Mahadev, the great god — destroyer of ignorance, lord of yogis, easily pleased Bholenath — worshipped in the linga, on Mondays, in Shravan and through the great night of Shivaratri.
Other names: Mahadev, Shankara, Rudra, Bholenath, Neelkanth, Mahesh, Nataraja
Consort: Parvati (Shakti); sons Ganesha and Kartikeya
Vahana: Nandi, the bull
Abode: Mount Kailash; the cremation ground; the heart of the yogi
Principal mantra: ॐ नमः शिवाय — oṃ namaḥ śivāya (panchakshara)
Worship days: Mondays; Pradosh (Trayodashi); the month of Shravan; Maha Shivaratri
Symbols: Linga, trishul, damaru, crescent moon, Ganga in his locks, third eye, rudraksha, serpent
Who is Shiva?
Shiva is the third of the Trimurti — the resolver who dissolves the universe so it may be created anew — yet to his devotees he is simply Mahadev, the great god who contains everything: the perfect householder of Kailash and the ash-smeared ascetic beyond all convention; the fierce Rudra of the Vedas and Bholenath, so innocent-hearted that he grants boons for the smallest sincere offering. He is Adiyogi, the first yogi and first guru, source of the paths of meditation; as Nataraja his cosmic dance is the pulse of creation and dissolution itself. He is worshipped above all in the linga — the formless pillar of light that no beginning or end can be found to, sign of the reality beyond every form.
Stories and Legends
When the ocean of milk was churned, the terrible halahala poison surfaced first, threatening all existence; Shiva drank it and held it in his throat, which turned blue — hence Neelkanth. When the Ganga descended from heaven with a force that would have shattered the earth, he received her in his matted locks and released her gently. He burned Kamadeva, the god of desire, with his third eye, and destroyed the three flying cities of Tripura with a single arrow. For Bhagiratha's austerity he freed the Ganga; for Markandeya he kicked away death itself, becoming Mrityunjaya, conqueror of death. And when Sati gave up her body at Daksha's sacrifice, his grief and tandava shook the worlds — until she returned to him as Parvati, won by her own tapasya.
Worship in Practice
Shiva asks little: water, bilva leaves, a whispered “oṃ namaḥ śivāya”. Abhisheka — bathing the linga with water, milk, honey, curd and ghee — is the heart of his ritual, performed grandly as rudrabhisheka with the chanting of Shri Rudram. Bilva (bel) leaves in threes are his dearest offering; ketaki flowers and tulsi are traditionally not offered. Mondays are his day, Pradosh his twilight, the month of Shravan his season — and Maha Shivaratri, the darkest night of Magha, is kept as an all-night vigil of fasting, four-prahar puja and japa. The twelve jyotirlingas across India, from Somnath to Rameshwaram, mark where he manifested as the pillar of light.
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Questions
Why is Shiva worshipped as the linga?
The Linga Purana tells how Brahma and Vishnu could find neither top nor bottom of an endless pillar of light — Shiva as the formless absolute. The linga is that sign (linga means “mark”): the form through which the formless is worshipped.
Why are bilva leaves offered to Shiva?
The trifoliate bilva leaf is held to represent his three eyes and the three gunas, and tradition says a single bilva leaf offered with devotion outweighs elaborate ritual — fitting for the god who is easiest to please.
Source: Vedic and Puranic tradition — Shri Rudram, Shiva Purana, Linga Purana. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.
