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Shiva
Hindu deity
Also known as: Śiva, Śiwa
Top Questions
Who is Shiva?
Who is Shiva?
What does Shiva look like?
What does Shiva look like?
What forms does Shiva take?
What forms does Shiva take?
What are Shiva’s roles as a deity?
What are Shiva’s roles as a deity?
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)