page_title: Shiva
section_title: Etymology and other names
hierarchical_section_title: Shiva / Etymology and other names
caption_attribution_description: English: Siva_With_Moustache_From_Archaeological_Museum_GOA മലയാളം: മീശയുള്ള പരമശിവന്റെ വിഗ്രഹം. ഗോവ ആര്‍ക്കിയോളജിക്കല്‍ മ്യൂസിയത്തില്‍ പ്രദര്‍ശിപ്പിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്.
context_page_description: Shiva, also known as Mahadeva, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Shaivism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
  Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is one of the supreme beings who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as one of the supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each, with Parvati the equal complementary partner of Shiva. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.
  According to the Shaivism sect, the highest form of Ishvar is formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atman of the universe. There are many both benevolent and fearsome depictions of Shiva. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya.
context_section_description: In the earliest of the vedic texts, the word Shiva means Auspicious, Sacred. It does not relate to any deity, but refers to the quality of being sacred and auspicious.
  In later vedic texts, Shiva becomes a deity. Shiva is also called Brahman, the supreme universal consciousness. The word shivo'ham translates as I am Shiva, conveying that one's consciousness is where the lord resides, uniting it with the supreme transcendence. In Tamil, he was called by different names other than Sivan. Nataraja (Dancing form of Shiva), Rudra (Enraged form of Shiva), and Dhakshinamoorthy (Yoga form of Shiva). Nataraja is the only form of Shiva worshipped in a human figure format. Elsewhere he is worshipped in Lingam figure. Pancha Bootha temples are located in south India. Pancha Bhoota Stalam refers to five temples dedicated to Shiva. Tamil literature is enriched by Shiva devotees called 63 Nayanmars (Nayanars).
  The Sanskrit word "śiva" (Devanagari: शिव, also transliterated as shiva) means, states Monier Monier-Williams, "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly". The roots of śiva in folk etymology are śī which means "in whom all things lie, pervasiveness" and va which means "embodiment of grace".
  The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda (approximately 1700–1100 BC), as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, including Rudra. The term Shiva also connotes "liberation, final emancipation" and "the auspicious one", this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics and the Puranas, as an auspicious deity who is the "creator, reproducer and dissolver".
  Sharva, sharabha presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means "to injure" or "to kill", interprets the name to connote "one who can kill the forces of darkness".
  The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect. It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.
  The Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", and "the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)".
  Shiva is known by many names such as Viswanatha (lord of the universe), Mahadeva, Mahandeo, Mahasu, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra (chief of the gods), Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha (lord of the three realms), and Ghrneshwar (lord of compassion). The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great god"; mahā "Great" and deva "god"), Maheśvara ("Great Lord"; mahā "great" and īśvara "lord"), and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").
  Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva. The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata provides one such list. Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.
caption: A sculpture of Shiva with Moustache at Archaeological Museum, Goa
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