Gods, avatars and forms
Bhairava
Kala Bhairava · Mahakala Bhairava
Shiva's terrifying form. In the Lingodbhava cycle he cuts off Brahma's fifth head and wanders with the skull until…
Sundareswarar
Sokkanathar · Chokkanathar
Shiva as the handsome lord of Madurai, Meenakshi's husband, who in the Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam walks into the city in…
Dakshinamurthy
Dakshinamurti · Adiyogi · Adinath (Nath usage)
Shiva as the silent teacher, seated under a banyan tree facing south, surrounded by sages, teaching yoga, music and the…
Nataraja
Adavallan · Koothan · Sabesan
Shiva as lord of the dance, performing the Ananda Tandava, the dance of bliss, in the Tillai forest for the sages…
Sankaranarayana
Sankara Narayanar · Shankaranarayana
The Tamil name and temple form of Harihara at Sankarankovil: Shiva as the right half and Vishnu as the left, appearing…
Virabhadra
Veerabhadra
The warrior born from a lock of Shiva's hair dashed on the ground when Sati died; with Bhadrakali he wrecked Daksha's…
Ardhanarishvara
Shiva as half woman: right half male, left half Parvati, stating that the two principles cannot be separated. The…
Kalantaka
Kalasamhara · Mrityunjaya
Shiva as the ender of death, the form that burst from the linga to strike down Yama when his noose fell on the boy…
Kirata
Kiratamurti
Shiva disguised as a mountain hunter to test Arjuna, in the Mahabharata's Vana Parva and Bharavi's court epic…
Mahakala
Mahakaleshwar · Kala
Shiva as great time and death, beyond time, with Mahakali as consort; the Shaktisamgama Tantra describes him and…
Sadashiva
Panchamukha · Maheshamurti (Elephanta)
Shiva with five faces and ten arms: Sadyojata (west, creation), Vamadeva (north, preservation), Aghora (south…
Bhikshatana
The wandering mendicant
Shiva as the naked wandering beggar who carries Brahma's skull as his bowl to atone for cutting the fifth head. The…