Deity Trimurti
Shiva
शिवः sa शिव hi சிவன் ta
One of the principal deities of Hinduism, the Supreme Being in Shaivism and transformer within the Trimurti
In brief
Shiva is a Hindu deity represented in several forms. The Met’s Chola-period Nataraja sculpture presents him as a dancer whose movement expresses creation and destruction within cyclical time. Its collection entry explains the image rather than supplying a complete account of every tradition devoted to Shiva.
Compare this with the museum’s face-bearing linga: a different form can express aspects of the same deity without being a portrait of a historical person. Look at the object’s context, date and interpretation before treating a symbol as a universal attribute.
Sources: The Met: Shiva as Lord of Dance · The Met: Linga with Face of Shiva
Overview
one of the principal deities of Hinduism, the Supreme Being in Shaivism and transformer within the TrimurtiWikidata record description. Read Shiva in the Wikipedia reader.
In 15 other languages
Family tree
As the myths and records give it. Versions differ from source to source.
The family as a list · 10
Kinship in an account 10
- parent of (father) Ashokasundari goddess
- parent of (father) Ayyappan Hindu deity
- parent of (father) Ganesha God of good luck, prosperity and well being in Hinduism; First worshipped God; Son of Shiva and Parvati
- parent of (father) Kartikeya Hindu deity, god of war, son of Shiva and Parvati
- parent of (father) Śāstā Hindu deity
- partner of (spouse) Chandi Goddess in Hinduism
- partner of (spouse) Chandraghanta third form of Durga
- partner of (spouse) Kālī Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction, in the 21st century adopted as symbol of feminine empowerment
- partner of (spouse) Parvati Hindu goddess of fertility, motherly love and devotion
- partner of (spouse) Sati first consort of the Hindu god Shiva
Connections
Affiliation 2
Identification 3
Attribute 1
.jpeg/960px-UgrataraTemple2_(cropped).jpeg)
.jpeg){kind=link}
More from South Asian traditions
Hinduism and its schools, Jainism, Sikhism, and the Vedic material behind them.