Shiva is depicted as both an ascetic yogi and as a householder (grihasta), roles which have been traditionally mutually exclusive in Hindu society. When depicted as a yogi, he may be shown sitting and meditating. His epithet Mahāyogi ("the great Yogi: 'Mahā' = "great", "Yogi" = "one who practices Yoga") refers to his association with yoga. While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that the concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts.
As a family man and householder, he has a wife, Parvati and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. His epithet "Umāpati" ("The husband of "Umā"") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, "Umākānta" and "Umādhava", also appear in the "sahasranama". "Umā" in epic literature is known by many names, including the benign "Pārvatī". She is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother; Shakti (divine energy) as well as goddesses like Tripura Sundari, Durga, Kali, Kamakshi and Minakshi. The consorts of Shiva are the source of his creative energy. They represent the dynamic extension of Shiva onto this universe. His son Ganesha is worshipped throughout India and Nepal as the Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles. Kartikeya is worshipped in South India (especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) by the names Subrahmanya, Subrahmanyan, Shanmughan, Swaminathan and Murugan, and in Northern India by the names Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.
Some regional deities are also identified as Shiva's children. As one story goes, Shiva is enticed by the beauty and charm of Mohini, Vishnu's female avatar, and procreates with her. As a result of this union, Shasta – identified with regional deities Ayyappan and Aiyanar – is born. In outskirts of Ernakulam in Kerala, a deity named Vishnumaya is stated to be offspring of Shiva and invoked in local exorcism rites, but this deity is not traceable in Hindu pantheon and is possibly a local tradition with "vaguely Chinese" style rituals, states Saletore. In some traditions, Shiva has daughters like the serpent-goddess Manasa and Ashokasundari. According to Doniger, two regional stories depict demons Andhaka and Jalandhara as the children of Shiva who war with him, and are later destroyed by Shiva.
Chola dynasty statue depicting Shiva dancing as Nataraja (Los Angeles County Museum of Art).
The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Sanskrit: 'naṭarāja', "Lord of Dance") is popular. The names Nartaka ("dancer") and Nityanarta ("eternal dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama. His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period. In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: 'nṛtyamūrti') are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu in particular. The two most common forms of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance as Kala-Mahakala associated with the destruction of the world. When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Shiva does it by the Tandava, 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.
Dakshinamurthy "("Dakṣiṇāmūrti")" literally describes a form ('mūrti') of Shiva facing south ('dakṣiṇa'). This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the "shastras". This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from Tamil Nadu. Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.
An iconographic representation of Shiva called Ardhanarishvara ('Ardhanārīśvara') shows him with one half of the body as male and the other half as female. According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form is best translated as "the lord who is half woman", not as "half-man, half-woman".
Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, "Tripura", of the Asuras. Shiva's name Tripurantaka ('Tripurāntaka'), "ender of Tripura", refers to this important story.
Shiva Lingam with tripundra.
Main article: Lingam
Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, he is also represented in aniconic form of a lingam. These are depicted in various designs. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column in the centre of a lipped, disk-shaped object, the "yoni", symbolism for the goddess Shakti. In Shiva temples, the "linga" is typically present in its sanctum sanctorum and is the focus of votary offerings such as milk, water, flower petals, fruit, fresh leaves, and rice. According to Monier Williams and Yudit Greenberg, "linga" literally means 'mark, sign or emblem', and also refers to a "mark or sign from which the existence of something else can be reliably inferred". It implies the regenerative divine energy innate in nature, symbolized by Shiva. Some scholars, such as Wendy Doniger, view "linga" merely as an erotic phallic symbol, although this interpretation is criticized by others, including Swami Vivekananda, Sivananda Saraswati, and S. N. Balagangadhara. According to Moriz Winternitz, the "linga" in the Shiva tradition is "only a symbol of the productive and creative principle of nature as embodied in Shiva", and it has no historical trace in any obscene phallic cult.
The worship of the lingam originated from the famous hymn in the "Atharva-Veda Samhitâ" sung in praise of the "Yupa-Stambha", the sacrificial post. In that hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endless "Stambha" or "Skambha", and it is shown that the said "Skambha" is put in place of the eternal Brahman. Just as the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, the "Soma" plant, and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva's body, his tawny matted hair, his blue throat, and the riding on the bull of the Shiva, the "Yupa-Skambha" gave place in time to the "Shiva-Linga". In the text "Linga Purana", the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.
The oldest known archaeological "linga" as an icon of Shiva is the Gudimallam lingam from 3rd-century BCE. In Shaivism pilgrimage tradition, twelve major temples of Shiva are called Jyotirlinga, which means "linga of light", and these are located across India.
The 10th century five headed Shiva, Sadashiva, Cambodia.
Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables ("namaḥ śivāya").
Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the "pañcabrahmans". As forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography: