Shiva is also called by the well-known name of Nataraj, the lord of the cosmic dance. The small drum of lord Shiva is the symbol of rhythm and sound. In fact rhythm is there in the whole movement of the universe and sound is the medium, musical and divine. His wife is the beautiful Parvati, daughter of the King of Mountains. His vehicle is the bull Nandi. The bull represents lust or the sexual impulse and Shiva is the master of lust fully controlling by riding on its back. Shiva meaning ‘the Good’ God is the third member of the triad. He is also named as Mahesh or Mahadev (the Greatest God). He is much more many-sided and multi-colourful than many of the other Gods including Vishnu. Shiva punishes the evil doer on all three planes, spiritual, subtle and physical.  Shiva’s third eye is described as the frontal eye, the eye of fire, it is the eye of higher perception. It looks mainly inward but whenever directed outward, it burns all that appears before it. Generally He is considered as the Destroyer of the Trinity of Hindu Gods. However “destroyer” should be placed in the right context of transformer. The transformer who destroys all ignorance and liberates the aspirant from the suffering of the changing relative world. In popular representation Shiva stands majestically in the centre of the universe, adorned with all his symbols of crescent, cobras, prayer beads, trident and matted hair.

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