Known as the ‘destroyer of the world’, Lord Shiva is one of the most prominent Gods and is one of the three deities of Holy Trinity along with Brahma and Vishnu. He is also regarded as unchanging, limitless, transcendent, the destroyer and the transformer. Lord Shiva represents the image of an ideal man, and one who was never to be found or never dead. The deity of Lord Shiva depicts many accessories worn by him. Each of the iconic symbols denote attributes associated with him. Read on to know the significance of Lord Shiva’s accessories and symbols.

Crescent moon: Lord Shiva is also called ‘Chandrashekhara’ which means ‘having the moon at his crest’. Shiva is seen to be having the crescent moon as one of his ornaments. The moon is a measure of time and thus the crescent on Lord Shiva signifies his control over time.

Sacred Ganga: Lord Shiva is also referred as ‘Gangadhara’ or the bearer of the river Ganga. Ganga is one of the most sacred and pious river for Hindus. According to legends, Shiva allowed an outlet to the great river to bring purifying water to the earth. The river has its source in Shiva and flows from his matted hair or popularly called as jatta.

Trishul: The trishul or trident symbolises Lord Shiva’s three fundamental powers – will, action and knowledge. It also signifies his power to destroy evil and ignorance. As his weapon of punishment, the trident represents punishing the evil doers on three aspects – spiritual, subtle and physical.

Snake: The snake around Lord Shiva is coiled three times around his neck. It symbolises the past, present and future. The lord wearing snake as an ornament signifies that he is independent of time and death. It also suggests the dormant energy, called Kundalini Shakti, that resides within him.

Tiger skin: Lord Shiva is often seen sitting or wearing tiger skin. According to Hindu mythology, tiger is the vehicle of Shakti. The tiger skin also forms an anecdote to the power of divine force over mortal beings.

Damru: It is the small hourglass-shaped drum that the lord holds in one of his hands. The damru symbolises the sound of creation – aum. When a damru is shaken, the cosmic sound of aum is produced which can be heard during deep meditation.

Body smeared with ash: As we all know that Lord Shiva is called the ‘God of destruction’. The ashes on the lord’s body points to the philosophy of the life and death and that death is the ultimate reality of life. The ashes also represent that Lord Shiva is beyond the circle of birth and death. The three lines drawn on his forehead is known as Vibhuti. It signifies the immortality of the lord and his manifested glory.

Rudraksha necklace: The word ‘Rudra’ means strict and uncompromising and ‘aksha’ means eye. It illustrates that Lord Shiva is firm about his cosmic laws and strictly maintains law and order in the universe.

Lord Shiva is the epitome of greatness, forgiveness, the creator and the destroyer of the world. He is the beginning and also the end. Every phenomenon that exits in this world is because of him and everything resides in him. Each of the above accessory worn by Lord Shiva signifies every aspect of life. This year celebrate Mahashivratri by meditating Lord Shiva’s name.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 12, 2018 06:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).