There are several weapons which were used by the gods of Hinduism, some of which are Agneyastra, Brahmastra, Chakram, Garudastra, Kaumodaki, Narayanastra, Pashupata, Shiva Dhanush, Sudarshana Chakra, Trishul, Vaishnavastra, Varunastra, and Vayavastra.

Some of these weapons are explicitly classified ( for example, the Shiva Dhanush is a bow, the Sudharshan Chakra is a discus and the Trishul is a trident ), but many other weapons appear to be weapons specially blessed by the gods.

# redirect Shiva Dhanush

In earlier part of her life, Sita while playing with her sisters had unknowingly moved the table over which the " Shiva Dhanush " had been placed ; which was something no one in the palace could do.

There are various descriptions of weapons created by Hindu deities such as Agneyastra, Brahmastra, Garudastra, Kaumodaki, Narayanastra, Pashupatastra, Shiva Dhanush, Sudarshana Chakra, Trishul, Vaishnavastra, Varunastra, and Vayavastra ; the personal weapons of the gods, the trishul, chakram and the brahmastra, are the most powerful.

Nataraja or Nataraj, (), The Lord ( or King ) of Dance ; Telugu: నటర ా జ ; Tamil: க ூ த ் தன ் ( Koothan ); Kannada: ನಟರ ಾ ಜ, is a depiction of the god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his and divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation.

In Hinduism the Marutas (), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni and attendants of Indra, an ancient Vedic deity who later came to be identified with Shiva.

Sivasagar ( previously spelled Sibsagar ) (), the ocean of Lord Shiva, is a town in the Sibsagar district in the state of Assam in India, about north east of Guwahati.

Thirupperunthurai (), known as Avudayar Koil ), a Shiva temple where Thiruvasagam is believed to have been originated.

The terrible god is called " The Archer ", and the bow is also an attribute of Shiva.

In general, the Angkorian Khmer represented and worshipped Shiva in the form of a lingam, though they also fashioned anthropomorphic statues of the god.

Smartism is also monistic, but does not single out one specific Indic deity but a pentad of gods-the " Panchayatana ", which includes Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Devi, and Ganesha.

The accounts of the emergence of life within the universe vary in description, but classically the god Brahma, from a Trimurti of three gods also including Vishnu and Shiva, is described as performing the act of creation, or more specifically of " propagating life within the universe " with the other two deities being responsible for preservation and destruction ( of the universe ) respectively.

The lingam ( also, linga, ling, Shiva linga, Shiv ling, Sanskrit ल ि ङ ् ग ं,, meaning " mark ", " sign ", " gender ", " phallus ", " inference " or " eternal procreative germ ") is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples.

The Hindu scripture Shiva Purana describes the worship of the lingam as originating in the loss and recovery of Shiva's phallus, though it also describes the origin of the lingam as the beginning-less and endless pillar ( Stambha ).

The Linga Purana also supports the latter interpretation as a cosmic pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.

According to Swami Sivananda, the view that the Shiva lingam represents the phallus is a mistake ; The same sentiments have also been expressed by H. H. Wilson in 1840.

Hijras also identify with Shiva, a central, sexually ambivalent figure in Hinduism, who combines in himself, as do the hijras, both eroticism and asceticism.

Ganesha and Shiva also have avatars.

Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as non governmental organisations, including the International Forum on Globalization, the Women's Environment & Development Organization and the Third World Network.

* Hinduism, especially Shaivism, the form of Hinduism focussed on the worship of Shiva and the lingam as the symbol of Shiva, but also Vaishnavism, the form of Hinduism focussed on the worship of Vishnu ;

Gods who ride such animals, notably Shiva and Dionysos, or who have canine servants, notably Orion and Osiris ( with Anubis his gatekeeper and embalmer ), were also regarded by Kerenyi as partly derived from Iachen, the sublimator, or an even older myth.

At the top of the Hindu philosophy is the formless, undefined Brahman, from whom / which come the different forms and deities, the foremost of which is the Trimurti: Brahma ( the creator ), Vishnu ( the sustainer ) and Shiva ( the destroyer ), and their individual ' Shakti ' ( commonly defined as their wives, but also goddesses in their own right ): Saraswati the goddess of learning, Lakshmi the goddess of all forms of wealth, and Parvati ( also known as Durga, Shakti, Ambika ) the goddess of courage and power.

Similarly, many Shaivites also hold similar beliefs for Shiva.

The theonym Shiva originates as an epithet of Rudra, the adjective shiva " kind " being used euphemistically of the god who in the Rigveda also carries the epithet ghora " terrible ".

Consciously excluding Sati from the list, he also set up a statue of Shiva, which he defiled and mocked, at the entrance to his hall.

Consort of Virabhadra was Bhadrakali, also known as the gentle Kali, is generally an auspicious form of the goddess Kali, and the legend states that she came into being by Devi ’ s wrath, when Daksha insulted Shiva.

He is also called Bhutesha (" Lord of spirits ") like Shiva.

Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars.

The union of Purusha ( Shiva ) and Prikriti ( Shiva's energy, Shakti ) generates the universe, an idea also manifested in the union of the Linga of Shiva and Yoni of Devi creating the cosmos.

But, it is explicitly stated in Buddhist sutras that the worship of an Ishvara ( an ancient South Asian term for a creator god, most likely not referring to the Abrahamic God who may not have been known in South Asia during the Buddha's lifetime, but given the context meaning either Shiva, Kali or Brahma ) is unnecessary to the attainment of Nirvana, as the Buddha believed worshipers are still trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth ( Samsara ).

Also known as Brahman ( the infinite manifestation the universe-not to be confused with Atman, the manifestation of god within a body ; somewhat comparable to a soul ), all others are considered his aspects, or avatars ,-Vishnu, the protector or preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer, are the main examples of this, due to them being more popular aspects of the Ultimate Reality.

Ravana in turn became a lifelong devotee of Lord Shiva and is said to have composed the hymn known as Shiva Tandava Stotra.

Ayyappa is known as " Hariharasuta " because he is the son of Hari ( Vishnu ), the saviour and Hara ( Shiva ), the destroyer.

In the late 70s and early 80s Schreiber, known then as Shiva Das, lived at the Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville East, in Pomfret, Connecticut.

" Realizing that the untouchable was none other than god Shiva himself, and his dogs the four Vedas, Shankara prostrated himself before him, composing five shlokas known as Manisha Panchakam .< ref >

He mentions the devotees of Heracles ( Lord Krishna ) and Dionysus ( Lord Shiva or King Lord Indra ), but he does not mention Buddhists, something that gives support to the theory that the latter religion was not widely known before the reign of Ashoka.

Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital. The Matangeshwar Shiva temple was Built by King Chanradeo Chandel Dynasty of Rajpoot, the King was devotee of lord Matangeshwar Shiva, there is 8 feet Linga of Lord Shiva in temple ,, The MATANGDEV was the 10th Incarnation of Lord Shiva. The Matangdev was born in Patna / Pataliputra town which is historical city of Bihar state of India, Maheshwary community of Sindh, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the devotee of lord Matangdev which is known as Matangeshwar Shiva and also known as MAHESHWAR SHIVA, Matrunjay Shiva, so that Maheshwary caste is attached with Maheshwar Shiva, Temple is known for its Art Sculpture and statue and is tourist attraction and world famous temples.

Therefore, Lord Shiva is also known as Pinaki, the wielder of Pinaka.

He innovated rules of military engagement, pioneering the " Shiva sutra " or ganimi kava ( guerrilla tactics ), which leveraged strategic factors like geography, speed, surprise and focused pinpoint attacks to defeat his larger and more powerful enemies.

In the Shaivite tradition, the Shri Rudram ( Sanskrit श ् र ि र ु द ् रम ्), to which the Chamakam ( चमकम ्) is added by scriptural tradition, is a Hindu stotra dedicated to Rudra ( an epithet of Shiva ), taken from the Yajurveda ( TS 4. 5, 4. 7 ).

The Hoysalas usually dedicated their temples to Lord Shiva or to Lord Vishnu ( two of the major Hindu gods ), but they occasionally chose a different deity.

Bharatanatyam proper is a solo dance, with two aspects, lasya, the graceful feminine lines and movements, and tandava Ananda Thandavam ( Tamil ) ( the dance of Shiva ), masculine aspect, which is identical to the Yin and Yang in the Chinese culture.

According to Saiva Siddhanta, which was for many centuries the dominant school of Shaiva theology and liturgy across the Indian subcontinent ( and beyond it in Cambodia ), the linga is the ideal substrate in which the worshipper should install and worship the five-faced and ten-armed Sadāśiva, the form of Shiva who is the focal divinity of that school of Shaivism.

Vandana Shiva ( Hindi: वन ् दन ा श ि व ा; b. November 5, 1952, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India ), is a philosopher, environmental activist, author and eco feminist.

Brahma is considered the ruler of the highest of the heavens ( the world called Sathya ), so in one sense, Brahma is not beyond the fourteen worlds as Shiva and Vishnu are.

Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Shaktism, respectively believe in a monotheistic ideal of Vishnu ( often as Krishna ), Shiva, or Devi ; this view does not exclude other personal gods, as they are understood to be aspects of the chosen ideal.

In Hinduism, the god Shiva is simultaneously destroyer and creator, portrayed as Shiva Nataraja ( Lord of the Dance ), which is proposed as the source of the Western notion of " creative destruction ".

Usage of the epithet came to exceed the original theonym and by the post-Vedic period ( in the Sanskrit Epics ), and the name Rudra has been taken as a synonym for the god Shiva and the two names are used interchangeably.

The other 11 are Khyati married to Bhrigu, Sati to Shiva ( Bhava ), Sambhuti to Marichi, Smriti to Angiras, Priti to Pulastya, Kshama to Pulaha ), Sannati to Kratu, Anasuya to Atri, Arundhati to Vasishtha, Swaha to Agni, and Swadha to Pitris.

The Bhagavata Purana ( Canto 7 ), Agni Purana ( 4. 2-3 ), Brahmanda Purana ( 2. 5. 3-29 ), Vayu Purana ( 67. 61-66 ), Harivamsa ( 41 & 3. 41-47 ), Brahma Purana ( 213. 44-79 ), Vishnudharmottara Purana ( 1. 54 ), Kurma Purana ( 1. 15. 18-72 ), Matsya Purana ( 161-163 ), Padma Purana ( Uttara-khanda 5. 42 ), Shiva Purana ( 2. 5. 43 & 3. 10-12 ), Linga Purana ( 1. 95-96 ), Skanda Purana 7 ( 2. 18. 60-130 ) and Vishnu Purana ( 1. 16-20 ) all contain depictions of the Narasimha Avatar.