Shiva literally means “auspiciousness, welfare”. He is the third god of the Hindu Triad and is the destroyer of all evil. He represents darkness (tamas), and is said to be the ‘angry god’. However, according to Hinduism, creation follows destruction. Therefore Shiva is also regarded as a reproductive power, which restores what has been dissolved. As one who restores, he is represented as the linga or phallus (Shivalinga), a symbol of regeneration.
He has a 1,008 names, including Mahadeva (the great god), Mahesh, Rudra, Neelkantha (the blue-throated one), and Ishwar (the supreme god). He is also called Mahayogi, or the great ascetic, who symbolises the highest form of austere penance and abstract meditation, which results in salvation.
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