver of the ego is especially relevant. The yogi understands that the ego is not destroyed by force but by surrender — by offering the sense of “I” and “mine” into the fire of meditation and letting it burn away. Shiva’s third eye — the eye of wisdom that burns ignorance to ash — is the Ajna chakra, the spiritual eye that opens through Kriya practice.

Shiva’s consort Parvati represents shakti — the divine energy that is the dynamic complement to Shiva’s stillness. In Kriya Yoga, this union is literal: the dormant spiritual energy (Kundalini shakti) rises through the spine to meet the infinite consciousness (Shiva) at the crown of the head. Their union is the goal of the practice.

Iconography & Symbols

Shiva is the great ascetic-god, and every detail of his form speaks of mastery over the forces of nature. His body is smeared with sacred ash (vibhuti), a reminder that all forms return to dust. His matted locks (jata) hold the descending river Ganga and the crescent moon, marking his command over time and the tides of the mind. Between his brows opens the third eye of inner vision, whose gaze can burn illusion — and desire itself — to ashes.

His throat is dark blue, for he once drank the world-poison to save creation, earning the name Nilakantha, 'the blue-throated one.' He holds the trident (trishula) of the three gunas and the small drum (damaru) whose beat is the pulse of creation. A serpent coils at his neck, showing the kundalini energy fully tamed; he wears a tiger-skin and rudraksha beads, rides the white bull Nandi, and dwells in eternal meditation upon Mount Kailash.

Nataraja: The Cosmic Dance

Perhaps the most profound image in all of Indian art is Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance. Within a ring of flame representing the cosmos, he dances the Ananda Tandava, the dance of bliss through which the universe is created, sustained and dissolved. The drum in his upper right hand sounds the vibration that brings the worlds into being; the flame in his upper left is the fire of dissolution; his lower right hand is raised in abhaya mudra, the gesture 'fear not'; and his lower left points to his raised foot, the refuge of liberation.

Beneath his other foot he crushes the dwarf Apasmara, the demon of forgetfulness and spiritual ignorance. The figure expresses the five acts of the Divine — creation, preservation, dissolution, concealment and grace — held in effortless balance. Motion and stillness are one: at the very centre of the whirling dance, the face of Shiva is utterly serene, the changeless witness within all change.

Myths & Legends

The myths of Shiva turn again and again on sacrifice and grace. When the churning of the ocean released the halahala, a poison capable of destroying all creation, it was Shiva who drank it, holding it in his throat so that neither the worlds above nor below were harmed. When the sacred Ganga agreed to descend from heaven, her fall would have shattered the earth — so Shiva received her torrent in his matted hair, releasing her gently as the river of life.

When Kama, the god of desire, loosed an arrow to disturb his meditation, Shiva opened his third eye and reduced him to ash, later restoring him in a subtler, formless way. And in the tale of the Lingodbhava, Shiva appeared as an infinite pillar of light whose top and bottom neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find — revealing himself as the boundless Absolute beyond all measure. In each story the same truth shines: the power that dissolves is also the power that saves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Shiva?

Shiva is the transformer of the Hindu Trinity, the great ascetic-yogi whose dissolution clears the way for renewal.

What does Shiva as Nataraja represent?

The cosmic dance through which the universe is created, sustained and dissolved, with perfect stillness at its centre.

Why is Shiva’s throat blue?

He drank the world-poison to save creation, earning the name Nilakantha, the blue-throated one.