Shiva Lingam - A Glorious Worship

Shiva Lingam - A Glorious Worship
Shiva.lingam is the holy symbol of Lord Shiva that is considered quite sacred and worshipped with
devotion by the devotees. The sanskrit word li.ngam means symbol , so shiva.lingam means symbol of Lord
Shiva. It is considered the foremost sacred symbol for shaivaites and has been worshiped for ages. The
purANas like shiva mahA purANam discuss about the superiority of li.nga worship. Once the god of creation
brahma and the god of protection mahA vishNu entered in an argument on deciding who is greater. When
those two great gods were fighting between themselves, the Greatest of all Lord Shiva who is formless and
transcends everything appeared as a pillar of flame. God told brahma and vishNu that whoever finds the head
or the foot of His flame form would be considered greater. brahmA took the form of swan ( ha.msam ) and
set out to reach the top of the Fire. vishNu became a wild pig to see the foot of the Fire. Where are the limits for
the infinite God ? They could not succeed in spite of their heavy effort. They realized their mistake and the
peerless greatness of Lord Shiva. The God who can never be reached by ego appears as the form of love to
those who surrender to Him. Lord Shiva appeared in the form of shiva li.ngam (which is the shape of
flame) for their benefit. They worshiped that oldest form of Him and got blessed. The God who came to bless
them from the Flame, from the lin.gam is known as li.ngodbhava .
As the God stood as pillar of flame, the natural adornment for the Lord Shiva is Holy Ash. (As ash
would be found on the surface of the fire). The stood up of the God as the Luminas Flame is hailed as Urdva
retas in shiva sahasranama and as hiraNya retas in shiva aShtottara. The hymn that starts nidhana pataye
namaH, refers to many similarities of Flame and shivali.nga. God is formless, attributeless and omnipresent.
This state is called arUpa (formless). For the benefit of the pashus, He took the form of shiva.lingam which is
neither form nor formless but is a symbol. This symbol of Him is called arUparUpam (formless form). He took
many forms out of His mercy to bless all, which are called rUpams. Shaivam worships the God in all these
three states. The oldest form that the formless God took namely the shiva li.ngam is called sadAshiva mUrtam
and is worshipped in the altar of His abodes (temples). The forms that He later took which are called
mAhEshwara mUrtam are worshipped in the outer circles in a temple. This shiva.linga worship is superior
because it makes the worship simple because of the form while maintaining the truth that God is not having any
definite form. There are a lot more marvelous principles behind the shiva linga worship which could be found
in detail in standard scriptures.
Mother is Shakti, Father is Shiva, relatives are the devotees of Shiva and own country is all the three worlds.
Maheshwara Murtam
According to Shaiva Sidhdhaantha the God is formless (arUpa) . But for the salvation of lives He took
the form of liN^gam - meaning symbol (arUpa rUpa). liN^gam can be considered both as form as well as
formless symbol. This mUrti is called sadA shiva mUrti. From the SadhA Shiva mUrti, for the benefit of lives
God took a lot of forms which are called mAhEshwara mUrtis. There are several MAhEshwara mUrtis . It can
be classified in to three forms 1.) bhOga mUrtis, usually with Shakthi like RîshabArUdar , 2.) yOga mUrtis,
sitting in one of the yOga postures without Shakthi in the side like dakshiNAmUrti, 3.) vIra mUrtis, in the state
of destruction like kAlAri. Usually in the temples, SadhA Shiva mUrthi (Shiva lin.gam ) will be in the
Sanctum Sanctorum. The mAhEshwara mUrtis will be in the Praahaaram.
64 Main Forms Of Lord Shiva

shivali.ngam , li.ngodbhavar , mukhali.ngam , sadAshivam , mahAsadAshivam , umAmaheshwarar ,
sukhAsanamUrti , umeshamUrti , somAska.ndhamUrti , cha.ndrashekaramUrti , vRîShArUDhamUrti ,
vRÎShA.ndikamUrti , bhujaNGgalaLitamUrti , bhujaNGgatrAsamUrti , sa.ndhiyanRîttamUrti ,
sadAnRîttamUrti , chaNDatANDavamUrti , gaNGgAdharamUrti , gaNGgAvisarjanamUrti ,
tripurAntakamUrti , kalyANasu.ndaramUrti , ardanArIshwaramUrti , gajAsurasaMhAramUrti ,
jvarAbhagnamUrti , shArdhUlaharamUrti , pAshupatamUrti , gaNGgALamUrti , keshavArthamUrti ,
bhixATanamUrti , simhagnamUrti , chaNdeshwarAnugrahamUrti , vyAkhyAnadaxiNAmUrti ,
yogadaxiNAmUrti , viNAdharadaxiNAmUrti , kAlA.ntakamUrti , kAmAri (kAmadahanamUrti) ,
vaguLeshwaramUrti , bhairavamUrti , ApatuddAraNamUrti , vaDukamUrti , xetrapAlamUrti ,
vIrabhadramUrti , agorAstramUrti , daxayaGYaharamUrti , kirAtamUrti , gurumUrti ,
ashvArUDhamUrti , gajA.ndikamUrti , jalandharavatamUrti , ekapAdatrimUrti , tripAdatrimUrti ,
ekapAdamUrti , gaurivarapradamUrti , chakratALaswarUpamUrti , gaurilIlAsamanvitamUrti ,
viShAbhaharaNamUrti , garuDA.ndikamUrti , braHmasirachetakamUrti , kUrmasaMhAramUrti ,
matsyAri , varAhAri , prArthanAmUrti , raktabhixApradAnamUrti , siShyabhAvamUrti .
Detailed Info Of Some Murthams
Bhiksh Atanar
Shlokam & Meaning:
shuklApam.h shubhalochanam.h dUrvA.nkuram.h dakshiNe
vAmeshUla kapAla samyutakaram.h satpAdukam.h pAdayoH |
lambat piN^ga jaTAdharam.h shashidharam.h dakshe mRîgam.h vAmahe
bhikshA pAtradharam.h sakuNDapiTharam.h bhikshATanesham.h bhaje ||
Smeared in white, with good omen in eyes, fingers with grass to the right, with shUla and kapAla in the
left hands, nice wear (pAduka) in feet, with dangling red matted hair, moon on the head, deer (mRîgam) in
the right hand, a vessel for alms in the left, with bulged belly, that God, on bhikshAtana, we pray.
Description or Purana of the Deity :

BhikshAtanar : The mUrti who asks for alms.
The Rîshis in dArukAvanam forest, once thought that only the karma(deed, performing rituals) is
supreme and it is not required to pray God at all. They stopped worshipping God. Whatever be the deeds, isn't
there One Who provides the doer with the fruits ? How can the inanimate deeds automatically give fruit ? Not
realizing these facts the RîShis pursued their dogma of karma. To teach them the importance of worship ,
Lord Shiva took the form of bhikshAtanar (begger) and Maha Vishnu the form of mOhini (glamorous
girl). In this form the Lord is naked and quite enchanting. So was the mohini. The Naked Lord came to the
streets of the RîShis to get alms. (Does the God, Who is the provider of all wealth, need to beg ? The playful
Lord, while providing the supreme wealth for those who worship, went to beg as if He has nothing! ) At the
charm of the naked Lord Shiva the wives of the Rîshis lost their heart. They forgot what they were doing
and started simply following the Naked God. Meanwhile the Rîshis also forgot the karma they were strongly
advocating and followed the glamorous mOhini.
When they got to see their wives - the followers of karmic discipline, lost their virtue and following a
Naked Beggar, they got angry with Lord Shiva and Maha Vishnu and started targeting their power of the
karmas towards the Lord, by performing the abhichArayAgam which will produce bad effects. They directed
the snakes, demon, tiger, fire and drum that came out of the fire against the Lord. What can hurt the Supreme
Who is the Source of everything. He coolly made them his ornaments! Now the RîShis realized their stupidity
and realized that God is the supreme and not the karma.
KAMARI
Shlokam & Meaning:
bhasmod.hdhULita vigraham.h shashidharam.h ga.ngAphaNi maNDitam.h
Ta.nkam.h kRîshhNamRîgam.h tathAnamamalam.h vIrAsane susthitam.h|
a.nge savyakare param.h karatalam.h vinyasya yogeratam.h
vyAghra tvakvasanam.h lalATa jadrushA dagdhasmaram.h tvAm.h bhaje||
The body smeared with ash , moon on the head , ornated by gangA , snakes , axe and deer , Pure, sitting
comfortably in vIrAsanam , with the left palm over the right , in the posture of a yOgi , wearing the skin of a
tiger, burning the cupid with the fire emerging from the eye in the forehead, to You Salutations.

Kama Ari : One who is the enemy of cupid.( vIra mUrti )
When Shakthi became pArvati, daughter of the king of Himalayas, She was doing thapas for Lord
Shiva. At the same time the great sages, the four sons of Brahma , sanakar, sana.ndanar, sanAtanar, sanat
kumArar came to Lord Shiva for enlightenment. The Lord gave them enlightenment in the form of Lord
dakshiNA mUrti.As the Duo, Who are the cause as well as the energy for the whole world are into yoga, the
whole world got more inclined to yoga and life sustenance was in trouble. Meanwhile the dEvas, who were
tortured by the sUrapadma and his brothers tAraka, simhamukha, knew that those demons can be killed only
by the son of Lord Shiva and Shakthi. Disappointed that both God and Goddess were doing yoga instead of
marrying, they asked the cupid ( Kama Deva ) to disturb the meditating Lord Shiva with his arrows in order
to induce lust for pArvati. When desperation sets in, reasoning gets pushed down. Can the Supreme be induced
with lust by anybody ? The cupid refused since he knew that it will be just fatal for him. But the other dEvAs
threatened to curse him if he didn't obey.
Saying that it is better to be killed by the God of gods than by the curses of dEvAs, he went with his
wife, rati, to the abode of Lord Shiva where He was in meditation.The cupid shot the flower arrow on the
Lord. The next moment the fire from the eye in the forehead of the Lord burnt the cupid. Undisturbed He
continued His meditation. The cupid is of the reputation that his arrows never fail. But well, it can apply to
others, can it be for the Almighty ? His arrows were useless in front of the Lord and he too became just a heap
of ash ! Shocked by the death of cupid all the dEvAs realized their plots would not work out with God. They
understood that only sincerity could get the showers of Its grace and any other pressure can just not mount over
God. They surrendered themselves in front of the Lord and pleaded for mercy. The Lord forgave them and
married pArvati and gave subrahmaNya for the destruction of the demons. On their request He also bring back
to life kAma, however he would be visible only to his wife and not to others. Because of this reason kAmadeva
is called ananga (one without limbs).
thiruk kuRikkai is the temple associated with the burning of god of lust.
KALARI
Shlokam & Meaning:
sindUrAparam.h trinetram.h yugabhuja sahitam.h hyutrutam.h shUlahastam.h
pAsham.h sushivahantam.h parashumapitathA bhIShmadaMshhTram.h suvaktram.h |
pAdam.h kuJNchita vAmamuttherutatalam.h kAlasya vakshasthale
nyastvA piN^ga jaTAdharam.h pashupatim.h kAlAntakam.h naumyaham.h||
Red in color (sin^dhUram), Three eyed, shoulders like yugas (four shouldered), with hands holding up
the sUlam , noose, axe in hands, with frightening teeth, nice face, with the left foot standing up over the chest of
kAla (time - death), with cast down red matted hair, to that pashupati(Lord of creatures), kAlAn^taka I
prostrate.

Kala Ari : The enemy of kALa ( vIra mUrti )
kAla is the dEva who is responsible for death. Taking the kAla as time it can be said kAlari represents
the fact that God is beyond the limits of time ( mRîtyuJNjayan ). The sage mRîkaNDu did not have an
offspring for quite a long time. He performed tapas to get the blessings of Lord shiva. God appeared in front of
him. Now the sage had two choices - either a son indiscipline, cruel and dumb living for long or a son loving,
intelligent and a gem of character living very short span of life. The sage chose the second one. His wife gave
birth to a child mArkaNDEya, out of a boon from Lord Shiva, by which mArkaNDEya would be very
intelligent but would live just for 16 years. Young child mArkaNDEya grew up learning the great scriptures,
caring and loving, devotional towards God. His parents were very pleased with him.
When he became 16, he found his parents weeping. He came to know that he would die at 16 and that
was the cause of the gloom. Intelligent mArkanDeya realized that none other than the God, Who is beyond all
the scopes of time and hailed as mRîtyuNJjaya - who conquered the death, can save him from the strong
clutches of death. Determined and devotional, he started doing Shiva pUja and surrendered himself completely
to the Lord. The yamadUtAs who came to take his life away were scared away by the flame of this young boy's
devotion. As the the attendants couldn't take away his life, kAla the god of death, himself came. Young
mArkaNDEya did not loose his devotion even in the crisis moment. He embraced the shiva liN^gam. As kAla
still tried to take away mArkaNDEya's life, the Lord appeared furious from the Shiva liN^gam and kicked kAla
to death!! He blessed the sincere devotion of the young boy and made mArkaNDEya to be in 16 always -
deathless !All the gods pleaded to Lord to show mercy on kAla. On their request, God gave kAla life back and
ordered him not to disturb His devotees.
thiruk kadavUr is the temple associated with this valorous deed of Lord Shiva
Kalyana Sundarar
Shlokam & Meaning:
sindUrAparam.h trinetram.h yugabhujasahitam.h hArakeyUra bhUshham.h
divyair vastrair vRîtA.ngam.h varasamuchitalasat.h veshhayuktam.h
shubhA.ngam.h |
vande kalyANamUrtim.h karatalakamale devihastam.h tathAnam.h
haste Ta.nkam mRîgaJNcha tatatamadhavaram.h baddaga.ngendu chUDam.h ||
Red in color ( si.ndhUram ), Three eyed, shoulders like yugas (four shouldered), wearing necklace and
bracelet, Colorful in divine wonderful dress, Shining in the wedding robe, ornated, with enchanting body,
salutations to that mUrti who is in marriage posture, with a hand of dEvi in one lotus hand, with axe and deer in
hands and ga.nga and moon on the wound-up hair.

kalyANa su.ndarar : The beautiful ( mUrti ) in marriage ( bhOga mUrti )
Shakthi was born as pArvati, the daughter of the king of Himalayas. As a young child, She was not
interested in playing like the other children. She was more inclined towards meditating on Lord Shiva in the
mountains. She desired to marry Lord shiva. For that she wanted to perform austerity in the snow covered
himalayas. Her parents hesitated, but finally had to subdue to the determination of pArvati. pArvati performed
austerity from an ashram. Lord Shiva who was happy with Her worship, came as an old devotee to her place.
pArvati offered Her respect to the Old bhakta of Her Beloved Lord. Now, He tried to convince Her that She
shouldn't waste Her youth doing tapas, but should enjoy life getting married ! He further suggested that She
could get married to Him, instead of desiring for Lord shiva Who dances in the cemeteries and wears skulls and
bones! pArvati, without knowing that He is God Himself, got very angry on hearing the Old man's words and
told Him that She showed Him respect only because He seemed like a devotee and She would not want to hear
any little blasphemy of God further. She asked the Old Man to leave the place immediately. The Lord, pleased
with Her determination and devotion, revealed who He is. pArvati was surprised and begged the pardon of God.
However God had accepted Her scolding as the most pleasant hailing. Didn't it come from a very deep love for
God ?! He gave Her the boon She yearned for - getting married to Her. The himalayan king's family was
delighted to see their beloved daughter's wedding. The region was decorated and shining with prosperity. The
young beautiful pArvati was decorated with chosen best ornaments for the wedding. Now came the Groom -
Lord shiva - to the wedding place - on an old bull, with skull and bone ornaments, with the skin of the tiger as
the clothing, accompanied by the roar of the bUta gaNas !! The mother of pArvati , mEnai fainted to see the
groom in such a form for her sweet daughter, softer than the flowers. Now the Lord changed to the form,
glittering in a beautiful wedding robe - with golden ornaments and splendid clothing! When mEnai woke up
and saw the Groom she was thrilled to see such a beautiful form and was very pleased that He is "the suitable"
groom for her daughter. The play of the Lord has no bounds ! mEnai saw only the external appearance of the
Groom. Other than the great pArvati who knows the glory of that Groom ?! The enchanting Lord in the
wedding robe got married to the Daughter of the mountains and this form of God is called kalyANa sundharar.
Rishabharudhar
Shlokam & Meaning:

savyesyAt.h vakradaNDAnvita kaTaka karam.h gopateH pRîshhTha saMstham.h
vAmasyArtam.h sadaksham.h varakarayugaLe Ta.nka kRîshNam.h tathAnam.h |
phAlasthAksham.h prasannam.h trinayana sahitam.h badda veNI kirITam.h
vAme gauryA sametam.h namata shubhakaram.h taM vRîshhArUDhamIsham.h ||
Leaning with braceleted right hand holding a staff, residing on the mount of the Bull, with Graceful
eyes, the blessing hands holding axe and deer, with an eye in forehead, blissful, three eyed, the hair wound as
crown, with gauri to his left, Doing good to one who worships, to that God, RîshabhArUDha (salutations).

Rîshabha ArUDhar : deity sitting on the Bull( bhOga mUrti )
This is one of the very auspicious mUrtis, praised in periya purANam as blessing the devotees for their
great deeds. There are two bull vehicles associated with Lord shiva. They are the mahAviShNu bull and the bull
of justice.
dharma dEvatA(divine of justice), in order to be immortal, worshipped God very ardently. God as an indication
of the justness ever, took the dharma as the bull vehicle. Thus dharma attained endlessness.
During tripura samhAra(1) as soon as the God put Its leg on the chariot, which the divines proudly thought
"they" made it for God, the chariot's axle broke off ! The divines realized the futility of their pride. In the
meanwhile Lord Vishnu took the form of a bull, on which Lord shiva sat. This is the viShNu bull vehicle of
God.
Chandra Shekharar
Shlokam & Meaning:

abhaya varada hastam.h saumya shRî.ngAra bhAvam.h
vipula vadana netram.h chandra biMbA.nga mauLim.h |
Rîjutanu samapAdasthAnakam.h vidrumApam.h
hariNa parashu pANim.h padmapIThoparistham.h ||
With the hands in abhaya (protecting) and varada (boon giving) postures, with a pleasing and decorated
expression, a blossomed face and eye, with the shadow created by moon on the crown, with an upright body,
and feet in the same level, Coral like formed, holding the deer and axe, (He) stay in the lotus pedestal. (of my
heart)

cha.ndra shEkharar : moon ornamented Lord ( bhOga mUrti )
daksha had twenty seven stars as daughters. All of them were married to moon. But the moon had
special attraction towards rOhiNi. So all the other wives complained it to the father dakasha that their husband
moon is not treating them fairly. daksha got angry and cursed the moon to lose its luminance (kala) day by day.
Everyday the moon started loosing one luminance part (kala) out of his 16 parts. Afraid and ashamed moon
disappeared into the ocean. There are many herbs that require the light of the moon to grow. Without moon,
they were harmed. Consequently there was suffering in the world. To end the problem the celestials advised
moon to take refuge in the Great Divine, Lord shiva. Left with only one kalA, he took refuge in Lord Shiva.
Being the graceful Almighty, He wore the moon crescent on His head, making him grow for 15 days and decay
for 15 days periodically.Thus chan^drashEkharar is considered a giver of refuge.
Uma Maheshvarar
Shlokam & Meaning:

dhavaLApa sukhAsana sannihitam.h
mRîga DiMbaka Ta.nka varAbhayadam.h |
sumukham.h paramutpaladhRîk.h varadam.h
umayA sahitam.h praNamAmi bhavam.h ||
Smeared in white, sitting in the sukhAsana posture, with young deer, axe, varda(boon giving) and
abhaya (protecting) postures (of hand), pleasant, Supreme, holding the flower (lily), giver of boons,
accompanied by umA, (I) salute, to that Source of all.

umA mahEshvarar : Great God with umA ( bhOga mUrti )
Natarajar
Shlokam & Meaning:

ekAsyantu chaturbhujam.h trinayanam.h vAmetu dhurdhUrakam.h
chandram.h patra shikhi prasArita karam.h chordhvam.h padam.h kuJNchitam.h|
savye svastika kuNDalam.h Damarukam.h ga.ngAbhayepipradam.h
vande kIrNajaTam.h naTeshamanisham.h hyapasmAra dehesthitam.h ||
A face with four shoulders, three eyes, to the left destructive fire (in the hand), moon and leaves on the
head, hand stretching downwards, the raised foot pointing down, to the right swastika earring, Damarukam
(drum), ga.nga (in the head), and protection posture, salutations to that God of ceaseless dance whose matted
hair is flowing, standing on the unconscious body (hyapasmAra dEham)

naTa rAjar : king of dance ( yOga mUrtI )
Lord Shiva dances during the creation, protection and destruction of the worlds, though the kind of His
dance varies with respect to the action. (san^dhyA tAnDava, Urdhva tANDava, rudra tANDava, samhAra
tANDava etc.). The dance of the Lord takes place in every minute particle, for all of us to exist and act. That is
the source of all the energy. His movement is shakti. Yogis hear and see the dance of the Lord by invoking the
kuNDalinI shakti. There were two ardent sages vyAgrapAda and patanjali who were worshipping God to see
Its blissful dance that energizes the worlds. vyAgrapAda out of his devotion asked for the eyes and legs of the
tiger, so that he could go very early in the dawn, even before the bees wake up, to pluck the flowers very fresh -
not even touched by the bees to offer to God ! That is why he was called vyAgrapAda. The other sage was the
serpent AdiseSha on which mahA viShNu reside, desired to see the glorious Dance of God. They were
performing austerity at the holy place called thillai . At the same time bhadrakAli (1), the fierce form of
goddess asked for a competition with God in dance. God and mahAkAli came to the thillai, where the sages
were performing austerity to see His dance and there began the competition between kAli and Lord shiva. The
Lord, Who keeps dancing creating, protecting, destroying, hiding and blessing, won the play by acting the
Urdva tANDava, raising His Feet to His Head. The gracious dance of the God filled the hearts of the sages and
those who ardently seek Him.
Lord Shiva danced in the five ambalams during various occasions. Out of them chithambaram is very
much renowned. Lord danced here to fulfill the worship of patanjali and vyAghra pAda mahaRîshis.
Tripurantakar
Shlokam & Meaning:
raktApam.h paripUrNa chandravadanam.h kRîshhNam.h mRîgam.h kArmukam.h
vAme savyakare sharaJNcha tathatam.h Ta.nkaJNcha devyAyutam.h |
ga.ngAchandra kalAdharam.h hariviriJNchAdyaissadA sevitam.h
hAsairdagdha puratrayam.h tribhuvanAdhIsham.h purArim.h bhaje ||
Smeared in red (blood), a full-moon face, with the deer, and the bow to the left (in His hand), in the right
hand an arrow and axe, wearing ga.nga and crescent moon, always worshipped by vishNu and brahma, burnt
the three cities by His smile, to that God of three worlds, the enemy of pura ( purAri ) , pray.

tri pura a.ntakar : destroyer of three cities ( vIra mUrti )
The tripurA signify the three components(impurities) of bondage (pAsam) namely aham (ego),
karma(deeds and their effects), mAya (illusion). When God shows His grace all these impurities are burnt, bliss
remains and Lord Shiva dances there. ( padhi aNukiR pachu pAcha nîllAvE – thirumUlar )
Three demons kamalAkshan, tArukAkshan, vidhunmAli got a boon from the Lord that they can not be
destroyed unless all three of them come together, and attacked by a single arrow. Then they created forts in
different areas and ruled the world. dEvAs who were disturbed by them complained it to the Lord. But Lord
Shiva said as long as the three demons pray Him He won't destroy them. So mahA vishNu took the form of a
sage, and taught the three demons mAyAvAtham, resulting them to stop praying the Lord, praising themselves
and torturing dEvAs. Since all the good qualities of them were lost the Lord came for the destruction of the
purAs. The three demons came together to fight against the Lord forgetting their boon.The earth became the
chariot for the Lord, brahma the charioteer, vishNu the arrow, sun and moon the wheels, the mountain mEru as
the bow and the serpent vAsuki as the string in the bow. Thus all the gods were present in some form in that
chariot. But the fire and god of death were in the wheel instead of the arrow. vinAyaka broke the wheel to put
them in the arrow. Finally when everything was ready dEvAs were proud that only with their help God is going
to destroy the tripuras. But Lord Shiva didn't use any of them. He smiled and in that smile the three purAs were
burnt down.(The rudhrAksha appeared from the three eyes of Lord Shiva during tripurasaMhAra) The thought
of dEvAs that without their help the Lord wont be able to destroy the tripuras proved foolish.
The purpose of destruction by Lord is only for purification. Lord gave life to the three demons. Though
they went wrong they initially were devotees. They repented for their mistake. The Lord forgave them and gave
one of them the great work of fanning Him with chAmaram, and the rest two as His security in His abode. (
mUvAr puraN^kaL eriththa anRu mUvarkku aruL cheydhAn - thiru nyAna chamban^dhar )
thiru adhikai is the temple associated with the burning of thripurA.

Jalandhari
Shlokam & Meaning:

raktApam.h ugra gamanam.h trivilochanAbhayam.h
Ta.nkAsi kRîshhNa mRîga chApa sushobhi hastam.h |
bhUmistha chakra dharaNodga jalandharasya
kaNThagna mAbhaja jalandhara harasvarUpam.h ||
Smeared in red (blood), moving fierce, with three nice eyes, Protection posture, axe, deer, bow
decorating the hands, cutting the head of jala.ndhara who is trying to hold the disc (chakra) of earth (ground), I
pray, the destroyer of jala.ndhara.

jala.ndhara ari : enemy of jala.ndhara (vIrA mUrti)
jalandhara was a demon king. After doing harsh austerities he got lots of boons. By the power he got
out of those boons, he captured and ruled the worlds. He went to the dEvAs to fight against. Since nobody was
ready to fight against such a powerful enemy, everybody subdued to him without much resistance. He then
proceeded to more powerful worlds of satyalOka and vaikuNTha. There too nobody was ready to fight against
him. But he was told that only Lord Shiva can fight against him. Stupid jalandhara not realizing what he is
doing, went to KailAsa, the abode of Lord shiva, to fight with the God! Lord Shiva took the form of an old man
and stood on his way. He asked jalandhara where he was going. jalandhara replied that he was going to fight
against Lord Shiva. Smiling the Old Man marked a disc (chakra) on the ground. He said, "Before fighting with
the powerful Lord shiva, check your strength by lifting this disc above your head." jalandhara laughed at the
Old man that he did not realize jalandhara's strength. He decided to show off his strength by lifting that disc. As
he started lifting jala.ndhara realized that it was not an easy job. He took that disc with great difficulty and
placed on his head. The disc cut his head off cutting him into pieces!(That disc is the sudarshana chakra part
of which was given to mahAvishhNu by the Lord ( chakra pradhar )
thiruviRkudi is the temple associated with this valourous deed of Lord Shiva.
Matan^gari
Shlokam & Meaning:

sthitvA hasti shirasta dakshacharaNam.h vAmA.nga kshotRîdam.h
puchchortvAvRîta charma uddhRîtakaram.h shUlAsi sharuN^gojvalam.h |
Ta.nkam.h kRîshhNam.h dharam.h varakaram.h bhIshhmAnanendu prabham.h
vAmomAti bhayonmukhI sutayutam.h sUchyATya hastam.h haram.h ||
Standing on the head of the elephant with the right leg, with the hands ripping open the skin (of the
elephant) and covering Himself with it, holding dreadful trident and sharungam, axe, and deer, boon giving
posture in hands, with a frightening face, lit by the crescent, with the scared faced (pArvati) to the left, with a
pointing hand, to that hara (salutations).

mAtaN^ga ari : enemy of the elephant (vIra mUrti)
There was a demon gajAsura in the form of an elephant. He did severe penance and got lots of powerful
boons. His wicked mind did not try to use all those powers for the constructive things, but rather started to
disturb, kill and loot others. The power he had got out of the penance made even the divines afraid of him. His
crooked mind also brought him to the death trap, when he started to attack the devotees who were completely
focused on the worship of God at the holy abode kAshi. His ego and mad rage made him not realize whom he is
attacking. The Supreme Powerful God, the Protector of the devotees destroyed the demon ripping its body. The
daemon screamed loud and lost the life.Considered to be a very furious form of Lord Shiva, with the shakti
Herself frightened by the act of the Lord. (However the Lord is in all smiles !)
pazuvUr is the temple associated with this valourous deed of Lord Shiva
Karalar (Virabhadrar)
Shlokam & Meaning:
chaturbhujam.h trinetraJNcha jaTAmakuTa samyutam.h

dakshiNe khaDgabANaJNcha vAme chApa gadAdharam.h |
damshhTrA karALa vadanam.h bhImam.h bhairava garjitam.h
bhadrakALi samayuktam.h karALam.h hRîdi bhAvaye ||
With four shoulders, three eyed, with the matted hair wound as a crown, sword and arrow in His right
hand, bow and mace in His left, with projecting teeth, with a frightening face, powerful, with a terrible roar,
accompanied by bhadrakALi, think of that karALa.

karAlar: dreadful one (vIra mUrthi)
shakti as dAkshAyaNi appeared as the daughter of daksha, who was the son of brahma. She prayed
Lord Shiva to get married to Him. The Lord accepted dAshAyaNi ignoring the ostentation of daksha. daksha
felt insulted as the Lord did not get married to his daughter with his pompous arrangements. He did a yAga in
which he worshipped all gods and purposefully ignored the God, Shiva. All other dEvAs out of their fear
attended the yAga and accepted the offering. A great sage dadhIchi advised dakshA not to do such things and
warned him it will be fatal for him. Ignoring his advice, dakshA continued his yAga. dAkshAyaNi came to the
yAga to advise Her father to do offering to the Lord of gods, Shiva. But he ignored Her advice and accused Her
and Lord Shiva. She got angry and prayed the Lord to teach dakshA a lesson, left the form of dAkshAyaNi by
getting into the yAga fire and appeared as the daughter of king of Himalayas .
The Lord created vIra bhadrar(also called karALar) and bhadra kALi. (karALar is the only deity in the
25 mAhEshwara mUrtis, who is not Lord Shiva Himself, but is a power of Lord Shiva). Lord asked them to
destroy the yAga of dakshA. They stormed into the yAga and mutilated the dEvAs who took part in the yAga.
He cut the head of dakshA. Nobody could stop Him. (A more detailed description can be found in daksha
kAnDam of kan^da purANam (1). thiruvun^dhiyAr(2) in thiruvAcakam sings this victory. thakkayAgap
paraNi (3) is a literature dedicated to this storming by the valorous vIrabhadra). Lord Vishnu came for a fight,
but in vain. All the dEvAs surrendered to Lord Shiva and pleaded for mercy. The Giver of refuge, forgave them
and on their request gave dakshA also life by putting the head of a goat in place of his cut head. dakshA
repented for his sin.
thirup paRiyalUr is the temple associated with the destruction of daksha yAgam.
Shankara Narayanar
Shlokam & Meaning:

savyA.nge vidRîmApam.h shashidhara makuTam.h bhasmarudrAksha bhUshham.h
vAmA.nge shyAmalApam.h maNimakuTayutam.h pItavastrAdi shobham.h |
savye Ta.nkAbhayam.h syAtitara karayuge sha.nkha kaumodakI cha
ki.nchillalATa netram.h hariharavapushham.h sa.ntatam.h naumi shaMbhum.h ||
The right part of the body, white in color, moon decorated crown, decorated by ash and rudrAksham,
the left, black in color, with jeweled crown, shining in yellow clothes, the right hands are holding axe and
protection posture, and the left, conch and mace, partially showing eye in the forehead, in the combined form of
harihara, always (I) salute that shambhu.

sha.nkara nArAyaNar : the combined form of sha.nkara and nArAyaNa
vishNu is one of the shaktis (powers) of Lord Shiva. This mUrti indicates that concept. vishNu is in the
left part of the Lord's body, which is the place of shakti. (1) (During the mOhini avatAr, mahAviShNu became
the devi of Lord shiva.)
shankarankovil is the temple associated with this valorous deed of Lord Shiva
Ardhanarishvarar
Shlokam & Meaning:
pumstrIrUpadharam.h tanaushashi jaTA Ta.nkAruNApam.h paNim.h
vyAghra tvakvasanam.h prakoshhTha vRîshhabham.h vakrA.nghrikam.h dakshiNe |
vAme shyAmala varotpalAlakakucha kshaumarju pAdAMbujam.h
d.hhema vibhUshhaNAti ruchiram va.nde ardhanArIshvaram.h ||
In the form of male and female, matted hair with moon, axe, smeared in red
(aruNa), wearing snakes and the skin of tiger, embracing the bull and with a bent leg, this
the right half, and the left black in color, hand holding a (lily) flower close to the chest,
with a silk like lotus foot, wearing gold ornaments, salutations to the Half female God.

ardha nAri Ishvarar : half female God (bhOga mUrti)
Sage bRîngi is one of the ardent devotees of Lord shiva. He used to worship only Lord shiva and not
shakti. Goddess shakti, being the power as the name indicate, pulled out the energy from bRîngi
mahaRîshi's body. Now he was even unable to stand. He pleaded to God. God shiva provided him with a
stick. On its support he stood and still worshipped Lord shiva alone. Goddess shakti wanted to become an
inseparable part of Lord shiva's form. She oberved the kEdhAra mahA vrata (1) austerity, which is now known
as deepAvaLi. Pleased with her austerity, Lord shiva granted her the boon of being part of His form. So the
Lord now appeared male on the right side and female on the left side and hence became ardhanArIshvara.
Significance Of This Form:

This is one of the very important form of God, Hindus worship. This is a much-hailed form in scriptures
of various languages. Hindus do not say that the God is only male. God is male - female and neuter too ! Since
God is conceptually beyond sex, though gets referred as He/She many times, it is more appropriate to refer as It,
especially at Its intrinsic condition, as do many hindu scriptures. Philosophically, this form is quite associated
with the Grace of God. shiva and shakti are one and the same Supreme. The formless God is called parashiva.
On Its own free-will for the benefit of pashus (souls), which are drowned in pAsha (bondage), It thinks to
create the worlds. Its dynamism of creation thus springs out of It, which is called shakti. Now shiva and Its
power shakti create everything. This is the form of their togetherness that springs out of Lord shiva. Because of
this the form is associated with the grace of God. shiva and shakti though the same may also act independently.
They are associated like the person and the action of the person. They are one and the same like the ice and the
water - one becomes the other. For this reason scriptures describe that shakti to shiva is a wife (they are
together), mother (shakti becomes shiva - so shiva comes out of shakti) and daughter (shiva become shakti).
Poet kAlidAsa hails them as inseparable like the word and its meaning, the letter and pronunciation !!
tiruchengode is one of the temple associated with this valorous deed of Lord Shiva
Kiratar
Shlokam & Meaning:

kRîshhNA.ngam.h dvibhujam.h dhanuchcharadharam.h muttAlakam.h susthitam.h
krUrAkshidvaya samyutam.h vipulasatvaktram.h hyurovistRîtam.h |
shIrShe pi.nchhadharam.h sugandha kusumam.h shArdUla charmAmbaram.h
badda vyALa virAjitodharamaham.h dhyAyet.h kirAtam.h haram.h ||
Body black in color, two shoulders holding bows and arrows, hair falling on the forehead, posing
comfortably, with two piercing eyes, blossomed nice face, with feathers and fragrant flowers in his head,
wearing the skin of tiger, Terrific, I meditate that Hunter (kirAta), the thief (hara).

kirAtar : the hunter
This is the only form of Lord Shiva in which He appeared black in color. arjuna wanted to get the
peerless weapon pAsupatAstram from Lord Shiva for the battle of mahAbharata. He left the other four
pANdavAs, went to the forest and did austere tapas for getting the boon of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was satisfied
with his prayer, wanted to give the pAsupatAstram to him, but wanted to play a bit too. He took the form of a
Hunter with Shakthi as Huntress. That time a demon by name mUkAsura, who was in the form of wild pig
came to kill arjuna. To kill the wild pig arjuna fired an arrow from the front, at the same time the Hunter, Who
is none other than God Himself, attacked it from the back and killed the pig.arjuna mocked at the Hunter for
firing the arrow from the back. Having great pride of his valor, he was also angry at the Hunter because He
aimed at his prey. The Hunter responded that attacking an animal from the back is not against rules of hunting.
An argument broke out. They decided to fight deciding who was more valorous between them. The Hunter cut
the string in arjuna's bow with His arrow in the fight! Angered and excited, arjuna started wrestling. He
couldn't match the Lord, and the Lord enjoyed his fighting. At one point of time in wrestling arjuna held the
foot of the Hunter. As the Lord is pleased when somebody catches His holy feet, He stopped wrestling appeared
with pArvati revealing Who He is. Shocked arjuna pleaded for forgiveness, as he was trying to fight with the
Supreme out of his ignorance. However the God, Who is pleased by devotion, blessed him and gave him the
invincible pAsupatAstra. (In some books it is told that arjuna couldn't fight with the Hunter, he started
worshipping the Shiva Lingam. To his astonishment he found the flowers he offered to the Lingam on the head
of the Hunter. Then he prostrated before the Hunter and the Lord revealed Himself). This can be found in detail
in kirAtArjuniyam of bhAravi and mahA bhArata.
Ka.nkalar
Shlokam & Meaning:

raktApam.h smitavaktram.h indumakuTam.h vAmetu dordaNDake
tryaksham.h vedakarAMbujam.h sadadhRîteH ka.nkALa vINAdharam.h |
savye yashhTidharam.h pare Damarukam.h savyApasavya kramAt.h
Ta.nkam.h kRîshhNamRîgam.h ka.nkALadevam.h bhaje ||
Smeared in red (raktApam), blossomed face, crowned with moon, carrying the staff with a collection of
bones to the left, Three eyed, lotus hands like vEdAs (four), having skeletons, vINA, striking with right hand the
Damarukam (drum) in the left hand, holding axe and deer, to that ka.nkALa dEva salutations.

ka.nkALar : God with skeleton
Lord shiva is said to be associated with destruction, dancing in cemeteries, wearing the skulls and bones
etc. Why ? While everybody irrespective of human, animal, plant, devas, asuras and all creatures at the time of
praLaya get reduced (die) to be created again in the next prapanchOtpatti, God is the only one, Who is ever
present. Indicating this Eternal being of God is the skulls, skeleton ornaments and the concept that he dances in
the cemeteries.
ka.nkALar is the murti after the reducing all the creations into Him. He will be having a staff with bones
collected in it, which is an indication of destruction. He alone will exist and will be enjoying the Self.
Chandesha Anugrahar
Shlokam & Meaning:
chaNDesham.h pItavarNam.h yugakarasahitam.h dakshahasterata Ta.nkam.h
piprANam.h kRîNasAram.h varakara sahitam.h pArvatI vAmabhAgam.h |
chaNDeshasyot.h tamA.ngam.h pratinihitakaram.h dakshabhAge trinetram.h
sarvAlaN^kAra yuktam.h shashishakaladharam.h ga.ngayAyukta mIDe ||
The terrific Lord, yellow in color, with hands like yugAs (four), in the
right hand holding axe, deer, with a hand in boon giving posture, pArvati to the left, blessing chaNdEshvara by
keeping His hand on his body, to the right, Three eyed, with all decoration, wearing crescent, with ga.nga, to
Him salutations.

chaNdEsha anugrahar : One blessing chaNdEshar (bhOga mUrti)
chaNdEshvarar is one of the 63 saints - nAyanmAr. He is one of the heads of Shiva gaNas, who owns
whatever is used for Lord Shiva after His acceptance. He sits to the left of Lord Shiva and the final offerings are
done to him in any pUja in the temples.
chaNdEshvarar(his original name is vichAra charmar) was born to echcha dattan. The man in the
village who used to take the cows for grazing, used to beat them and torture them. chaNdEshvarar being an
ardent devotee and full with love, took over that job. He used to leave the cows in the morning in the grounds
and sit in meditation. By the fall of the evening he brings them back to their houses. Under his supervision cows
started giving plenty of milk. When chaNdEshvarar sits in worship of the Almighty they used to come near and
start giving the milk on their own. He used that milk for anointing the LiN^gam he makes out of the sand and
worships it. One day some ignorant who was passing by mistook him and thought chaNdEshvarar milked the
cows to pour it into the sand. He reported this to chaNdEshvarar's father. The next day his father followed
chaNdEshvarar without his knowledge and hid behind a shrub. As usual the cows gave the milk and
chaNdEshvarar started performing anointing to the LiN^gam with the heart flowing with bhakti. echcha
dattan without realizing his bhakti hit him with a staff. But he continued his worship without any effect. He
was fully involved in the offerings. Irked echcha dattan kicked away the pots having milk disturbing the
worship. chaNdEshvarar got angry at the disturbance to shiva pUja, took a staff lying nearby and threw it and
didn't bother that the irked echcha dattan was his father. That staff became axe and cut off the legs of irked
echcha dattan . In the complete neutrality he was not partial to look into whether the person disturbed the
worship was his father or anybody else. The Lord pleased with his devotion, appeared before him, wound the
garland of konRai that he was wearing to his head, made him sit next to Him in the left, and owner for all shiva
prasAdam.
Chakrap^radar
Shlokam & Meaning:

vishhNusdvIsha purasthito ra.njalikaro devasya pAdAbjayoH
abhyarchyAkshilasat.h sahasrakamalam.h samprAptavAn.h IshvarAt.h |
yasmAchchakramatovaram.h pashupateH padmAksha ityAGYayA
Ta.nkam.h kRîshhNamRîgam.h varam.h parakarAt.h chakrapradam.h tam.h bhaje ||
In one side vishNu, standing with folded hands, offering at the Feet of the Divine one of his eyes to
complete (the shortfall) a thousand lotuses, from Which Lord got the disc weapon(chakra) and the blessing
order to be renowned as lotus-eyed, that Lord of Creatures (pashupati) with axe, deer, boon giving posture, to
that giver of disc, salutations.

chakra pradar : The giver of disc (bhOga mUrti)
For the protection of the world mahA vishNu wanted to have a weapon that is very powerful. He wanted
to worship Lord Shiva with thousand flowers to get the the sudarshana disc, which was created by Lord shiva
for jala.ndhara samhAra. mahA viShNu collected the required flowers and started the worship. But during the
worship, mahA vishNu found that he fell short of one flower to thousand. He did not want to stop at any cost
the worship of Lord shiva. Immediately he plucked out and offered one of the eyes as the thousandth flower.
Delighted by that devotion, Lord Shiva gave the disc to viShNu. Also mahA vishNu got the name "lotus eyed"
(padmAksha) due to the devotion in offering the eye to make up for a lotus.
However the chakra was too powerful for viShNu to hold. So God made it into three parts, one given to
viShNu, one to shakti and one kept with Himself. With that chakra the reverend Lord viShNu is protecting all
the worlds. The form of Lord Shiva blessing viShNu with the disc is the chakra prada mUrthi.
Saha UmA Skandar ( Thiayagarajar )
Shlokam & Meaning:

udyat.h bhAnunibham.h chatushhkarayutam.h keyUrahArairyutam.h
divyam.h vastradharam.h jaTAmakuTinam.h saMshobhi netratrayam.h |
vAme gauryutam.h sugandhamubhayor madhye kumAram.h sthitam.h
somAska.nda vibhum.h mRîgAbhayavaram.h Ta.nkam.h tathAnam.h bhaje ||
Like the rising sun (bright), with four hands, necklace and bracelet, in sacred robes, hair wound as
crown, with three shining eyes, pArvati to the left, Fragrant, with kumAra in the middle, to that great
sOmaskanda, with deer, protection, boon giving postures and axe, salutations.

saha umA skandar : with umA and skandar (bhOga mUrti)
mahA viShNu wanted to have a son who would be an example of charm. For that he worshipped the
God. Delighted with the worship of the great viShNu, Lord Shiva appeared to provide the boon he looked for.
At that time mahAviShNu showed no respect to goddess shakti. Irked by that shakti cursed that the charming
son viShNu would get would be burnt away by the Lord. (1) viShNu was shocked to hear this. Now he
worshipped again the Lord along with goddess shakti as well as their child Lord skandha. Pleased by the
worship shakti blessed that the son of viShNu who would get burnt away by the God, would again be brought
back to life by the Grace of God. By this boon mahAviShNu got the charming lord of lust(love) - manmata .
The form worshipped by mahAviShNu is the saha umA skandha mUrthi or sOmAskandha murti.mahA
vishNu worshipped this mUrti for long time having at his heart. Later brahmA requested mahAviShNu for this
mUrti and got the same. He worshipped the mUrti and then indra got the same as boon. The chOza king
muchukunda obtained it from indra, installed in the seven vidaN^ga(2) places.
thiruvarur is one of the temple associated with this valorous deed of Lord Shiva.
Ekapadar
Shlokam & Meaning:

dhyAyet.h koTiravipram.h trinayanam.h shItAmshu ga.ngAdharam.h
haste Ta.nkam.h mRîgam.h varAbhayakaram.h pAdaikayuktam.h vibhum.h |
shambhordakshiNa vAmagakshabhujayor.h brahmAchyutAbhyAMyutam.h
tattallakshNa mAyudhaiH parivRîtam.h hastatvayAT yA~njalim.h ||
Meditate the form which is (shining) like crores (millions) of suns (kOTiravipram), Three eyed, wearing
the cool gangA, in the hand with axe, deer, protection posture, the Great with only one leg, to the right and left
shoulders of Lord shambhu brahmA, and vishNu present with their ideal arms surrounding Him, to Him,
salutations with folded hands.

Eka pAdar : one legged
This is the mUrti that shows that brahmA and vishNu appear from the Lord and finally merge in the
Lord and Oneness of God.
Vighnesh Anugrahar
Shlokam & Meaning:

Ta.nkam kRîshNamRîgam.h tathAnamamalam.h prAlambi savyA.nghriham.h
vAme nidhRîtapAda mindu sadRîsham.h trayaksham.h jaTAshekharam.h |
vAmA.nge dhRîta vighnarAjamitaram.h tanmUrdhni vinyasyatat.h
prItyAnugraham.h tripuNDradharaNam.h vighnaprasAdam.h bhaje ||
With axe, and deer in hands, the Pure one, with hanging down right leg, to the left with folded leg, Three
eyed, decorated with matted hair, blessing the king of obstacles who is to the left by placing the hand on his
head with love, smearing (the ash as)three stripes, to that vighna prasAda, salutations.

vighnEsha anugrahar : Blessing the god of obstacles (bhOga mUrti)
vighnEsha is the form of knowledge of the Lord. His majestic elephant form shows the greatness of the
knowledge. For doing the shiva pUja or any austerities, knowledge is required. So first vighnEsha is prayed to
remove our ignorance and any other disturbances, and give us the knowledge for praying the Lord. Lord Shiva
gave vighnEsha when the gods and devotees prayed Him for the removal of any hurdles, that occur when they
worship.(There are many other purANAs about vignEsha's appearance). Praying the vighnEshAnugrahar will
remove the hurdles.
Daxina Murti
Shlokam & Meaning:

pAdenAkramya bhUtam.h tadupariguNitam.h pAdamekam.h nidhAya
vyAkurvan.h sarvashabdAn.h nijakaTaka mahIbhAgabAjAm.h mRîgAShINAm.h |
vyALam.h vyAkhyAnamudrAm.h hutavahakalikAm.h pustakam.h chAkshamAlAm.h
bibhrat dorpischaturbhis.h sphuratu mamapuro dakshiNAmUrtirIshaH ||
The leg pressing over a demon, on the top of which the Embodiment of merits is sitting with one leg
folded, the one who teaches difficult words (vedas) with ease, the sages enjoying (the teachings, sitting) on
ground, with the (hand) posture of explaining, a fire pot, book and akshamAla in the four hands, Who trembles
away my ignorance, to That dakshiNAmUrti (salutations).

dakshiNA mUrti : south faced Lord (yOga mUrti)
The four sons, of brahmA, sanaka, sanandana, sanAtana, sanat kumAra did austere tapas and
analysis, but they were unclear of the Supreme Truth. They finally decided to come to Lord Shiva to get the
knowledge of the Truth. The Lord sat under the banyan tree, and the four sages also sat down around Him. Lord
stayed in the yOga posture without saying a single word. The four sages got all their doubts cleared just by that
posture. The form in which God appeared as a Supreme Guide is the form of wisdom dakshiNAmUrti.
This explains that the Truth cannot be explained in words and must be experienced. Including the great
chinmudra posture, the posture of shrI dhakshiNA mUrti, who is the teacher of all the teachers, indicates a lot
of information that needs days to explain. As thirumUlar says, the posture of the guru is a thing to be thought
about always. That is the clarity ! (theLivu guruvuru chin^dhiththal thAnE)
Nilakantha (Shrikantha)
Shlokam & Meaning:

abhayavarada hastam.h Ta.nka sAraN^ga yuktam.h
shashidharamahibhUSham pIta vastram trinetram |
shivamasitakaLATyam tam vRîShArUDha devam
viShaharaNaka mIsham chitra pi~nchhATya rUpam ||
With protection and boon giving posture of hands, with axe and deer, wearing moon, snakes, yellow
robe, Three eyed, Auspicious, Dark-blue throated, that Divine riding the bull, Remover of the poison, Colorful
(peacock) feather like formed (I salute).

nIla kaNThar : black (blue) throated Lord
Demons and gods wanted to have the amRîta the nectar that would make one live long avoiding death.
The amRîta was in the milky ocean and required churning the huge ocean to get out the nectar. They came
together to collectively churn the big ocean. They churned the milk ocean with ma.ndhAra mountain as the
stem and serpent vAsuki as the rope. In the process, due to the pain serpent vAsuki emitted the poison hAla
(meaning destructive). At the same time one more poison came from the ocean hAla. Both put together became
an disastrous poison that threatened the very existence of all including the divines, demons and the other lives.
mahA vishNu tried to stop that. His body turned blue, but he couldn't stop it. Terrified by the destroying power
of the poison, all of them surrendered to Lord Shiva, the Giver of Refuge. (So far they had never thought of
Lord shiva to offer first the amRîta, but only when it came to disaster they remembered God !)
The Graceful God took the hAlAhalam as if it is a fruit in the hand. Asked all of them, what He should
do with that. They pleaded that the poison would annihilate them all if He left it off. Lord smilingly put it into
His mouth ! But isn't all the worlds very much inside the God ? Though it will not affect the Lord, but the
worlds would be again affected by the poison, Goddess Shakthi, the mother of all creatures, stopped the poison
in His throat by putting her hand in His throat. The poison stayed there as a small black (blue) stain. Hence the
Lord is called nIlakaNThar.Now with the blessings of God, the divines continued to churn the ocean and got
the amRîta. God gave the amRîta to the divines, but had only the poison. For the Lord, Who remains Eternal
even after the divines who ate the amRîta die, what is the need for amRîta ? He is the greatest amRîta one
can seek!
Lingodbhavar
Shlokam & Meaning:
devam garbhagRîhasya mAnakalite li~Nge jaTAshekharam
kaTyAsaktakaram paraischa tatatam kRîShNam mRîga~n chAbhayam |
savye Ta.nkamameya pAdamakuTe brahmAchyutAbhyAm yutam
hyUrdhvAtasthita haMsa kolamamalam li~Ngodbhavam bhAvaye ||
Divine, Out of the symbol (li~Ngam) that arose out of the quarrel of prime-ness
(between braHma and viShNu), Matted hair crested, Keeping the hand on the
hip, with the other hands holding deer and protection sign, in the right holding
axe, having the braHma and viShnu (who sought) the Transcending feet and crown, as the swan above and
boar below, that li~Ngodbhava I meditate.

li~Ngodbhavar : The Lord appearing from the symbol. (The principle behind linga worship)
Once before the creation started, a quarrel broke between braHma and viShNu as to who is great.
braHma claimed he is as he is the creator of the whole world. viShNu rejected the claim saying the creation
would not be useful without his sustenance of the world. The war of words between these two great divines
worsened. At that point of time to make them realize the truth there appeared a pillar of fire. It was huge that
both of them were astonished to see that. Now as a solution to their debate they wanted to decide who is the
greatest by reaching the tip of that pillar. braHma took the form of a haMsa (swan) and went up to reach the
top of that pillar, viShNu took the form of a wild pig and went down to reach the bottom of that pillar and it was
agreed that whoever sees the either tip would be the greatest. That pillar was not any ordinary column of fire, it
was the Supreme Itself, the One that is beyond form, color and qualities ! Who knows the start and end of that
Supreme !! The two who set out on their strength to explore the endings of It went on and on only to become
more and more tired and it was hopeless to find the end of It. viShNu returned realizing that it should be the
parashiva which is beyond the limits that can be measured by knowledge, Which has come out of Its Grace to
bless them and make them realize the Truth easily. He accepted his failure. braHmA on the other hand, though
realizing it is impossible to see the top of the fire column, returned lying that he saw the tip. The lie stood
exposed and hence he is not worshipped. Now both of them realizing the greatness of the Supreme worshipped
the Lord shiva, the Gracious one, with lots of devotion and sincerity. The Lord out of the grace to bless all the
pashus (souls) with a way they could easily understand and worship the Supreme, Which is unexplainable,
unexplorable, appeared as a li~Ngam which is a vertical pillar resembling the flame. As it resembles the flame,
It is neither a form nor a formless, but is just a symbol of the Supreme jyoti. The Lord later appeared in a form
and blessed viShNu and braHma. This Lord is called li~Ngodbhavar.
This form which came out of the formless Supreme out of Its grace to bless the sincere worship of
braHma and viShNu and which is a from but represents the formlessness of the Supreme is considered very
holy by the shaivites. The shiva li~Nga (meaning symbol of shiva) is the foremost of all the shaivite worships.
As the ash would be closely associated with the fire, Holy Ash is associated with this Fire pillar Lord and sacred
for the shaivites.
Sukhasanar
Shlokam & Meaning:

shAntam shvetam trinetram rasabhujasahitam kuNDalotpAsi karNam
daNDam ghaNTAm kura~Ngam.hparashu paNidharAbhItikam daxavAmaiH |
piprANam vAmapAdam shayitamathaparam lambibhUtasta pAdam
vAme gauryAsamedam shashidharamakuTam tam sukhAsInamIDe ||
Peaceful, White, Three eyed, with delicacies like (six) shoulders, ears shining with ring, adorned with
stick, bell, deer, axe, snakes, protection posture on the right and left, with folded horizontally kept left leg, the
other leg hanging down over a bhUta, accompanied by gauri to the left, with the crown adorned with moon, to
That sukhAsana salutations.

sukhAsanar : Sitting in the comfortable posture(bhOga mUrti)
This form describes the Lord's posture in the abode of mount kailash, where the Lord is seated along
with the great goddess umA blessing the devotees running the whole universe with the powerful devas saluting
and looking for the Lords indication to serve. The Lord sitting in the posture of ease, is in the Bliss and grants
the same for His true devotees.
Gangadharar

ga.ngA dharar : Lord wearing ga.ngA (river to head).
bhagIratha was the renowned king forefather of rAma of raghu vamsa. His forefathers known as
sagaras were burnt down due to a curse. For the upliftment of those ancestors from the cursed state to get to the
heavens, he wanted to bring the river ga.ngA to earth. The idea is that when ganga waters touch the ash of
sagaras, they would be uplifted from their sin. He did very severe austerities and to get the permission from
indra. He gave permission to bring the ganaga flowing in the heaven to the earth, however he told, coming
down to earth would be the decision of ganga. So bagIrata again started his penance and prayed the goddess
ga.ngA. She agreed to come down, but warned him that he should find a person who could withstand the force
with which she will descend to earth! He agreed and found out that the refuge would be at Lord shiva. He did
the austerities pleasing Lord Shiva. Appreciating his devotion and efforts, Lord agreed to hold the ga.ngA when
she descends to earth. ga.ngA out of her pride and ignorance thought that the Lord won't be able to withstand
the force! She came down with an intention to gush down the Lord with heavy force. Can the Lord, Who holds
the entire world He created, be pushed down by a river ? The Lord, who is the creator of the entire universe and
who has taken the forms just out of the grace on creatures, arrested her flow in His matted hair! She tried her
best to rush out of His matted hair, but in vain. Not a drop of water could escape! bhagIratha, worried by this
(as he would not get ganga to earth otherwise), prayed to the Lord to show mercy on her. The Gracious Lord
allowed the ga.ngA through a strand of His matted hair. ga.ngA then flowed humbly, gracefully and giving
prosperity on her way to pAtALa. Thus the ancestors of bhagIratha were resurrected by the holy water of
ga.ngA. The Lord in the posture holding the ganga in the matted hair is called gangAdhara mUrthi.
Sarabheshvarar

Hiranya was a daemon who conquered celestials and ruled the worlds in turbulence. His son
prahaladha was on contradiction good character and devotee of mahAviShNu. This irked the daemon father.
He threatened the son to show viShNu from a column of the palace. mahAviShNu promptly appeared
wrathfully as a narasimha (half human, half lion form) and cut open the daemon's stomach and drank his blood
killing him. Now narasimha who came to kill the daemon was so wrath filled that his anger was disturbing the
others. lakshmi, the consort of viShNu herself was afraid to approach him. The divines pleaded to Lord Shiva
to control the anger of narasimha and make him a pleasant one.
Lord Shiva took the form of sharaba, a form that combines lion, human and also a bird. With this Fierce form
Lord Shiva engaged narasimha to fight. Very soon narasimha realized that the sharaba was nothing but Lord
Shiva. He saluted the shrabha and shed away his wrath and became pleasant to be worshipped by lakshmi and
prahaladha.
Bhairava (kshetrapala)

bhairava is the guardian deity of the abode of God shiva. So he is called kshetra pAla. The term
bhairava means "Terrific". As the guardian of the abode of Lord, his form is very fierce, with ery many kind of
weapons, naked and decorated with skull and having a smile on the face that threatens the wrong doers and
protects the devotees. He has a dog as his vehicle. So he is referred as shuna vAhanar.
bhairava is not a form of Lord shiva, but a form very closely associated and he is one of the powers
assigned by the Lord. It is the custom that the keys of the temple are submitted to bhairava after the pujas are
completed for the day and again taken from him the next morning before the opening. As the guardian deity he
is also worshipped after any of the festivals at the temple.
bhairava would be having an abode naturally in all the Lord shiva temples. The kAsi (vArANasi) abode
is much renowned abode of bhairav, as he is the protector of that whole city - the holy land of the Lord
vishvanath. Adishankara has sung a stotra in praise of kAla bhairava of kAshi.(1)
When brahma and viShNu were got into an argument who is the supreme, Lord shiva appeared as the
column of fire in between them. kAla bhairava cut off the fifth head of brahma that lied in ego and he having
that skull of brahma as the bowl, bhairava took the blood of mahA viShNu in that. The two got to understand
their mistake and worshipped Lord shiva.
God appointed bhairava to be the protector deity. He also appointed him as the protector of the town
kAshi. bhairava ensures that nobody misuses the belongings of Lord shiva and he is dreaded to punish and
correct those who misuse the temple properties. This deity who appears terrific is the protector of the devotees.
His valour gives courage to good people and deterence to those who do the wrong things so that they get
corrected.
Various BHAIRAVA Murthams:

kAlabhairavar , acithAN^ga bhairavar , krotha bhairavar , kaNda bhairavar , unmaththa
bhairavar , kapAla bhairavar , vibUShaNa bhairavar , mArththANDa bhairavar ,suthan^dhira
bhairavar , svEccA bhairavar , lOka bhairavar , ugra bhairavar , praccaiya bhairvar , ninmANava
bhairavar , bUShaNa bhairavar , sWarnakarshna bhairavar .
Details Of Some Virathams
Shiva Ratri Viratham

Shiva rathri is one of the most auspicious vratas for the devotees of Lord shiva. The purANas explain
the grand significance of this vrata.
Once when everything in all the worlds got reduced into Lord shiva, in that darkness of nothing present,
the mother pArvati worshipped Lord shiva in the Agamic way with great devotion. The parameshwar pleased
by Her prayer blessed Her. She asked for the benefit of all the creatures that in future whoever worships the
Lord on the shiva rAtri day with devotion, they should be blessed and should be given the ultimate liberation.
The pashupati granted that showing way for all of us to get blessed easily. When Brahma and Vishnu fought
between themselves as "who is the greatest", Lord Shiva appeared before them as a pillar of fire. They were not
able to find the starting and end of that pillar. This day is Thirukkaarthikai.
Then Brahma and Mahavishnu repented for their mistake and prayed to Lord Shiva for forgiving their
sin worshiping the shiva li.ngam which is the form of the flame. In the night of Shiva rathri Lord Shiva
appeared before them and blessed them. Devotees pray the God throughout the night of Shiva rathri by
performing Abisheka, chanting and other holy deeds.Every month in Krishna paksha chathurdhasi (fourteenth
moonday) is called masa Shiva rathri. The one that comes in the month of "Masi" (mid February to mid
March) is called Maha Shiva rathri. This is considered as the most important vrata by the devotees.
There are many incidents told about the greatness of this day. Once a hunter in a jungle after searching
throughout the jungle was quite tired and could not get any animal. In the nightfall a tiger started chasing him.
to escape from that he climbed a tree. That was a Bilva tree. The tiger sat under the tree waiting for him to come
down. The hunter who sat on a branch of the tree was quite tense and didn't want to sleep. He was plucking the
leaves and putting down as he was not able to be idle. Below the tree there was a Shiva lingam. The whole
night went on like this. God was pleased with the Upavasa (hunger) and the Pooja the hunter and the tiger did
even without knowledge. He is the peak of the grace. He gave the hunter and the tiger "Moksha". In a Shiva
temple on a Maha Shiva rathri day the lamp kept in the altar was very dim. That time a mouse which came
take its prey touched the flame. Due to the heat it moved its head immediately. In the process it kindled the
lamp and the altar was illuminated well. Lord Shiva, pleased by this deed made the mouse Mahabali, the
renowned asura king.There are many incidents like this told in our Puraanas. If we do the vrata with pure
devotion and love there can be no doubt about getting the Grace of the Almighty.
When Observed:
ska.ndha purANam describes about four shiva rAtris. The first one is nitya shivarAtri (daily shivarAtri
- every night). The second one is the mAsa shivarAtri which is observed on the kRîShNa paxa chaturdasi
(fourteenth moonday on the moons diminishing phase). The third one is the mAga prathamAdi shivarAtri
which is observed for the thirteen days starting from prathama titi in the month mAga (mAsi) and on the
chaturdasi night the Lord is worshiped throughout the night.The fourth one is observed on the mAsi (mAga)
month kRîShNa paxa chaturdasi. This is the one observed in a widespread manner. It is also called mahA
shivarAtri.
Way Of Observing:
Getting up early in the morning one meditates on the Infinitely Auspicious, ornated with thousands of
splendid garlands, Who is in the form of the holy symbol of shiva(mahA li.ngam). Bathing and staying clean
the worship of Lord shiva in the form of shiva li.ngam is done in the four jamas of the night (four equal time
intervals of the night). (Note that the li.nga worship is explicitly mentioned for this vratam as this is the time
the God out of Its grace for the benefit of pashus appeared in a formless-form that is a symbol (li.ngam) from
Its true nature of formlessness.)
Thiruvadhirai Viratham
Thiruvaadhirai is one of the famous vradhas celebrated. This is the thiruvaadhirai nakshaththram in
the month of Maarkazi (Maargasira). Thiruvaadhirai is considered as the nakshaththram of Lord nâtaraja.
Though the Lord never takes birth and hence no nakshaththram to celebrate, on Thiruvaadhirai He appeared to
the holy saints pathanychali and vyaagra paadha.
Once when Mahaa Vishnu was lying down on the great serpent Adhi seesha, Adhi seesha felt Mahaa
Vishnu was quite heavy that time. He asked Mahaa Vishnu what was the reason. Mahaa Vishnu said that he
was remembering and enjoying the Dance of Lord Shiva. The answer developed the desire in Adhi seesha to
see the Great Dance of Lord Shiva. He asked Mahaa Vishnu how his desire could be fulfilled. Mahaa Vishnu
asked him to go to Chithamparam and do "tapas". Adhi seesha came to Chithamparam and prayed the Lord
for a long time.There was another muni and devotee of Lord Shiva in that place, called viyaagra paadha. He
prayed to God to get the legs of tiger, so that he can pluck flowers early in the morning to offer to the God,
before any bee touches the flower. He was also praying God to see His Great Dance for a long time.Pleased
with their prayer the God appeared on the Thiruvaadhirai day and danced in Chithamparam. The Nataraaja
image of the Lord is prayed with great devotion this day. In Chithamparam and other temples it is celebrated as
Arudraa dharshanam. In this festival abhisheeka (holy anointing) of Lord Nataraaja takes place early in the
morning and then He comes around the town. A sweet called kaLi and multi vegetable thALakam are offered
and eaten to celebrate this great joy of seeing the dance of the Lord.
When Observed:
ska.ndha purANam describes about this vratam. When the sun shines in the dhanur rAsi that is in the
month of mArkazi, in the day of thiruvAdhirai for which rudra is the devata this vratam is observed.
Way Of Observing:
In the morning of thiruvAdhirai one gets up early in the morning and salutes the Dancing Lord. After
bathing goes to the abode of Lord shiva and there worshiping the Lord by abhishekam and offerings, lights up
the ghee lamps to illuminate the abode. Fasting for the whole day, the next day saluting the Three-eyed Lord
serving food for the devotees one has the food.
Glory Of The Viratham:

munychakEchar, vyAgrapAdhar and the serpant kArkOtakan observed this vratam and saw the blissful
dance of the Lord. Saint vyagra pAdhar got austerous upamanyu as his son. A brahman called vipular
observing this vratam went to kailash with the body by a splendid divine carrier and returned back. Later he got
liberation. As the Lord is dancing blissfully and gracefully on this day this vratam is considered quite
auspicious to please the God.
Kedhara (gauri) Vratam - Deepavali
History Of Deepavali:
KedhAra Gowri vradham familiarly known as dIpAvaLi (Diwali) is celebrated throughout India in a
grand manner. Without Caste creed, rich - poor differences people obeserve this festival. Infact very few people
know that it is one of the important Saivite vratas. Brungi rishi is a great Shiva bhaktha. When he prays to
Lord, he prays only to Lord Shiva and ignores Shakti. Angered by his act Shakti devi removed the energy from
his body. He was not able to stand. He prayed to Lord Shiva. God gave him a stick to support his body. Shakti
wanted to become part of Lord's body. She observed the kEdhAra vrata, one of Gods favorite vratas. Pleased
by Her austerities God gave the left part of His body to shakti and became ardha nArIshwara(1). The vrata is
then called kEdhAra gaurI vrata since Gowri observed it.
When Observed:
This kedhara vratam is observed for twenty one days starting from shukla paxa dasami (Tenth moon
day in its growing face) in the month of purattAchi (mid Sep to mid Oct). The final day (dIpAvaLi) also should
be observed in great devotion.
Way Of Observing:
Install Lord kedhArIshvara svAmi in a filled pot (kalasham). Make a roof (manTapa) above the
kalasham. Make vrata threads - 21 fibers having 21 knots. The 16 courtesy worship has to be done for 21 days
starting from the purattAchi shukla paxa dasami to aipachi amarapaxa chaturdashi (dIpAvaLi) or
amAvAsya. On the culmination day (21st) in a clean decorated area devotionally install the kalasham over the
grains spread in a banana leaf and offer various food and fruits to the Lord as offering and donate to others.
Glory Of The Viratham:

The glory of this vratam is very splendid as shri gauri devi observed this vratam in full devotion and got
to beinhalf the body of Lord Shiva !! Vishnu became Lord of vaikunta observing this vratam. Brahma got
hamsa vehicle, the guards of the eight directions got rid of the bane they got from braHma, bhagyavati and
puNyavati got lots of wealth all due to the glory of this vratam. One who observes this vratam with devotion
pleases Lord shiva.
Pradhosha Vratam & Mahima
Pradhosha pooja is one of the most important among the poojas performed to the Graceful Lord Shiva.
In Shukla Paksha (15 moon days from New moon to Full moon) and Krishna Paksha (15 moon days from Full
moon to New moon) the evening of the trayodasi (thirteenth moon day) between 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. is called
Pradhosha. It comes once in fifteen moon days. Pradhosha time is especially meant for praying Lord Shiva.
Praying in that time will free us from out sins and gives moksha finally (hence the name Pradhosha). During
pradoSha time a special type of circumambulating called soma sUtra pradaxiNam(1) is done.
Pradhosa Purana:
Once Dhevas and Asuras using the serpent Vasuki and the hill Mandhara were trying to get Amrutham
(nector) from the Kseerabthi (milk ocean). Then the terrible poison Halahalam came up. All got frightened and
pleaded to Lord Shiva for rescue. Being the peak of mercy Lord Shiva ate that poison. Then as per His order
they resumed their effort to get Amrutham. They got it on Dhwadhasi (twelfth moon day). Without praying and
thanking the God, by whom they got Amrutham, Devas started dancing and celebrating their victory.On
thrayodhasi (thirteenth moon day) they realised their sin of not praying the God and pleaded for forgiveness.
The pleased graceful Lord Shiva forgave them and danced between the horns of the Nandhi (holy bull). That
time is called Pradhosham. Whoever prays Lord Shiva in that time, Lord Shiva fulfills their wishes and give
them mukthi.
Bilvam and flowers can be given for Shiva pooja. Going to Shiva temple for every Pradhosham will
give way to live in His grace blissfully.During Prodhosha time anointing (Abhishekam) the Shiva deity with
the following is considered fruitful.
Milk gives long life
Ghee gives Moksha state
Curd gives good children
Honey gives melodious voice
Rice powder frees from debts
Sugar cane juice gives good health
Panjamrutham gives wealth
Lemon removes fear of death
Sugar removes enmity
Tender coconut gives enjoyment
Cooked Rice(Annam) gives mejestic life
Sandal gives Lakshmi's grace

An Explanations
Why de we apply the holy ash?
The ash of any burnt object is not regarded as holy ash. Bhasma (the holy ash) is the ash
from the homa (sacrificial fire) where special wood along with ghee and other herbs is offered as
worship of the Lord. Or the deity is worshipped by pouring ash as abhisheka and is then distributed
as bhasma. Bhasma is generally applied on the forehead. Some apply it on certain parts of the
body like the upper arms, chest etc. Some ascetics rub it all over the body. Many consume a pinch
of it each time they receive it. The word bhasma means "that by which our sins are destroyed and
the Lord is remembered". Bha implied bhartsanam ("to destroy") and sma implies smaranam ("to
remember"). The application of bhasma therefore signifies destruction of the evil and
remembrance of the divine. Bhasma is called vibhuti (which means "glory") as it gives glory to one
who applies it and raksha (which means a source of protection) as it protects the wearer from ill
health and evil, by purifying him or her.
Homa (offering of oblations into the fire with sacred chants) signifies the offering or
surrender of the ego and egocentric desires into the flame of knowledge or a noble and selfless
cause. The consequent ash signifies the purity of the mind which results from such actions. Also the
fire of knowledge burns the oblation and wood signifying ignorance and inertia respectively. The
ash we apply indicates that we should burn false identification with the body and become free of
the limitations of birth and death. This is not to be misconstrued as a morose reminder of death
but as a powerful pointer towards the fact that time and tide wait for none. Bhasma is specially
associated with Lord Shiva who applies it all over His body. Shiva devotes apply bhasma as a
tripundra (the form of " &&o&& "). When applied with a red spot at the centre, the mark
symbolizes Shiva-Shakti (the unity of energy and matter that creates the entire seen and unseen
universe). Bhasma has medicinal value and is used in many ayurvedic medicines. It absorbs excess
moisture from the body and prevents colds and headaches. The Upanishads say that the famous
Mrityunjaya mantra should be chanted whilst applying ash on the forehead.
Tryambakam yajaamahe
Sugandhim pushtivardhanam
Urvaa rukamiva bhandhanaan
Mrytyor muksheeyamaa amrutaat
"We worship the three-eyed Lord Shiva who nourishes and spread fragrance in our lives. May He
free us from the shackles of sorrow, change and death - effortlessly, like the fall of a rip brinjal
from its stem."
praanaaya swaahaa,
apaanaaya swaahaa,
vyaanaaya swaahaa,
udaanaaya swaahaa,
samaanaaya swaahaa,
brahmane swaahaa
WHY DO WE DO AARATI?
Towards the end of every ritualistic worship(pooja or bhajan) of the Lord or to welcome an honoured
guest or saint, we perform the aarati. This is always accompanied by the ringing of the bell and sometimes by
singing, playing of musical instruments and clapping. It is one of the sixteen steps (shodasha upachaara) of the
pooja ritual. It is referred to as the lighted lamp in the right hand, which we wave in a clockwise circling
movement to light the entire form of the Lord. Each part is revealed individually and also the entire form of the
Lord. As the light is waved we either do mental or loud chanting of prayers or simply behold the beautiful form
of the Lord, illumined by the lamp.At the end of the aarati we place our hands over the flame and then gently
touch our eyes and the top of the head.
Having worshipped the Lord of love - performing abhisheka, decorating the image and offering fruits and
delicacies, we see the beauty of the Lord in all His glory. Our minds are focussed on each limb of the Lord as it
is lit up by the lamp. It is akin to silent open-eyed meditation on His beauty. The singing, clapping, ringing of
the bell etc. denote the joy and auspiciousness which accompanies the vision of the Lord.
Aarati is often performed with camphor. This holds a telling spiritual significance. Camphor when lit,
burns itself out completely without leaving a trace of it. It represents our inherent tendencies (vaasanas). When
lit by the fire of knowledge which illumines the Lord (Truth), our vaasanas thereafter burn themselves out
completely, not leaving a trace of ego which creates in us a sense of individuality that keeps us separate from
the Lord. Also while camphor burns to reveal the glory of Lord, it emits a pleasant perfume even while it
sacrifices itself. In our spiritual progress, even as we serve the guru and society, we should willingly sacrifice
ourselves and all we have, to spread the "perfume" of love to all. We often wait a long while to see the
illumined Lord but when the aarati is actually performed, our eyes close automatically as if to look within. This
is to signify that each of us is a temple of the Lord.
Just as the priest reveals the form of the Lord clearly with the aarati flame, so too the guru revelas to us
the divinity within each of us with the help of the "flame" of knowledge (or the light of spiritual knowledge). At
the end of the aarati, we place our hands over the flame and then touch our eyes and the top of the head. It
means - may the light that illuminated the Lord light up my vision; may my vision be divine and my thoughts
noble and beautiful. The philosophical meaning of aarati extends further. The sun, moon, stars, lightning and
fire are the natural sources of light. The Lord is the source of these wonderous phenomenon of the universe. It is
due to Him alone that all else exist and shine. As we light up the Lord with the flame of the aarati, we turn our
attention to the very source of all light which symbolises knowledge and life. Also the sun is the presiding deity
of the intellect, the moon, that of the mind, and fire, that of speech. The Lord is the supreme consciousness that
illuminates all of them. Without Him, the intellect cannot think, nor can the mind feel nor the tongue speak. The
Lordis beyond the mind, intellect and speech. How can these finite equipment illuminate the Lord? Therefore,
as we perform the aarati we chant;
Na tatra suryo bhaati na chandra taarakam

Nemaa vidyuto bhaanti kutoyamagnib
Tameva bhaantam anubhaati sarvam
Tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhaati
He is there where the sun does not shine, Nor the moon, stars and lightning. then what to talk of this small flame
(in my hand), Everything (in the universe) shines only after the Lord, And by His light alone are we all
illumined
Saraswati namasthubhyam
Varade kaama roopini
Vidyaarambham karishyaami
Sidhirbhavatu me sadaa
Temple Worship Procedures
Temples are the connecting points of high importance in our religion and culture. The absolute necessity
of the temple worship is stressed throughout by the great saints of the religion. It is not very difficult to realize
the important role they play in cultivating the spiritualism in people. It is the place for collective worship. Given
these significant roles of the temples it is required to have some discipline to be followed in the temples for
having the real expected out of the worship. Here are a few one can follow to set that harmony. Most of these
are in general applicable to all Hindu temples though a few are specific to shaivite temples.
1. Going to the temple with a clean body. Legs and hands shall be cleaned at entering the temple.
2. Going to the temple adorned with holy symbols like the Holy Ash, rudrAxam.
3. Taking something to offer to the Lord. It is an offering out of devotion. It would be nice if the offering is
the one required in the worship.
4. Not to enter the temple with foot wear.
5. Prostrating in front of the flag column (dwajastaMbham) (towards the North) on entering the temple.
6. Not to prostrate anywhere else in the temple.
7. not to prostrate to anybody else in the temple premises.
8. Taking the permission of nandi dEvar mentally before entering His abode.
9. Saluting the elephant headed Lord enter the Lord's abode.
10. In Lord shiva's abode, engage the mind in the thinking of the God. Avoid any gossip. Temple is not the
place for gossiping. Can sing or chant His names loudly and sweetly if it would not disturb others.
Otherwise it could be done internally without making noise.
11. The Holy ash given as the blessings should be worn saying "shivAya namaH". It should not be spilled
on the ground or wasted.
12. It is normally a procedure to offer something to the priest whose whole life should be in the service of
the Lord.
13. Circumambulating the Lord saluting the Goddess and the deities in the temple. The circumambulation
would be done at least for three times. On special occasions like pradoshham the are special
circumambulation methods like soma sUkta pradhaxiNam are followed.
14. While in the temple either the Holy five letters or any praise could be chanted.
15. Before coming out of the temple go to the place of chaNdEshwarar and take permission for the
materials which after worship are taken out of the temple as blessings. One must not take anything out in
excess and things taken from the temple should be only as the mark of blessings. If nothing is taken it is
the normal practice to wipe (rub) the hands together in his place.
16. Should do something in the promotion of the temple physically or materially or whichever is convenient
and required.
17. On coming out of the temple, again prostrate in front of the flag column towards the north. Sit facing the
north and meditate on the God chanting the Holy five letters.
18. While inside the temple should not make the place dirty in any way or make any noise.
19. Going to the temple at least once in a week with the family.
The mind should be focused on the Lord like the dust of iron that sticks to the magnet. A worship with
such an orientation would have very good effect in us by the grace of the Almighty.
Eight Glorious characters of God

The Shaiva Sidhdhantha philosophy attributes eight qualities to the Attributeless Lord shiva. They are:
Height of Grace ; Omnipotent ; Peerless - Superiorless - Self-absorbing
Natural Sensed ; Omniscient ; Always in Chaste form as Onkara
By nature , bondless ; Limitlessly Blissful .

16 Upacharas
During the worship of the Lord 16 types of services / honoring are done to the Lord. Evidently these are
the outpouring of love that are channalised and suggested by the Agamas.
1. AvAhana - Welcome / installation

2. Asana - Giving seat
3. pAdya - Washing the leg
4. arghya - Washing the hands
5. Achaman - Water to drink
6. madhuparka - Sweet (honey) mixture to eat
7. snAna - Bathe
8. vastra - Clothe
9. upavIta - Offering holy thread
10. gandha - Scenting
11. pushpa - Floral decoration
12. dhUpa - Incence smoke
13. dIpa - Light decor
14. nivedana - Offering (food)
15. karpUra - Camphor light
16. pradaxiNa namaskAra - circumambulation and salutation
10 Deeds of Devotees
In the old sayings and adages there are many references to the 10 deeds. thirunÂvukkarachar refers to
the ten characteristic deeds of the slaves of the Lord. (paththu kolAm adiyAr cheykai thAnE) . mANikka
vAchakar also refers to these 10 great deeds in thiruvempAvai. (paththudaiyIr ! Ichan pazavadiyIr !!).One of
the eighteen purANas , ska.ndha purANam tells about the 10 explicit activities, 3 implicit activities of the
devotees and also tells the 10 marks of the devotees.
10 Explicit Activities
1. Being adorned with Holy Ash and rudrAxam

2. Adoring the guide (guru)
3. Praising and saluting the Lord Who holds the river gaN^ga
4. Chanting the names of Lord Shiva
5. Lord Shiva - worship
6. Pilgrimage to abodes of Lord Shiva
7. Listening to the glories of Lord Shiva (shiva purANams)
8. Venerating the devotees of Lord Shiva
9. Eating in the homes of the devotees of Lord Shiva
10. Donating to the guru who is a devotee of Lord Shiva
3 Implicit Activities
japam (chanting ) ;Worshiping the God in the mind ;Realizing and rejoicing the experience of God
10 Marks of devotees
Variations in the fervent voice ;Twitching of tongue ;Twitching of lips ;Body shivering
Hair raising excitement ;Sweating ;Staggered walk ;Pour forth tears ;Weep
Loosing self in the Supreme conscience.
RudrAksha Significance.
rudrAksh is one of the most important things for the devotees of Lord shiva. The word rudrAksha
means the eye of Lord rudra (rudrAksha - rudra + aksha). The rudraksha beads are worn by the Lord and Its
devotees. rudraxa beads proven to have very good positive effect in one who wears it properly is spiritually
quite significant.
On the request of the divines Lord shiva burnt the three daemon forts called tripurAsura who were into
disruptive activities. God burnt them without even a weapon just by the smile itself! Three daemons in those
forts who were good and devotees of the Lord came out without any harm by the Lord's Grace! At this point of
time from the three eyes of the Lord rudrAxas came out. Since it came from the aksha (eye) of Lord rudra (a
role played by the Supreme shiva), it is called rudrAxa.
skanda purANam hails "Hearing or reading the glory of rudrAxam can drive away the sins of anybody.
Be devoted or not, scholar or illiterate, whomsoever it be one who wears the rudrAxa will surely get rid of all
the bad deeds. Philosophers call this as mahAvrata. There is no deed more virtuous than wearing rudrAxa. One
who gets adorned in a sincere and proper way with thousands rudrAxas, all the divines will salute that person.
If thousands are not available sixteen each in both the hands, one at the head top, each hand twelve, in the neck
thirty-two, six each in the ears shall be worn. One who wears like that is worshipped by others as if they are
Lord rudra. One who wears rudrAxas with pearl, ruby, spaTikam crystals, silver, gold, vaiDUryam (lapis
lazuli), that person is rudra Himself ! One who wears the emblem of Lord rudra, the rudrAxam, them the sins
do not approach as the darkness cannot approach the sun. The chanting (japa) with rudrAxa mala will yield lots
of good result. The japa done without that will give the fruit only to the extent of its own glory. Thus very
virtuous rudrAxa is not worn by anybody; their life gets wasted like that of the one who does not wear Holy
Ash. The wise who keeps the rudrAxa at the head and bathes, gets the benefits of bathing in ganges, this is
beyond doubt. Such rudrAxas even if only one bead is worn that person gets rid of the sin did in many births.
One who anoints rudrAxa gets the benefit of anointing shiva linga . One, five and fourteen faced rudrAxas are
adorable in all the worlds. Human, who worships rudrAxa, even if he/she is very poor, will get all the wealth."
How To Wear rudraksham:

rudrAxas are very Holy. One should wear them with respect and maintain their sanctity. Various ways are
suggested by the scriptures on adorning oneself with them. Some of them are:
• Adorning with thousand rudrAxas.

• 26 beads on head, 50 over the chest, 14 on the shoulders, 12 on the wrist.
• 16 each in both the hands, 1 at the head top, 12 in each hand, 32 in the neck, 6 each in the ears.
• Garlands of 108, 50 and 27 are boonful.
• A single bead.
Types Of rudraksham:
Trees giving rudrAxa beads grow in the Himalayan regions of India and Nepal. Experienced do tests to confirm
the originality of the rudrAxa beads.rudrAxas are in three colors. Tawny reddish (kapila) color represent sun
(sUrya), white represent moon (chandra) and black represent fire (agni) eyes of the Lord from which they
originated. rudrAxas come with different number of faces. Though all rudrAxas are emblems of the Lord shiva,
each type has its additional significance. Some of them are given here.
One – shiva svarUpam Two – devadevi (shiva shakti) Three – agni Four – brahma
Five – kAlAgni Six – subrahmaNya Seven – manmata Eight – vinAyaka
Nine– bhairava Ten – viShNu Eleven – ekAdasharudra
Twelve – dvAdashAditya Thirteen – shaNmukha Fourteen – Lord shiva
The offering substances and procedure
The Lord, Who holds the holy ga~Nga in His matted hair, is delighted by the holy anointment that is
done by the devotees. When this was done with sincerity He gave the small child vichAracharuma the great
chaNdIsha post . The Lord, Who is adorned with bilva leaves on His glittering long hair, also enjoys the fresh
leaves and flowers the devotees offer in their fragrance of care. The Lord is so Gracious that when a monkey
shed the leaves of bilva tree on a shiva li~Nga below just out of habit, He made the monkey the famous
muchukun^dha emperor . So are the greatness of flowers and anointment materials. For the good people would
be available the flowers and water (puNNIyam cheyvArkkup pUvuNdu nÎruNdu) asserts the sage
thirumUlar. We should try to do as much as possible the worship complete with these holy substances and pure
love. This page talks about the procedure prescribed in the scriptures as the worship procedure. This could be
followed how much ever possible.
When doing the worship whether at home or at the temple, it is of utmost importance to maintain
cleanliness of body and mind. The surroundings should be clean, the worship substances should be clean ad also
the body should be clean. Before the worship one should bath and wear clean dry clothes. It is also required to
wear the Holy Ash. When going for the worship of the Lord should take something like anointment substances
or flowers or food offering or any other offering as a token of the love for the Supreme. These offering should
not be taken in the lower part of the body. These offerings could be kept only at clean places. When doing the
worship it is advised to be in a proper convenient posture (Asana) so that the concentration would be on the
Sweet Lord without physical disturbances.
Anointment:
Pure river water, well water are qualified for the holy anointment of the Lord. The water for holy
anointment would be brought by clean people escorted by musicians. The fragrant flowers like pAdhiri,
uthpalam, alari, lotus would be put in this water for anointment. Old water should not be used.
The following anointments are done in that order
1.) Gingily oil 2.) Flour (rice flour) 3.) nêllimuLLi 4.) pa~nchagavyam
5.) pa~nchAmRîtam 6.) Milk 7.) Curd 8.) Ghee
9.) Honey 10.) Sugarcane juice 11.) Fruits 12.) Tender coconut
13.) Smellful sandal 14.) shRî~Nga nÎr 15.) dhArA nÎr 16.)snapananÎr
17.) sha~NkAbhiShekam 18.) Holy ash 19.) Cooked rice 20.) kumba nÎr
A text called sakalAgama saN^graham suggest the following order :
1.) Oil 2.) pa~nchagavyam 3.) Flour 4.) nêllimuLLi

5.) Turmeric 6.) pa~nchAmRîtam 7.) Milk 8.) Curd
9.) Ghee 10.) Honey 11.) Sugarcane Juice 12.) Fruit juice
13.) Tender coconut 14.) Cooked rice 15.) Sandal 16.) snapan nÎr
pa~nchAmRîtam
rasapa~nchAmRîtam : A sweet mixture of cow's milk, curd, ghee (boiled butter), sugar and honey.
(cardamom like nice smelling spices could also be added.)
pazapa~nchAmRîtam : In the above if the fruits like mango, jack, banana are added this fruit
pa~nchamRîtam could be got
pa~nchagavyam : The mixture of the cow's milk, curd, ghee, water and dung.
It is said that :
Pure Water fulfils desires

Perfumed oil gives comfort
Milk gives long life
Ghee gives liberated state
Curd gives good children
Honey gives melodious voice
Rice powder frees from debts
Sugar cane juice gives good health
pa~nchAmRîtam gives wealth, body strength
pa~nchagavyam drives off sins
Lemon removes fear of death
Sugar removes enmity
Tender coconut gives enjoyment
Cooked Rice(Annam) gives mejestic life
Sandal gives Lakshmi's grace
nellimuLLi cures diseases
sha~NkhAbhiShekam gives good-deedful life
Offering gives land lordship
thAmbUlam gives comfort
ShoDasha upachAram ( Sixteen Honours ):

1.) dhUpam (scented smoke) 2.) dIpam (lamp/light) 3.) mahA dIpam 4.) nAga dIpam
5.) vRîShabha dIpam 6.) puruSha dIpam 7.) pUrNa kumbam 8.) pa~ncha dIpam 1
9.) pa~ncha dIpam 2 10.) pa~ncha dIpam 3 11.) pa~ncha dIpam 4
12.) pa~ncha dIpam 5 (five lights) 13.) naxatra dIpam 14.) meru dIpam
15.) karppUram (Camphor) 16.) mahAnIrA~njanam
the mhAdIpam could have 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1 light plates in the layered form ; the dhUpam needs to be
shown near the nose ; the dIpam in front of the eyes ; Soft and clean clothes should be used to clad the Lord's
form. It is said that the offering of clothes would lead to life in SHIVALOKAM ; Sandal mixed with agar,
goshtam, saffron, camphor and rose water could be applied to the Lord.
Ornaments:
Any ornament could be used to ornate the Lord any day, but the following are suggested as speciality.
Days and Ornament Gem

Day Ornament
Sunday Ruby
Monday Pearl
Tuesday pavaLam
Wednesday Emerald
Thursday Topaz
Friday Diamond
Saturday indra nIlam
Flowers:
God's head should be ever decorated with flower.
MORNING : lotus, purachampU, tulasi, navamallikai (jasmine), nân^dhiyAvattai, man^thArai,
mullai, shaNbakam, punnAgam are the preferred flowers.
NOON : lotus, araLi, purachu, tulasi, nêydhal, bilvam, shanku pushpam, marudhANi,
kovithAram, Oridhaz are best suited.
EVENING : red lotus, lily, jasmine, jAti mullai, marukkozun^dhu, vettivEr, gajakarNikai, tulasi,
bilvam are suggested.
There are eight flowers renowned as Ashta Pushpam much preferred for the worship of the Lord. They are
aRugu chaNbakam punnAkam nân^dhiyAvattai
pAdhiri brugati araLi thumbai
Expiry Period For Flowers:

After plucking the flower the flowers would have to be used for worship before the following
specified number of days.
Lotus 5 days
araLi 3 days
bilvam 6 months
tulasi 3 months
nêydhal 3 days
shaNbakam 1 day
viLAmichchai ever (no expiry)
The flowers that were brought in hands, those fell by itself from the plant, dried up ones, those
were smelt, those kept in dirty places, materials are not to be offered to the Lord. The petals of
the flowers should not be pulled apart while offering. The leaves could be pulled separately and
offered.
Leaves Preferred For Worship:

Tulasi mukiz shaNbakam lotus bilvam kalhAram marukkozun^dhu marudhANi
dharppam aRugu achivalli nÂyuruvi vishNugran^thi nêlli
The Flowers Not Suited For Divines:

The following flowers should not be offered for the respective gods.
Lord Shiva Thazai
Vishnu axata (rice), veLLerukku, Umaththai
Goddess Arugu, Vellerukku, Man^dhAram
Sun (Surya) Bilvam
Vignesha Tulasi
Five Types Of Bilvas:

Mullai Kiluvai Nochchi Bilvam Vila
Gayatri Mantra
OM BHUR BHUVAH SUVAHA
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT
We meditate upon the,Glorious Splendor Of,the Vivifier Divine,May He Himself illumine our minds!
The ancient mansion of Hindu tradition and custom is built on the four walls of Karma,
Janma, Dharma and Brahma. Regardless of its size, a house needs four supporting walls. It follows
therefore that in the huge mansion of ancient Hindu thought, customs and traditions should have a
point of meeting together somewhere. It is not possible for anyone to escape from the
consequences of what one does knowingly or otherwise. You have to face up to the consequences
of all your actions, whether good or bad. Clearly, therefore, the doctrine of Karma stands as a
cardinal principle that governs a person's life. One has to live and die with this principle. It is this
Karma which determines one's joys and sorrows. And it is through Karma that you are endowed with
this life itself. What is the secret of this Janma? This body has been given to you so that you could
undertake your Karma and therein lies the point- that through the body you have to uphold
Dharma. When you conduct yourself in keeping with Dharma, you qualify to attain Brahma. The
Gita proclaims that when Dharma declines God incarnates as an Avatar. Truly, what you see in the
form of a body is nothing but a manifestation of God himself. God takes the form of a huan beng to
restore Dharma. What you call 'creation' is a manifestation of the Cosmic Principle. We also refer to
it as nature. Whoever is born in this nature will certainly have the same atribute of this nature.
Man who has the same qualities of this Cosmic Principle, this creation, this nature, is offering all
that is embedded in this creation to someone for some purpose. To whom is he offering it? Is it for
the sake of one's own selfish ends? Or is it for the benefit of the fellow beings around him? It is not
right to act that way. Whatever you do and whatever you may perform, if you were to be inspired
by the feeling that it is for the Ananda of God, then it is bound to reach him. Therefore, the
abiding feeling in you should be that whatever you do, you are doing it as worship of the Lord. This
principle contains the very essence of Karma.
Chanting Of GAYATRI:
When an individual is first born from the mother's womb, this is the natural type of birth.
This is the natural state. This is the first birth as such. After you have been given the Gayatri
Manthra, the dawn of a second birth emerges in your life. What is this Gayatri Mantra? It is the very
quintessence of the Vedas. Verily it is the mother of the Vedas. The meaning of the syllable "Ga" is
Jiva. Gayatri is that which protects and fosters all life forms. You must realise therefore that on
being given this Gayatri Manthra, you have been given a second birth.When you start chanting this
Manthra in conformity with certain rules and code of conduct, you will certainly be able to reach a
state in fulfillment of this Manthra. You arrive at a new stage, the third stage, which is called the
Vipra. At this stage you begin to chant the Vedas.Even as you try and understand and chant the
Manthras in the Vedas, you must realise their significance end start practicing the underlying
principle and thus live the Vedas every second of your life. In this way you will certainly succeed in
attaining Brahma. It is only when you understand this Brahma Thathwa and perform your actions in
accordance with this understanding can one be called a Brahmana. It is not by birth alone that one
becomes a Brahmana. It is necessary that one's actions should correspond to this understanding. We
really deserve to be called a Brahmana only when we understand the Brahma Thathwa.
Time For Chanting:
It has been laid down that this Gayatri Mantra has to be chanted three times every day:
during the sandhyas of early morning, afternoon and evening. Sandhya means the conjunction of
two stages of time. Pratah Sandhya is the time when transition from the night to the day takes
place. Likewise evening sandhya is the time when the day slides into the night. Madhyanna Sandhya
is the time when the morning and afternoon are connected. Man is the embodiment of three
Gunas. These three attributes are not confined to man as such; even time has these attributes.
Time also has Sathwa, Raja and Thamo Gunas. What do we mean by time having Sathwa guna? All
these three attributes have 24 hours to go by in a day. Each of these three Gunas takes up 8 hours
by itself i.e , Sathwa has 8 hours, Rajasik has 8 hours and Thamasik has 8 hours. What are these 8
hours of Sathwik time? When you designate the period from 4 a m to 8 a m the intervening 4 hours
are Sathwik. In like manner, the time between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. is also Sathwik. These two
stretches of 4 hours apiece are Sathwik hours. The time from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.is Rajasik. It is during
this time that all lifeforms keep doing whatever has to be done by them. Not only men, but also
animals and the like do what is expected of them during these 8 hours. The factory worker, the
farmer, the agriculturist and anybody that one can think of has to work during these 8 hours of
Rajasik time. So we find that every individual has an experience of this Rajasik time
Then we have the time from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. during the night. This is the Thamasik time. That it is
indeed Thamasik we know from our experience. The chief quality that is associated with this time
is sleep. Sleep is being equated to Thamasik in this analysis.
It is during the Sathwik time viz., from 4 a m .m and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. that we should
undertake our sacred and noble duties. This will sanctify our life. We should understand and
appreciate how time has been divided for various activities and only then can we realise the true
nature of our existence. This Gayatri Manthra has to be taken up for chanting at any time during
the period of from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., and then at any time between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
lt is absolutely necessary that you chant this Gayatri Manthra either in the early hours of the
morning or in the evening hours. During the mid-day also it can be taken up for chanting, but for
certain purposes. When you look upon it as a Sadhana, it is the morning and evening hours which
are sacred for chanting.
You should chant this Manthra at least three times in the morning hours and three times in the
evening time. When you do this, you can certainly free yourselves from the fruits of your Karma. It
is said that a day's chanting takes care of all the ill effects of the day's Karma. To illustrate this
point, let me cite an example.
When you go and buy a certain thing on loan, not only does the loan amount increase, but also the
interest on it goes up. On the other hand, if you were to barter something for the item at the shop,
there is no loan to be cleared, nor is there any interest to be paid. When you have borrowed
something on loan, then you find that whatever you have earned has to be given for repayment of
the loan, and the interest thereof. So, when you try and clear your debts as and when you buy a
certain thing, then there is no loan nor is there any interest to be paid back. In the same manner,
chanting Gayatri three times in the morning and three times in the evening hours before you go to
bed would take care of all your errors in the form of loan and interest to be cleared off. By
chanting this Manthra with this feeling you can certainly transcend Your Karma, you can even reach
the state of Nishkama Karma. You can sanctify your life in this manner. Therefore, in order that
you may understand the significance and reap the benefits of chanting Gayatri, you should know
the significance of the morning and evening hours. There are those who feel that they do not have
the time either in the morning or in the evening, to chant Gayatri. You do have the time indeed!
Where there is a will, there is a way, it is said. We do fritter away a lot of our time. A fraction of
your time that you waste, if directed to chanting Gayatri, can purify your life. You do have a bath
every day. So, even as you bathe, if you chant this Manthra, you are not only chanting this Manthra
and deriving the benefits thereof, but it becomes a form of worship. So also, in the afternoon, if
you were to chant this Manthra as you eat your food, the meal becomes sanctified- the food
becomes a Naivedya. You may or you may not chant any other Manthra, but do remember that
chanting the Gayatri is beneficial and you can experience this yourself.
Explanation Of The MANTRA:
Gayatri is the embodiment of all forms of Godhead- "Sarva Devatha Swaroopam." Gayatri does not
belong to any caste, to any sect or to any religion as such. It is universal in its scope.
Gayatri has nine important attributes. These are:
1. Aum : Sound as the basis of Creation,Brahman

2. Bhuh : The Earth, the gross.
3. Bhuvah : The Atmosphere, the Ether, the Subtle.
4. Suvah : Heaven, the region beyond Bhuvah the Causal.
5. Tat : Stands for That. The Ultimate Reality is simply referred to as That because it
defies description through speech or language.
6. Savitur : Stands for Divine Savitri, equated with the vivifying power contained within the Sun.
7. Varenyum : Adore
8. Bhargo : Radiance, Lustre, Illumination
9. Devasya : Divine Radiance or Grace.
10.Dheemahi : Signifies worship of or meditation on the Lord.
"Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat" as the last syllable, is a prayer.
Therefore, in the Gayatri, there is Varnam, Dhyanam and Prathana (description, meditation and a prayer) - these
aspects converge in the Manthra.
GAYATRI And ADVAITHA:

What goes on within you, depending upon the circumstances, are classified as follows - we
talk of Sankalpa and for this we use the "manas" or the mind. When we talk of the aspect of
"wavering" we have the "Chithha." When you think of discrimination, "Vicharana," we use the tern
"Buddhi", the intellect. When you have the motive of selfishness, you talk of "Ahamkara" or ego.
What you have to understand is that basically one entity is described as mind, chithha, intellect
and ego. We will do well to understand the basic difference between the mind on the one hand and
the intelligence on the other. Mind is something that has got in its nature a divisive tendency. The
intellect is beyond such divisions. Therefore this intellect is associated with the principle of
"Adwaitha". When there is a division taking place in understanding the phenomena, we are assailed
by the "Dwaitha" bhava. When you have this divisiveness in you, when you tend to see more than
one thing, it is the mind that perceives this duality. The intellect tries to see the one among the
many. What you should try and do is see the underlying unity in the diversity and not the other way
around. This Gayatri is a sacred Manthra which tells you about this underlying unity in the diversity
of things. It is through this vision on unity that we can perceive divinity and sanctify our lives.In
this world we have mud or clay in one form or another. This clay can be one but the forms that it
can take are multifarious. Likewise, gold is one, but the ornaments could be many. Milk is one, but
the cows can be many in description. So also the Atma is one, but the forms that it indwells are
many. In the world around you, beyond the names and forms, there is no third entity. This world is
nothing but the convergence of name and forms. One form, one name. Between these two viz., the
name and form- is the form that changes continually, something which withers away and fades
away and finally disappears. Though the form disappears, though the form undergoes change, the
name as such remains the same at all times (Nithya Sathya); it remains changeless. For example,
you have given the name cow to an animal. Tho cow, the animal, will disappear with the passage
of time. But the name will remain. Forms will disappear but the names will last for ever.The
sanctity of the name needs to be understood properly. It will be difficult for you to try and identify
a person in a crowd by means of his form. However even in a huge congregation of people, if you
were to call out the name of an individual, he would respond to your call. Through this name,
therefore you can recognise the individual. In the same way if you take up the Lord's name as the
basis, you can understand that forms in various hues and sizes have taken that name.
If you know the name of the station, you can ask for a ticket for that station and undertake
your journey. When you are not aware of the name of the station, how can you possibly proceed on
the journey? Therefore it is the name that is important, and not the form as such. When you
understand the full efficacy and the significance of this Gayatri, you will be in a position to
understand the true nature, the underlying unity, the Atmic principle dwelling in all different
forms.
Its Great Beneficial Effects:

Who is this Gayatri? She is the personified unity of the triumvirate divinity - Gayatri, Savitri
and Saraswathi. Gayatri is also known as the five-faced divinity. The first face signifies Om. The
second is Bhur Bhuvah Svah. Thath Savithur Varenyam is the third face. Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
is the fourth face. Dheeyo Yo Nah Prachodayath is the fifth face. This is the Pancha Mukhi
Swaroopam, the five-faced divinity. From these five faces emanate the five life forces, Pancha
Pranas. These five life forces are fostered and protected by Gayatri and therefore She is called the
benefactor and the protector. During the time She is protecting thus, She is called "Savitri." You
may have read about the story in the epics that Savitri protected Satyavan.
Who is this Savitri? She is the Pancha Prana Swaroopini. This truly means that Savitri protects
and guides those who lead a life of truthfulness. When She tries to improve your qualities, She is
called Gayatri; when She protects and fosters your word, She is called Saraswati. Therefore, this
Goddess protects the intellect, the life force and the word, and thus in every way She protects the
individual at all times.Today you have been given this Gayatri Manthra. It is verily a day when you
are having your second birth. Purify and sanctify your second life and then you become eligible for
the third stage of Viprathwa. From there you will proceed to the stage of attaining Brahma.
"Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi" - how do you attain this state? You can attain in only when you
have understood your own nature. When you ask the question, `when do we become deserving to
attain the state of Brahma?' then can you understand this. Before being married, a girl would be an
ordinary person. After the marriage, she has the privilege of claiming half of whatever her husband
has, as a matter or right. What is it that marks out from the earlier stage of being an alien and the
latter stage of married life when she can claim something by right? That right is conferred on her
by a sacred thread tied to her neck, the Mangal Sutra. In the same manner, so long as you have not
reached the state of surrender, you are an alien to the Lord. Once you have put the thread of
surrender around your neck, you become One with Him, and you have earned the right to, and can
demand from God, half of whatever He has. Therefore, through your own efforts you should try and
reach the state of surrender to GOD. How is it possible, you might ask, by chanting this Gayatri
continuously, to reach the state of fulfillment and sense of feeling that you have received
something?
There is an inner meaning in giving this Gayatri Mantra to young people. We have in this
Mantra the concluding words, Dheeyo yo nah Prachodayat. The meaning is this: Before you were
given this Mantra, you may have been backward intellectually, or were a bit lazy. But now that you
have been given this Mantra, you become sharper in intellect, become more zealous, more
enthusiastic, and certainly become more qualified for scaling greater heights in acquiring
knowledge.
CONCLUSION:
Before the sun rises, everything is enveloped in darkness. Even as the rays of the Sun dispel this
darkness, so also the chanting of this Gayatri dispels all darkness and ignorance. The rays of this
Sun dispels the area of darkness. Darkness has no place where the rays of the sun reach out. So also
once your intellect blossoms forth by virtue of your having been given this Manthra, your
intellectual rays will dispel the ignorance which has been persisting in you, will drive away all
darkness and endow you with intelligence.
Siddhar's Birth Star and Place of Samadhi
Siddhar's Name Birth Star Place of Samadhi

Siddhar Pathanjali Moolam Rameswaram
Siddhar Agasthiar Aayilyam Thiruvananthapuram
Siddhar Kamalamun Poosam Thiruvarur
Siddhar Thirumoolar Avittam Chidambaram
Siddhar Kuthambai Visagam Mayavaram
Siddhar Korakkar Aayilyam Perur
Siddhar Thanvandri Punarpoosam Vaideeswarankoil
Siddhar Sundaranandar Revathi Madurai
Siddhar Konganar Utthiradam Tirupathi
Siddhar Sattamuni Mrigasirisham Thiruvarangam
Siddhar
Anusham Ettukkudi
Vaanmeegar (Valmiki)
Siddhar Ramadevar Pooram Azhagarmalai
Siddhar Nandeeswarar Visagam Kasi
Siddhar Edaikkadar Thiruvadirai Thiruvannamalai
Siddhar Machamuni Rohini Thirupparankundram
Siddhar Karuvuraar Hastham Karuvur
Siddhar Boghar Bharani Pazhani
Siddhar Pambatti Mrigasirisham Sankarankoil
Siddhar Kalanginathar Kalahasthi
Siddhar Aadi Sivanathar Aadi Annamalai
The main thing in the worship of Lord Shiva are the love, focus and dedication. These are
the core required things for the worship. But these external things stated in this page could
enhance the worship of the Lord. So these could be followed as much as possible.
Anoint the Lord Shiva with Love, He would give Himself !!
shivAya namaOm bhavAya namaH

bhavAya namaOm namaH shivAya

Shiva Lingam - A Glorious Worship

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Shiva Lingam - A Glorious Worship

64 Main Forms Of Lord Shiva

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thiru adhikai is the temple associated with the burning of thripurA.

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chaturbhujam.h trinetraJNcha jaTAmakuTa samyutam.h

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Significance Of This Form:

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Various BHAIRAVA Murthams:

Shiva Ratri Viratham

Glory Of The Viratham:

Glory Of The Viratham:

Milk gives long life

Ghee gives Moksha state

Curd gives good children

Honey gives melodious voice

Rice powder frees from debts

Sugar cane juice gives good health

Panjamrutham gives wealth

Lemon removes fear of death

Sugar removes enmity