Vaishnavi Devi

Jai Mata Ki

‘Vaishnavi’ means the one who is related to lord “Vishnu”.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine is one of the oldest shrine of India, located at a height of 5200 feet on the folds of the three peaked mountain Trikuta Hills of the Shivalik Hill Range. The Holy cave is 12 Kms (7.45 miles) from the Base Camp Katra.
The Goddess Mata Vaishno Devi’s abode is in 100 feet long cave with a narrow opening. The holy cold and crystal clear water washes the lotus feet of the Mata’s “Pindian”. There are three natural pindies representing Maha Sarswati, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Kali, which represent creative, preservative, and destructive aspects of the Super Power.
As per the legend, during the period when the Goddess was busy in demolishing the Asuras, her three main manifestations viz. Mata Maha Kali, Mata Maha Lakshmi and Mata Maha Saraswati got together one day and pooled their collective Tejas or spiritual strength. A stunningly bright light aroused from the place where the Tejas of the three manifestations combined and a beautiful young girl emerged out of this Tejas. The young girl asked them, “Why have I been created?” The Devis explained to her that they had created her so that she demolishes Asura (Devil) Mahishasura and she initiates on earth an era of pious and ascetic life so that the peace could prevail upon the world and she through her penance could rise to higher levels of spirituality.
The Devis added, “Now, go and take birth in the house of Ratankar Sagar and his wife who resides in south of India, and who are great devotees of ours. Live on earth. Uphold righteousness and evolve yourself spiritually so that you reach higher levels of consciousness. Once you have attained the appropriate level of consciousness you will merge into Vishnu and become one with him.” Sometime later a girl of extraordinary beauty and strength was born to Ratankar and his wife. The couple named the child Vaishnavi. The girl right from her childhood displayed a hunger for knowledge which was like a cyclone and which no amount of teaching and learning could sufficiently satisfy her. Subsequently, Vaishnavi started looking into her inner self for knowledge, and soon learned the art of meditation and realized that meditation and penance only could bring her close to her greater objective. When Vaishnavi was 9 years old, she gave up all household comforts and went deep into the forest for Tapasaya (meditation).
Vaishnavi prayed to Lord Vishnu in the form of Rama. During Shri Rama’s search for Sita, he reached the seashore along with his army. His eyes fell on this Divine Girl in deep meditation. Vaishnavi recognized him immediately as no ordinary being but the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and immediately asked him to merge her into himself so that she could become one with the supreme creator.
However Lord Rama, knowing that it was not the appropriate time, dissuaded her by saying that he would visit her again after the end of his exile, and at that time if she succeeded in recognizing him, he would fulfill her wish. True to his words, Lord Rama visited her again after being victorious in the battle, but this time he did so in the disguise of an old man. Unfortunately, Vaishnavi was unable to recognize him this time and was very upset. Upon this, Lord Rama consoled her that the appropriate time for her being one with the creator had not come, and that time would come eventually in ‘Kaliyug’ when He (Rama) would be in his incarnation of ‘Kalki’. Lord Rama also asked her to meditate, and set up an Ashram at the base of Trikuta hills of Manik Mountains, situated in Northen India, to elevate her level of spirituality so as to bless mankind and rid the poor and destitute of their sufferings. Only then would ‘Vishnu’ merge her into himself. Maa decided to observe the ‘Navratra’ for the Victory of Shri Rama against Ravana. Hence one reads the Ramayana during the 9 days of Navratra, in remembrance of the above connection. Vaishnavi, immediately set off for the northern part and after immense hardships, reached the foot of the Trikuta Hills. After reaching there she set up her ashram there and began to meditate.
As predicted by Lord Rama, her glory spread far and wide, and people began to flock to her Ashram to seek her blessings. As time passed, a Tantrik named Gorakh Nath who had a vision of the episode between Lord Rama and Vaishnavi in the retrospective time frame, became curious to find out whether Vaishnavi has been able to attain a high level of spirituality or not. He, therefore, sent his most able disciple ‘Bhairon Nath’ to find out the truth. Bhairon Nath on locating the ashram started observing Vaishnavi secretly, and realised that though a ‘Sadhvi’ she was armed by a trident from Shiva, Chakra from Vishnu, a Lion from Himalayas and bows and arrows from Vayu. Bhairon Nath was attracted by Vaishnavi’s extraordinary beauty, and losing all good sense he began to pester Vaishnavi to marry him.
There was an ardent devotee of Vaishnavi, Shree dhar, who resided in a village called Hansali, 2 km from the present Katra town. Maa appeared to him in his dream in the form of a young bewitching girl and asked the humble Pandit to hold a ‘Bhandara’ (Community meal). The Pandit set out to invite people from the village and near-by places. He also invited Guru Gorakh Nath along with all his followers including Bhairon. Bhairon Nath asked Shree Dhar how he was planning to fulfill the requirements. He reminded him of the bad consequences in case of failure. As Panditji was lost in worry, the Divine girl appeared and told him not to be depressed as everything had been arranged. She asked that over 360 devotees be seated in the small hut. True to Her word the Bhandara went smoothly with food and place to spare. Bhairon Nath admitted that the girl had supernatural powers and decided to test her further.
Bhairon Nath attempted to grab Vaishnavi but she tried her best to daunt him. On failing to do so, Vaishnavi decided to flee away into the mountains to continue her Tapasaya undisturbed. Bhairon Nath however followed her to Trikuta Hills. For 9 months Bhairon Nath was searching for the mystic girl in the mountains. While running away from Bhairon, Devi shot an arrow into the Earth from which water gushed out. The resultant river is known as Baanganga. It is believed that by taking a bath in Baanganga (Baan: Arrow), a believer of the Mother Goddess can wash away all his sins. The banks of the river, known as Charan Paduka, are marked by Devi’s foot imprints, which remains intact till date. Vaishno Devi then took shelter in a cave known as Garbh Joon near Adhkawari where she meditated for 9 months attaining spiritual wisdom and powers. Her meditation was cut short when Bhairon located her. Vaishno Devi was then compelled to take the form of Maha Kali when Bhairon tried to kill her. The manifestation of the Mother Goddess took place at the mouth of the Holy cave at Darbar. The Goddess then beheaded Bhairon with such sheer force that his skull fell at a place known as Bhairon Ghati, 2.5 km from the Holy Cave.
In his dying moments, Bhairon realized the futility of his mission and prayed to the deity to forgive him. The Goddess knew that Bhairon’s main intention in attacking her was to achieve salvation. She not only granted Bhairon liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, but also granted him a boon, whereby every devotee would have to have the Darshans of Bhairon after having the Darshans of the Goddess and only then would the yatra of a devotee be complete. Meanwhile Vaishno Devi decided to shed off her human form and assuming the face of a rock she immersed herself into meditation forever. Thus Vaishnavi, in the form of a five and a half feet tall rock with three heads or the Pindies on the top is the ultimate destination of a devotee.
After the Bhandhara, Shree dhar was curious to get to the bottom of the mystery shrouding the magical powers of Vaishnavi. Then one day, he had a dream, The Goddess showed him the vision of her cave and also blessed him with the boon of four sons. Shree dhar, happy once again, set out in search of the cave, on the same path that he had witnessed in a dream. He ultimately reached the cave mouth. He made a daily routine of worshiping the ‘Pindis’ in several ways. His worship pleased the Goddess. She appeared in front of him and blessed him. Since that day, Shree dhar and his descendants have been worshiping the Goddess Mother Vaishno Devi.

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Shyam Baba

Jai Shri Shyam

The saga of Shyam Baba comes in Mahabharata.
Bhima and Hidimba gave birth to a son who was named Ghatotkacha, since he did not have any hair on his head. Ghatotkacha got married to Kamkantakata, daughter of demon Mur in Manipur. Kamkantakata bore an illustrious, strong, wise, kind hearted and religious son named Barbareek.
At the time of his birth, he had hair like a lion’s mane. Hence the name “Barbareek” was given to him. Ghatotkacha took Barbareek to Dwarka and placed him at the feet of lord Shri Krishna.
Upon the instruction of Lord Krishna, Barbareek went to the meeting place of the oceans to seek the blessings of ‘Sureshwari Bhavani Bhagvati.’ Reaching the meeting place of the oceans, he gained his perception and began to meditate upon the goddess. The goddess was so pleased that she said “Son, we grant you unparalleled strength. Nobody will be able to defeat you in this world. But you stay here for a few more years because a Brahmin named Vijay will come here and you will receive even more blessings as a result of his company.”
Barbareek stayed there following the goddess’ command. The Brahmin named Vijay came there from Megadha and worshipping seven Shivlings, he became immersed in the meditation of the same goddess. The goddess came in the Brahmin’s dream and blessed him and also asked him to meditate before the Sidha Mother to practice all his skills and learning. They told him that my devotee Barbareek would help him. Then that Brahmin named Vijay said to Barbareek, “Oh Brother! Please take care that my meditation is not disturbed till I practice all my skills.” Therefore, Barbareek killed Replindu demon, and Dhruv-Dhruva demoness etc., who were obstructing in the Brahmin’s meditation. He also killed the demons called Palasi who had been troubling Nagas from the Patal lok. On the killing of those demons, the king of the Nags, Vasuki came there and told Barbareek to ask for a boon. Barbareek humbly asked for a boon that the Brahmin Vijay’s meditation may be completed uninterrupted.
At that time many Nag maidens seeing Barbareek’s looks and bravery, were eager to marry him. But Barbareek told all of them that he had taken the vow of bachelorhood. Those Nag maidens were very pleased with his bahaviour and gave him the boon of being ever victorious. Thereafter the goddess granted Brahmin Vijay the boon of wealth and fortune and the Lord Shiva gave Barbareek three infallible arrows (Teen Baan) and blessing him, said that by using these arrows he would always be victorious in the three worlds. Hence, Barbarika came to be known by the appellation Teen Baandhaari, the ‘Bearer of Three Arrows.’ Agni Deva gave him bow which would make him victorious in 3 worlds.
After a long time of his leaving that area, the Pandava brothers also reached the Sindh pilgrimage after losing everything in gambling. All the Pandavas worshipped the goddess and then sat a little away to take some rest. Bhim stood up and without washing his hand and feet, entered the sacred pond and began rinsing and gargling his mouth. Barbareek became very angry on seeing this. He went to Bhim and said “You know the water from this pond is used for the worship of the goddess and you have entered the pond without even washing your hands and feet and you are also gargling and rinsing your mouth.” At this, Bhim also got very angry and both started fighting. Bhim was very proud of his might and even after applying all his strength he couldn’t defeat Barbareek. Seeing this, Bhim became very depressed and at the same time, Lord Shiva appeared at that place with all the goddess. Lord Shiva told Bhim not to feel depressed as Barbareek was from his own family and was indeed his descendent. He is Barbareek, the son of your son Ghatotkachch. Barbareek was very sad at having fought with his grandfather. He felt disdain for his life and he went ahead to end his life. Then the goddess, who had granted Barbareek the might and Lord Bholenath, advised Barbareek that this is not the time for him to end his life. On everybody’s advice, Barbareek calmed down and reunited with his family. Even after meeting the Pandavas, the flame of devoutness and meditation was there in Barbareek’s mind.
Barbareek also completed his meditation at the meeting place of the oceans, returned to his mother, and touched her feet. When Barbarika came to know that battle between Pandavas and Kauravas will happen, he also wished to see the same and told his mother about his desire. Then his mother told him, “If you want to see the battle, then go. But you are so brave and courageous that if you feel the urge to participate in the war, what will you do?
Then Barbareek said, “Mother, I will first watch the battle and then afterwards I will join the side of the party which is losing.” Then taking his mother’s permission and blessing, he rode on his Blue Horse (Neela Ghoda) equipped with 3 arrows and bow towards the battlefield of Mahabharata, Kurukshetra.
Lord Krishna saw through his divine foresight that Barbareek was proceeding towards the battlefield. Lord Krishna, disguising himself as a Brahmin sat under a peepal tree, a little distance away from the battlefield. He stopped Barbarika to examine his strength. He even tried to mock Barbareek saying that he was going to the great battle with only three arrows. Barbarika replied that a single arrow was enough to destroy all his opponents in the war, and it would then return to his quiver. He stated that, the first arrow is used to mark all the things that he wants to destroy. On releasing the third arrow, it would destroy all the things that are marked and will then return to his quiver. If he uses the second arrow, then the second arrow will mark all the things that he wants to save. On using the third arrow, it will destroy all the things that are not marked.
Lord Krishna challenged him to tie all the leaves of the peepal tree under which he was standing, with one arrow. Barbarika accepts the challenge and starts meditating to release his arrow by closing his eyes. Then, Krishna without the knowledge of Barbarika, plucks one of the leaf of the tree and puts it under his foot. When Barbarik releases his first arrow, within moments it marks all the leaves of the tree and finally starts revolving around the leg of Krishna. For this Krishna asks Barbarika, as why was the arrow revolving around his foot? For this, Barbareek replies that there must be a leaf under his foot and the arrow was targeting his foot to mark the leaf that is hidden under him. Barbarika advises Krishna to lift his leg, since, otherwise the arrow will mark the leaf by pricking Krishna’s leg. Thus, Krishna lifts his foot and to his surprise, finds that the first arrow also marks the leaf that was hidden under his foot. Of course, the third arrow does collect all the leaves (including the one under Krishna’s foot) and ties them together. By this Krishna concludes that the arrows are so infallible, that even if Barbarika is not aware of his targets, the arrows are so powerful that they can still navigate and trace all his intended targets. Lord Krishna asked the boy whom he would favour in the war. Barbarika revealed that he will fight for whichever side is weak. Lord Krishna knew that the defeat of the Kauravas was inevitable if this boy joins them.
The Brahmin (Lord Krishna) then sought charity from the boy. Barbarika promised him anything he wished. Lord Krishna asked him to give his head in charity. Barbarika was speechless, he requested the Brahmin to disclose his real identity. Lord Krishna showed Barbarika His Divine Form. He explained to Barbarika that before the battle, in order to worship the battlefield, head of the bravest Kshatriya needs to be sacrificed. And he considered Barbarika to be the bravest among Kshatriyas, and hence asked for his head in charity. In fulfilment of his promise, and in compliance with the Lord’s command, Barbarika gave his head to Krishna in charity. Therefore on the eleventh of the Shukla Paksha (bright half) of the Phalgun month, Barbareek sang devotional songs in the whole night and on the morning of the twelfth, after bathing and doing his morning prayers, he gave his head to Lord Krishna.
Barbareek requested that he wanted to see the battle till its end, and his wish was granted.
At that moment, all the Pandava brothers arrived there and began telling Lord Krishna, “Lord! Why have you asked for this innocent brave man’s head? Then “Siddha Ambika, Tara, Kapali, Suvarna, Trikola, Chandika, Praneshwari, Bhutambika, Kodhmatru, Harisiddha, Charcha-cheeka, Yogeshwari & Tripura etc., goddesses appeared, and said “Oh brave Pandavas! Hear from us the reason for taking the sacrifice of Barbareek’s head.
Once upon a time all the Gods prayed to Shri Vishnu that Lord! The unrighteousness on earth has increased greatly. Please lessen this burden from the earth. Then Lord Vishnu assured everyone and putting their minds of rest promised that he would take an incarnation and remove the burden from the earth. Then a Yaksha named Suryavarcha, who was present there, said that he alone could take an incarnation and he would remove earth’s burden. As soon as he said that, Lord Brahma became extremely furious and he cursed Suryavarcha saying that whenever the time comes for him to remove the world’s burden, he would die by the hands of Shri Krishna. Then Suryavarch asked what he could do to escape from Lord Brahma’s curse. Lord Vishnu said that whenever the burden of sin and unrighteousness will descend on the earth, Shri Krishna will release you from your curse and with his blessings you will become famous. He is the same brave man whose head Shri Krishna has taken as a sacrifice.
Thereafter Shri Krishna and the goddesses secured Barbareek’s head at the top of a high hill near the battlefield with the help of nectar vines so that he could watch the war till its end. When the battle was over, the victorious Pandava brothers argued amongst themselves as to who was responsible for the victory. Each of them was thinking himself to be the cause of this victory.
At this, Lord Krishna suggested that Barbarika’s head had watched the whole battle, and he should be allowed to judge. Barbarika’s head suggested that it was Lord Krishna who was responsible for the victory, his advice, his presence, his game plan had been crucial. It was only because of this God’s delusions that you have emerged victorious. He said that he had seen the Sudarshana Chakra revolving around the battlefield, hacking the Kaurava army to pieces; and Draupadi, assuming the fearful form of Mahakali Durga, drinking bowl after bowl of blood without allowing even one drop of blood to fall on the earth.
Lord Krishna, pleased with Barbarika’s great sacrifice, granted him the boon that when Kaliyuga descends, he would be greatly worshipped by the name of Shyam (Lord Krishna’s own name) in his form. His devotees would be blessed just by pronouncing his name from the bottom of their hearts. Their wishes would be granted and troubles removed if they worship Shyamji (Barbarika) with a true piety.
After the Mahabharata battle, Barbarika’s head was buried in the village called Khatu. A shepherd used to graze the cows of Khatu outside Khatu. One of the cows while returning home after grazing used to stop at a place some distance away from the village and milk used to start flowing from her teats into the earth. The cow’s owner was very worried and upset that his cow was not giving any milk daily. He admonished the shepherd and asked him whether he milked the cow every evening so that the cow was not giving any milk to him. Even after the shepherd denied, the cow’s owner did not believe him and followed the cow the whole day and what he saw was that at a particular distance from the village, milk starts flowing from the teats of the cow and enters the earth. Seeing this, he was dumbstruck with astonishment and began wondering who was inside the earth that drank the milk in such a fashion.
He started getting the field dug up. When the digging was completed, a sound was heard beneath the earth. Then he gave orders for the digging operation to proceed slowly. After passage of some time, the brave Barbareek’s head i.e. Shyamji’s head was found. The head was handed over to a Brahmin who worshipped it for many days in his house.
Roopsingh Chauhan, King of Khatu, then had a dream where he was inspired to build a temple and install the head therein. Subsequently, a temple was built and the head “Shish” was installed on the 11th day of the Shukla Paksha (bright half) of Kartik month.
Even today those devotees who meditate and worship the sacrificer of the head-shyamji with a true heart, faith and deep devoutness, Shri Shyamji riding on a blue horse comes running to fulfill their prayers.
There is a Shyam pond at a little distance from the temple where the head of Shri Shyamji had appeared. There is a special importance to bathing in that pond. Many devotees believe that by bathing in that pond, the afflictions of the body are cured.
The original temple was built in 1027 AD by Roopsingh Chauhan. In 1720 AD, a nobleman known as Diwan Abhaisingh renovated the old temple, at the behest of the then ruler of Marwar. The temple took its present shape at this time and the idol was enshrined in the Sanctum Sanctorum. The idol is made of rare stone.
Other names of the deity
Barbarika – Khatushyamji’s childhood name was Barbarika. His mother and relatives used to call him by this name before the name Khatushyamji was given by Shri Krishna.
Sheesh Ke Dani - Literally: “Donor of Head.”
Hare Ka Sahara – Literally: “Support of the defeated.” Upon his mother’s advise, Barbarika resolved to support whoever has less power and is losing. Hence he is known by this name.
Teen Baan Dhaari – Literally: “Bearer of three arrows.” Reference is to the three infallible arrows that he received as boon from God Shiva. These arrows were sufficient to destroy the whole world. The title written below these three arrows is Maa Sevyam Parajitah.
Lakha-datari – Literally: “The Munificent Giver,” one who never hesitates to give his devotees whatever they need and ask for.
Leela ke Aswaar – Literally: “Rider of Leela,” being the name of his blue-coloured horse. Many call it Neela Ghoda or “blue horse.”
Khatu Naresh – Literally: “The King of Khatu“; One who rules Khatu and the whole universe.
Two special hymns, the Shri Shyam Aarti and the Shri Shyam Vinati, are chanted on all these occasions.
Shyam Baba aarti :
Om jai shri shyam hare, baba jai shri shyam hare
Khatu dham virajat, anupam roop dhare, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Ratan jadit singhasan, sir per chanvar dule
Tan keshariya baago, kundal shravan pade, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Gal pushpon ki maala, sir par mukut dhare
Khevat dhoop agni par, deepak jyoti jale, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Modak kheer choorma, suvaran thaal bhare,
Sevak bhog lagaave, seva nitya kare, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Jhanj katora aur ghadiyaaval, shankh mridang dhure,
Bhakt aarti gaave, jay jay kaar kare, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Jo dhyave phal paave, sab dukh se ubare,
Sevak jan nij mukh se, shri shyam shyam uchare, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Shri shyam bihariji ki aarti, jo koi nar gave
Kahat alusingh swami, manvanchit phal paave, Om jai shri shyam hare…
Om jai shri shyam hare Ooo, baba jai shri shyam hare,
Nij bhakton ke tumne, pooran kaaj kare, Om jai shri shyam hare…
The vinati (shyam puspanjali) :
Haath jod vinati karu, sunjyo chit lagaye
Das aa gayo sharan main, rakhiyo iski laaj
Dhanye dhudharo desh hain, khatu nagar sujan
Anupam chavi shri shyam ki, darshan se kalian
Shyam shyam to main ratu, shyam hain jeevan pran
Shyam bakht jag main bade, unko karu pranam
Khatu nagar ke beech main, banyo aapko dham
Phalgun shukla mela bhare, jai jai baba shyam
Phalgun shukla dwadshi, utsav bhari hoye
Baba ke darbar se, khali jaye na koye
Umapati laxmipati, sitapati shri ram
Lajja sabki rakhiyon, khatu ke shri shyam
Paan supari ilachi, atar sugandhit bharpur
Sab bhaktan ki vinti, darshan devo hazoor
Alusingh to prem se, dhare shyam ko dhyan
Shyam Bhakt pave sada, shyam kripa se maan
“BOLO SHYAM PRABHU KI JAI”
“LELE KE SAWAR KI JAI”
“SHISH KE DANI KI JAI”

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Ram

Jai Shree Ram
Lord Rama is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, preserver of the Universe. Rama is the symbol of courtesy and virtue, a man of values and morals. Ramachandra is also known as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man or Lord of Self-Control or Lord of Virtue. Lord Rama is considered to have taken birth on earth to fight all the evil spirits that were dwelling in this world during that period. The saints were troubled by the demons and they were not allowed to perform the religious rites.
Rama took birth on earth to set an example to the people of how an ideal man should be. He was an ideal son and husband and a very truthful and brave king. He was a very caring and father like figure to his brothers.
He is most often represented as a standing figure, holding a bow and arrow on his hands and a quiver on his back, indicating his readiness to destroy evils. He is also called “Shri Rama” to indicate that he is associated with the essence of four Vedas. More commonly he is pictured with his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and devotee Hanuman who is sitting near Lord Rama’s feet.
Lord Rama, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, is “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king”. Lord Rama story has been narrated in the great Hindu epic of Ramayana, written by the ancient Sanskrit poet Valmiki. The term ‘Ramayana’, literally means “the march (ayana) of Rama” in search of human values. Ramayana teaches us the values of ideology, devotion, duty, relationships, dharma and karma.
According to the Hindus belief, Rama lived in the Treta Yug. Although historians are of the conviction that Rama was not particularly deified until the 11th century AD. Lord Rama day of appearance is known as Rama-navami. Ramnavami falls on the 9th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra (March-April).
The Ramayana speaks of how the Goddess Earth, came to the Lord Creator, Brahma begging to be rescued from evil kings. The Devas also came to Brahma scared of Ravana, the ten-headed rakshasa emperor of Lanka. He had immense strength and was powerful to all living beings, except man and animals.
Brahma, Goddess Earth and the Devas prayed Vishnu, the Preserver, for releasing them from Ravana’s rule. At this, Vishnu promised them that he will kill Ravana by incarnating as a man – the eldest son of king Dasaratha. His eternal companion, Lakshmi took birth as Sita and was found by king Janaka of Mithila while he was ploughing a field. Vishnu’s eternal companion, the Ananta Sesha incarnated as Lakshmana to stay at his side.
Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya was performing the Putrakama Yagna in order to obtain offspring by pleasing the gods. As a result, he was given the sacred payasa (pudding) by Agnideva to share among his wives: Kousalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. On the night of the ninth day after Amavasya, Rama was born in the city of Ayodhya, which is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala. He is the eldest brother to Bharata, son of Kaikeyi, and the twin sons of Sumitra, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Rama is also referred to as Aryaputra (son of an Aryan). Rama and his brothers are trained by Rishi Vasishta in the Vedas, religion, philosophy and the sciences.
When Rama was sixteen years old, he and Lakshmana were taken by Vishwamitra to the forests, with the purpose of killing rakshasas. Rama and Lakshmana were taught the advanced military arts and given the knowledge of all celestial weapons by Vishwamitra. Rama proceeds to slay Tadaka, a cursed yaksha demoness. Rama refuses to kill the demoness saying it is sinful to kill a woman. Vishwamitra explains that evil has no gender. On this, Rama kills Tadaka and liberates the yaksha soul and helped the Brahmins, animals and travelers. Vishwamitra’s main reason to bring them was to conduct his yagna without any interruption from two evil demons, Maricha and Subahu. Rama and Lakshmana surrounded the area of the yagna, and when the two demons appeared, Rama shoots an arrow that carries Maricha across the lands and into the ocean, but does not kill him. Rama and his brother then proceed to kill Subahu and accompanying demons.
Sage Vishwamitra takes the two princes, Rama and Lakshmana, to the Swayamvara ceremony for Sita. ‘Swayamvara’ was organized by her father Janaka to identify a suitable bridegroom for her lovely daughter. Princes from various kingdoms are invited and challenge to string the bow of Shiva, and shoot an arrow with it. Only the mighty Rama could lift the bow, string it and even break it into two halves. This leads Sita to garland Rama as her husband.
After Rama weds Sita, Rishi Parashurama Bhargava came from the mountains. Parashurama is the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is responsible for killing all the emperors and kings 21 times. He was amazed and angry by knowing that someone could break the bow of Shiva. He brought with him the bow of Vishnu, and challenged Rama to string it, and fight a battle with him. Rama bowed to Parashurama, took the bow of Vishnu, stringed it, placed an arrow. At this, Parashurama realized that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu. Then he bowed to Rama, and promised to leave the world of men.
King Dasaratha announces to Ayodhya that he plans to crown Rama, the Yuvaraja. Everyone is very happy after listening to the news except the wicked maid-servant Manthara who then spoils the mind of queen Kaikeyi. Manthara poisoned Kaikeyi’s mind by making her fear about the future of her son Bharata, that Rama will ill-treat Bharata after he gains power. Kaikeyi uses the two boons given by the king when she saved the life of the king in a battle long back. Kaikeyi asked the king to fulfil the two boons, 1st will be that Bharata gets the crown and 2nd will be that Rama goes for a forest exile of 14 years. Dasaratha was shocked because he loved and adored Rama. He refuses to fulfil her 2nd boon. When Rama came to know the truth he considered his duty to fulfil his father’s words. Sita and Lakshama also joined Rama in his exile. The king’s court and the people are outraged at this turn of events.
Rama goes to the forest and lived a life of meditative retreat in the deep woods. Dasaratha was not able to take the pain of separation from Rama, his heart was broken and he died.
When Rama was exiled, Bharata was absent, upon his return, he learned all the events. He was angry to know that he should take the throne and that his mother has done all this for him. He accuses his mother, and informs the Rajya that he will go the forest and bring Rama back and will fulfill the term of 14 years in exile instead of him.
Bharata goes to meet Rama in the forest and pleads him to return to the capital. Rama declines to break his vow given to his dead father. Bharata is compelled to go back to Ayodhya with his sandals, which he places on the throne as the symbol of Rama’s continuing monarchy.
During the forest exile, many rakshasas were killed. One day, Sita got abducted by the demon king Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana begin their search for Sita. After searching for her in various directions they came across an injured eagle named Jatayu. Jatayu informed them that a rakshasa was flying away with Sita towards the south. He told them that he tried to save Sita from the rakshasa, but due to his age and the rakshasa’s power, had been defeated. With this, Jatayu dies in Rama’s arms.
Rama and Lakshama continue their search for Sita in the south and they came across Sugriva. Sugriva was very horrified by his brother Vali, King of Kishkindha and was hiding from him in the mountains. Rama promises to kill Vali and free Sugriva of the terror. Rama kills Vali and makes Sugriva the king of Kishkindha. In return, Sugriva promises to help Rama trace Sita.
After getting crowned, Sugriva involves himself in the luxuries and pleasures of kingdom. Rama fears that Sugriva has forgotten his promise; Lakshmana goes to Kishkindha to remind him of his promise. Lakshmana kicks down the city gate and threatens to destroy Sugriva. At this Tara, Vali’s wife intervened and pacified Lakshmana and scolds Sugriva for not fulfilling his promise. Sugriva realizes his mistake and appoints his army into sub groups and send them into different directions in search of Sita.
Hanuman exerts himself greatly over the search for Sita. He is the first to discover that Sita was taken to Lanka. After reaching Lanka he saw Sita is held captive in the island and Ravana is trying to persuade her to marry him. He met Sit and gave her the message of Rama. After meeting Sita, he was captured and was taken in front of Ravana. He gave Rama’s message to Ravana to immediately release Sita. Ravana got his tail burned; he flees and sets Lanka on fire. Hanuman returned to Rama and narrated everything and Rama with his army reached the ocean.
When Rama reached the ocean, Vibheeshana, Ravana’s youngest brother comes to join him. He loved his elder brother and Lanka; he tried to convince his brother to return Sita to Rama. He believed that Ravana’s ill-deeds and arrogance will cause the destruction of Lanka. Vibheeshana refused to accept the evil deeds of Ravana and leaves Lanka to join Rama.
Faced with the dilemma of how to cross the ocean, Rama performs a tapasya, fasting and meditating for three days and three nights to Sagara, the Lord of Oceans. Sagara does not respond, and Rama on the fourth morning, pointed the brahmastra towards the ocean. At this, Sagara arises out of the oceans. He bows to Rama, and begs for pardon. Since lord Rama had to use the weapon, he suggests Rama to re-direct the weapon at a demonic race that lives in the heart of the ocean. Sagara suggests to Rama to construct a bridge with the help of Nala and Nil and he himself will help in constructing the bridge across to Lanka.
After crossing the ocean, Rama and his army reached Lanka, Rama sent Angad, son of Vali, to offer Ravana a final chance to make peace, by immediately returning Sita and apologizing to both Rama and Sita, but Ravana refuses. Thus the war started between Rama and Ravana.
In the war, Rama and his army kills hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the most powerful rakshasa, including Prahasta, Atikaya, Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s brother. Rama defeated Ravana in the first encounter, by destroying his chariot and weapons, and severely injuring him. Next day, Rama was put to a deep sleep with Lakshmana by the nagapash of Indrajit, but they recover when Hanuman obtains the magical medicine according to Vibheesana’s advice.
When Lakshmana is struck down and near death, Hanuman flies to the Himalayas to fetch the sanjeevani medicinal herbs, bringing the entire mountain to Lanka so that no time is lost in saving Lakshmana.
On the last day of the battle, Rama and Ravana compete fiercely, inflicting severe injuries on one another with the most powerful weapons that could destroy the universe. After a long battle, Rama beheaded Ravana’s central head, but another head arises in its place. Rama again beheaded it, only to find another growing in its place. This cycle continued. Vibheeshana, seeing this, tells Rama that Ravana had obtained amrita, the nectar of immortality, from the gods. Though he could not consume it, he stored a vessel of it in his stomach. This amrita was causing his heads to regenerate as soon as they were cut off. Rama invokes the most powerful weapon, the Brahmastra. Rama fires the great arrow that enters Ravana’s chest/stomach and destroys the store of amrita, finally killing him. After killing Ravana, Vibheeshana was crowned the king of Lanka. At the end of the war, Rama worships Brahma, who restores life to the millions of fallen Vanaras.
Sita was brought to Rama, but Rama asks Sita to give Agni Pariksha. On Rama’s consent Lakshmana builds a pyre for Sita. Sita walked into the flames, but was completely unharmed. Rama told Sita that he never doubted her purity, but since she was there in Lanka for 1 year, this Agni Pariksha was compulsory so that people accepts and honors her as a queen, since Agni would destroy the impure and sinful, but not touch the pure and innocent.
Another version of this, used in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, was that Rama had known Sita was going to be abducted by Ravana ahead of time. So, he entrusted her to Agni Dev, or the God of Fire. Rama did this so that he, who in reality was Vishnu, could kill Ravana. Sita, in turn, left behind a “shadow”, or twin-like version of herself behind. The “shadow” Sita had been abducted by Ravana. Therefore, the lila of Agni Pariksha was to retrieve the genuine Sita from the temporary care of Agni Dev. Rama explains this to Lakshmana before the “Pariksha” is done.
With the end of the war, Rama’s exile of 14 years also got completed and he returned to his kingdom, Ayodha on the Pushpaka Vimana. His mothers, brothers and the people joyously welcome him.
According to Ramayana, Diwali celebrates the return of Rama, from his 14-year exile with Sita and Lakshman. The people of Ayodhya lighted the kingdom with earthen diyas (oil lamps) and fireworks to celebrate the return of their king. Great celebrations were held and everyone was happy for Rama to be the King of Ayodhya. This celebration took place on the night of the new moon of Ashwin (October-November). From that day onwards; people celebrate this occasion as the most delightful festival. Even today Diwali celebration means -happiness, fireworks and sweets. Thus the festival of diwali is an honour of Rama’s victory over Ravana.
Rama like other Indian kings went undercover every night to hear the pleas of his subjects and have a common man’s perspective of his rule. Unfortunately, Sita’s stay in Lanka comes under scrutiny. People started talking about her purity and considered her unfit as a Queen. At this, Rama banishes his wife Sita, even as she is pregnant, asking Lakshmana to deliver her safely to an ashram, considering it to be a duty of a king to hear what people say.
Sita went to Valmiki’s ashram, located in a forest on the banks of River Tamsa. She gave birth to twin sons, Kush and Luv. Thee twins were educated and trained in military skills.
Rama performs the holy Ashwamedha sacrifice, purifying and establishing religion across earth. The horse of Ashvamedha got off the track, Rama sent Hanuman to retrieve the horse. Rama’s sons Luv and Kush had captured the horse. After seeing Luv and Kush, Hanuman understood that they are the son’s of Rama and got himself captured. There Rama got worried and sent his brothers to look for the horse. Rama’s brothers started attacking Luv and Kush. Luv and Kush defeated them all. Then Rama himself went looking for the horse. He started attacking Luv and Kush not knowing they were his children. The sage Valmiki then came in between and asked Luv Kush to return the horse to the king.
When Devi Sita came to knew that Luv and Kush had defeated Ayodhya’s forces, she revealed their/her identity. After knowing the identity, Luv and Kush went to Ayodha and sang Ramayana in front of everyone telling them that they are Rama’s son. King Rama asked for witness. Sita came to Ayodha and witnessed the acceptance of her children by Rama, after which she invokes Bhumidevi, Goddess Mother Earth to take her back into the earth.
Rama reigned for eleven thousand years – an era of perfect happiness, peace, prosperity and justice. There are no natural disasters, diseases, ailments or ill-fortune of any nature for any living being. There are no sins committed in the world by any of his people. His reign was known as Rama Rajya.

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Krishna

Lord Krishna – The Divine and the Supreme Being
Krishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism. While the Vaishnavas recognize him as avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism consider Krishna as Swayam Bhagwan or the Supreme Being. The stories of Lord Krishna appear across various Hindu philosophical and theological traditions.
Lord Krishna – His divinity and powers
Lord Krishna is seen in a variety of roles – a god child, a prankster, model lover, divine hero apart from the Supreme Being. He is talked about in scriptures such as the Mahabharata, the Harivamsha, the Vishnu Purana, and the Bhagvat Purana. The Sanskrit word “Krishna” literally means “black”, “dark” or “dark blue” and is usually used to describe someone with dark skin.
Lord Krishna is considered to be the 8th Avatar of Lord Vishnu because of his great godly power. It is Krishna who delivered Bhagwad Gita on the battlefield to Arjun. The Lord is known for his bravery in destroying the evil throughout his life. He is often depicted as playing the flute (murali), implying that the melody of love has spread amongst people.
Lord Krishna’s birthplace is Mathura, also known as Brij Bhoomi, the land where Shri Krishna spent his youth. It is a pilgrim place for the Hindus and is one of the 7th sacred cities in India. The primary pilgrim center in Mathura is the Shri Krishna Janmabhumi temple. Krishna’s birth is celebrated as the Sri Krishna Janmashthana.
The Lord and story behind His birth
The birth of Lord Krishna is a transcendental phenomenon which creates awe among Hindus who’re surprised with it’s supra mundane happenings. Unable to bear the sins committed by evil rulers and kings, Mother Earth appealed to Brahma for help. Brahma, the Creator appealed to Lord Vishnu who promised he would come down to earth and bring an end to the evil forces. One such evil force, the Kamsa was the ruler of Mathura (northern India). Kamsa killed the first 6 sons of his sister Devaki and Vasudeva as because he was afraid of an Akashvani or voice from the sky stating that Devaki’s 8th son would be responsible for the death of Kamsa.
Kamsa had earlier tried to kill his sister but Vasudeva insisted that he would hand over every new born child to him if he spared his wife. However, suddenly before the 8th child was born, Lord Vishnu appeared and asked Vasudeva to carry the child off to his friend’s house in Gokula where the cowherd chief Nanda and his wife Yashoda had given birth to their daughter. Vishnu asked Vasudeva to exchange the boy and bring Nanda’s daughter back to prison thereby giving the assurance that nothing should stop Vasudeva from doing it successfully.
When Lord Krishna was born at midnight on Ashtami in Kamsa’s prison, Vasudeva took him to Nanda’s house fighting against odds such as the chains in his legs, the iron-barred doors, the rain and the river – all of which miraculously helped him in his escape to Gokula with the baby boy. He exchanged the babies and went back to Kamsa’s prison with the baby girl who was born to Nanda and Yashoda. Quite obviously when Kamsa came to know about the birth of the child, he tired to kill the baby but it skipped from his hand and reached the sky thereby transforming into goddess Yogamaya. The goddess warned Kamsa that his destroyer had already landed on the earth.
However, Lord Krishna later on killed Kamsa in his youth. The Lord then liberated his parents from prison and gave back the kingdom of Mathura to Ugrasena.

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Shiva

Om Namah Shiva

Shiva (Sanskrit: Auspicious One), or Siva is the destroyer and the restorer.
Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver. Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the medium for rebirth into a new life. So the opposites of life and death and creation and destruction both reside in his character. Lord Shiva was the third deity of the Hindu trial of great gods, the Trimurti. It is also said to represent the three qualities of nature: creation, preservation and destruction, although preservation is usually attributed to Vishnu.
He is known by many names – Mahadeva, Mahayogi, Pashupati, Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava, Bhole Nath.
Shiva is referred to as ‘the good one’ or the ‘auspicious one’. Shiva – Rudra is considered to be the destroyer of evil and sorrow. Shiva – Shankara is the doer of good.
He is the oldest and the youngest; he is the eternal youth as well as the infant. He is the source of fertility in all-living beings. He has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva is the greatest of renounces as well as the ideal lover. He destroys evil and protects good. He bestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. His duty is to destroy all the worlds at the end of creation and dissolve them into nothingness.
Followers of Saivism are familiar with three words: pati, pasu and paasa. Pati is Siva himself, the lord and husband. Pasu is the deluded self that is caught in the cycle of birth and death. Pasa is the bond that binds the pasu to this world and it gains liberation through devotion and surrender to pati.
Attributes
Third eye: The epithet Trinetra refers to this feature. Shiva has a third eye on his forehead which is an eye of wisdom. It is the eye with which he burned Desire to ashes. The third eye is associated with his immense energy, which destroys the evil doers and sins. Shiva’s third eye first appeared when Parvati, his wife, playfully covered his other two eyes, therefore plunging the world into darkness and putting it in danger of destruction. His three eyes represents the three worlds, the sun, the moon and the earth, the three paths of liberation and the triple nature of creation.
Crescent moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the fifth day moon. The epithet Chandraśekhara refers to this feature. This is placed near the third eye and shows the power of Soma, the sacrificial offering, which is the representative of moon. It means that Shiva possesses the power of procreation along with the power of destruction. The moon is also a measure of time thus the Crescent also represents his control over time. The moon is a symbol of Kama the goddess of nightly love. With the moon there, his head becomes the night sky, for which he earned the name Vyomakesa (one who has the sky or space as his hair).
Ashes: Shiva smears his body with cemetery ashes that points the philosophy of the life and death and the fact that death is the ultimate reality of the life. One epithet for Shiva is “inhabitant of the cremation ground” (spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.
Matted hair (Jata): Shiva’s epithet Jatin, “the one with matted hair” refers to this feature. The flow of his hair represents him as the lord of wind or Vayu, who is the subtle form of breath present in all living beings. Thus it is Lord Shiva that is the lifeline for all living being. He is Pashupatinath. His long matted hair denotes his spiritual life and his great powers.
Blue throat: The epithet ‘neela kantha’ refers to a story in which Shiva consumed the poison churned up from the world ocean to save the world destruction.
Sacred Ganga: The Ganga River flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gangadhara refers to this feature. A legend from the Ramayana speaks of King Bhagirath who once meditated before Lord Brahma for a thousand years for the salvation of the souls of his ancestors. Pleased with his devotion Brahma granted him a wish. He requested the Lord to send the river Ganges down to earth from heaven so that she could flow over his ancestors’ ashes and wash their curse away and allow them to go to heaven. Brahma granted his wish but asked him to pray to Shiva, for he alone could support the weight of her descent. Accordingly he prayed to Shiva and he captured her in his hair to avoid that she would flood all of Earth.
Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, with the tiger representing the mind. The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the goddess of power and force. The tiger skin that he wears symbolizes victory over every force. Tigers also represent lust. Thus sitting on Tiger skin, Shiva indicates that he has conquered lust. The tiger skin signifies his ability to control and transform animal nature.
Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake. Shiva is beyond the powers of death and poison. The cobras around his neck also represent the dormant energy, called Kundalini, the serpent power and it also represents creation and the journey from one body to other just like the snake sheds its skin. It also represents his control over desire and sensuality.
Trident: The three head of Shiva’s Trishul symbolizes three functions of the triad – the creation, the sustenance and the destruction. The trident represents the three qualities, namely sattva, rajas and tamas.
Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru. The drum in the hand of Shiva denotes his connection with the primal sound AUM, the creation of alphabets, languages, grammar and music.
The Tripundakara: Tripundakara is three lines of ashes drawn on the forehead that represents the essence of our being, which remains after all the impurities of ignorance, ego, action and vasanas that have been burnt in the fire of knowledge.
Rudraksha: Rudraksha mala – a rosary made of the dried fruits of the Rudraksha tree. Shiva Rudraksha is supposed to have medicinal properties.
As auspicious and reproductive power, he is worshipped in the form of the shivling or shivalinga (lingam). Shiva temples have Shiva-Linga as the main deity. Shiva is conceived in his unborn, invisible form as the Lingam. It is always accompanied by the Yoni, which is the female principle, surrounding the base of the Lingam. The Lingam represents the male creative energy of Shiva.
When Shiva does not find any interest in the pleasures of life, he left everything, closed his eyes and started meditating. Shiva’s meditation generated so much heat that his body transformed into a pillar of fire – a blazing lingam that threatened to destroy the whole world. Suddenly there appeared a yoni - the divine vessel of the mother-goddess. It caught the fiery lingam and contained its heat, thus saving the world from destruction.
On the physical plane, the object resembles the male sexual organ, suggestive of the creative power of Siva. The circular base resembles that of the female, suggestive of his consort Parvathi. Physically a Sivaling is a phallic symbol, representing the male and female sexual organs in a state of wedded happiness. Mentally it symbolizes the union of mind and body. Spiritually it represents the union between Purusha and Prakriti, the highest principles of the manifest universe.
The Sivaling is also symbolic of the Supreme Self. In this aspect it has three parts. The lower part represents Brahma. The middle part, which is octagonal in shape, represents Vishnu. The upper part, which is cylindrical in shape, represents Rudra and is also called Pujabhaga since it receives the actual offerings of milk and other substances.
According to another legend, once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument as to their supremacy. Brahma being the Creator declared himself to be more esteemed, while Vishnu, the Preserver, pronounced that he commanded more respect. Just then an enormous ‘lingam’, known as Jyotirlinga, blanketed in flames, appeared before them. Both Brahma and Vishnu were awestruck by its rapidly increasing size. They forgot their quarrel and decided to determine its size. Vishnu assuming the form of a boar went to the netherworld and Brahma as a swan flew to the skies. But both of them failed to accomplish the self-assumed tasks. Then, Shiva appeared out of the ‘lingam’ and stated that he was the progenitor of them both and that henceforth he should be worshiped in lingam form.
He is also known as Bholenath for his innocence attitude. His body color is white which denotes his purity and association with the snowy mountains. He is generally shown sitting cross-legged in a yogic posture, with his eyes closed and deep in meditation. He has four arms. With one he holds his weapon the trident. With another, he holds Damaru, a small drum. The remaining two are held in abhaya and varada postures. Sometimes in his ferocious aspects, he is shown wearing a garland of skulls. Shiva holds a skull that represents samsara, the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Shiva himself also represents this complete cycle because he is Mahakala the Lord of Time, destroying and creating all things.
Shiva is the god of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover of his spouse (shakti). His epithet Mahayogin (“one who practices Yoga”) refers to his association with yoga. Shiva’s first wife was Sati and his second wife was Parvati, the daughter of Himavaan and Haimavati, also known as Uma, Gauri, Durga, Kali and Shakti. His epithet Umapati (“The husband of Uma”) refers to this. His sons are Ganesha and Kartikeya. Shiva lives on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.
Minor Deities of Siva
Nandi: The vehicle of Shiva is the white bull called Nandi (symbol of happiness and strength). The bull is said to embody sexual energy, fertility.  Riding on its back, Shiva is in control of these impulses. Symbolically Nandi represents the animal or the tamasic qualities in man which Siva rides and transforms with his energies.
Bhringi: He was originally a demon named Andhaka, who was transformed by Siva into a humble devotee and admitted into his force as a commander of his armies. Bhringisa was so loyal to Siva that in his state of devotion he would not offer his worship to any one including Parvathi. Once when he saw Shiva in his Ardhanariswara form, he tried to admit through the middle of the body in the form of a bee to complete his honor to only the Siva side of the form, much to the annoyance of Parvathi. Bhringi who got his name thus was made to realize his mistake and change his behavior by Lord Siva.
Virabhadra: He is Siva in his ferocious mood. Siva manifested himself as Virabhadra, when Daksha, his father in law, ill treated and insulted his wife Sati, Daksha’s own daughter, in front of a large gathering. Unable to cope with the insult, Sati finished herself. Shiva got angry and beheaded Daksha’s. The images of Virabhadra depict the anger and ferocity of Siva in that destructive mood, wearing a garland of skulls, and with four arms holding four different kinds of weapons.
Chandesvara: He is an aspect of Chandi in human form later elevated to the status of divinity, to signify the connection between Siva and Chandi, or Durga. Chandesvara is a ferocious god, holding weapons of war and ready to do battle for a divine cause.
Nataraja: Nataraja literally means lord of the dance. Shiva Nataraja’s dance represents both the destruction and the creation of the universe and reveals the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. The lord is surrounded on all sides by a circular ring of fire. The ring represents the whole of creation. Nataraja holds a tongue of flame in his upper left hand. The fire represents the final destruction of creation. As a creator he creates, upholds and also destroys the worlds. The upper right hand holds a drum, suggestive of the sound of breath, the sound of life, and the vibrations underlying all currents of creation. It also stands for the male-female vital principle. The lower left hand is held in an assuring mode (abhaya-mudra) suggesting being without fear. The second right hand is shown pointing towards the downside with the palm upside drawing our attention to the figure lying beneath his feet indicating the release from earthly bondage of the devotee. With his hair flying in all directions and hands and feet in dynamic motion, the image of nataraja is a symbol of harmony and rhythm. The tiger skin worn by the deity suggests that even God has respect for the rules of right conduct and the dharma he has established in the manifest creation for the guidance of the souls. The snake around his waist enjoying the dance with a raised hood is suggestive of the kundalini-shakti that remains ever awakened in Siva and is in unison with him. Under his feet, Shiva crushes the demon of ignorance called Apasmara Purusha, caused by forgetfulness. On his head is a skull, which symbolizes his conquest over death. The whole idol rests on a lotus pedestal, the symbol of the creative forces of the universe.
This cosmic dance of Shiva is called ‘Anandatandava,’ meaning the Dance of Bliss, and symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death. The dance is a symbol of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy — creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion.
The two most common forms of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance with the destruction of the world, and Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed to the goddess Parvati. Lasya is regarded as the female counterpart of Tandava. The Tandava-Lasya dances are associated with the destruction-creation of the world.
His other dance forms include, Ananda-tandava-murhty, dancing in a pleasant and cheerful mood, Uma-tandava-murhty, dancing in the company of Parvathi, Tripura-tandava-murthy, dancing while slaying Tripurasura and Urdhva-tandava-murhty, dancing in the air.
Aspects of Lord Siva
Panchavaktra Siva: Shiva’s body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pancabrahmans. These five faces are Aghora facing the south (resides in the cremation grounds), Ishana facing south east (most often appears as the shivalingam), Tat Purusha facing the east (meditating), Varna Deva facing north (the eternal Shiva) and Saddyojat or Braddha Rudra facing west (the old wrathful form). These are associated in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action.
Anugrahamurthy: This is the milder or peaceful aspect of Lord Shiva when he is in the company of his beloved devotees or his family members.
Ugramurthy: Also known as Raudra, Bhairava, Kankala or Samharamurthy, this is the ferocious or angry form of Siva, generally associated with the events during which Siva assumed his terrible form to slay the demons or the wicked. The following are his well known terrible forms:

• Kankala-bhairava: The form which he assumed after cutting off the fifth head of Brahma
• Gajasura-vadha-murthy: The form he assumed while killing a demon named Nila
• Tripurantakmurthi: The form he assumed while destroying the three cities of gold, silver and iron built by the three sons of Andhakasura.
• Sarabhesa-murthy: The form in which he allegedly fought and killed, Narasimha, the incarnation of Vishnu.
• Kalari-murthy: The form in which he fought and defeated Yama to save his devotee Markandeya.
• Kamantaka-murthy: The form in which he destroyed Manmadha, the god of lust, for disturbing him while doing penance.
• Andhakasura-vadha-murthy: The form in which he defeated Andhakasura, who subsequently joined his forces as his commander and became popular as Bhringi.
• Bhairava-murthy: The form generally found in connection with the secret cults of Tantricism that involve his worship in the cremation grounds and grave yards.

Dakshinamurthy: Dakshinamurthy literally describes a form of Shiva facing south. This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the shastras.
Lingodhbhava-murthy: This image signifies the importance of Siva in the form of Linga as the Supreme Self, without a beginning and without an end.
Bhikshatana-murthi. This is Siva in his ascetic aspect, wandering from place to place, with a begging bowl made of human skull, doing penance or lost in his own thoughts.
Hridaya-murthy: Also known as Harihara or Sankaranarayana, this is Shiva in a mood of reconciliation and friendship with Vishnu.
Ardhanariswara: This Siva and Parvathi together in one form signifying the unity of Purusha and Prorate. Ardhanarishvara shows him with one half of the body as male and the other half as female.
Mrutyunjaya: Literally translated as “victor over death”, this is an aspect of Shiva worshipped as the conqueror of death as manifested in the Hindu lord of death, Yama. The particular legend in question deals with the sage Markandeya, who was fated to die at the age of sixteen. On account of the sage’s worship and devotion to Shiva, the lord vanquished Yama to liberate his devotee from death.
Tripurantaka: Lord Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras. Tripura has been considered by many scholars to mean the three kinds of bodies of man viz. Sthula sharira—the external embodiment, Sukshma sharira—the intellectual corpus, and Karana sharira—the consciousness or the soul.
Astamurti: Astamurti represents the eightfold appellations of Shiva in forms of Bhava as Existence, Sarva as the great Archer, Rudra as the giver of sorrow and sufferings, Pasupati as the Herdsman, Ugra as the Fearsome, Mahan, i.e. Mahadeva as the Supreme soul, Bhima as the Tremendous force, and Isana as the Directional ruler of the universe.
Incarnations
Shiva is said to have several incarnations, known as avatars.

• Adi Shankara, the 8th-century philosopher of non-dualist Vedanta “Advaita Vedanta”, was named “Shankara” after Lord Shiva and is considered by some to have been an incarnation of Shiva.
• In the Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva, but this belief is not universal.
• Sage Durvasa is also incarnation of Lord Shiva.

Shivratri
Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night or the 14th day of the new moon in the Krishna Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna in the Hindu calendar. Mahashivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the ‘Tandava’ and was married to Parvati.
Jyotirlinga
The holiest Shiva temples are the 12 Jyotirlinga temples. They are

• Somnath – Prabhas Patan, near Veraval
• Nageshwar – Dwarka
• Mahakaleshwar – Ujjain
• Mallikarjuna – at Bhramaramba-Mallikarjuna Temple, Srisailam
• Bhimashankar – near Pune
• Omkareshwar – near Indore
• Kedarnath – Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
• Kashi Vishwanath – Varanasi
• Trimbakeshwar – near Nasik
• Rameswaram – Rameswaram
• Grishneshwar – near Ellora and
• Vaidyanath – Deoghar.

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