Forms of Lord Siva

Lord Siva manifests in many forms, said K. Sambandan in a lecture, explaining how Siva in any form is of benefit to the universe. Those who are not aware of this have not understood Siva's supremacy. Among the many forms, 25 are considered the most important. They fall into one of three categories — Bhoga, Yoga and Vira.

Everything in the world owes its existence and continuity to the Lord. All living forms take their sustenance from Him. When the Lord is in yoga form, He is without Goddess Parvati beside Him.

Dakshinamurthy is a form of Siva, which may be said to be in yoga form. Dakshinamurthy is worshipped for knowledge. His blessings are sought for the acquisition of knowledge that one needs for material life and also for knowledge one needs in the spiritual plane.

But when the Lord is without Parvati by His side, His solitary state is reflected in the lives of mortals too. It is said that when Siva was not with the Goddess, human beings too lost interest in their spouses. Only when the Lord has Parvati beside Him, do those in the world evince any interest in worldly life.

Thus, Siva with Parvati is necessary to make procreation possible in this world. Siva with Parvati appears as Uma Maheswara or Kalyanasundara or Somaskanda. As Somaskanda, He also has His son Shanmukha with Him.

But the Lord is not only the One who sustains but also the One who destroys when the need arises. So he takes a Vira form, manifesting anger. Gajasamharamurthi and Virabhadra are some examples of His appearance in Vira form. When the Lord destroyed Daksha's yaga, He assumed the form of Virabhadra.

It is Siva who directs our lives in accordance with our karma. We may make plans for life and have a multitude of ambitions. But whether our ambitions are realised depends on His will and plans. Imagine a man who has a cot and a comfortable mattress to sleep on. But if he is an amnesiac, can any of these help? Likewise, we may have ambitions, but in the absence of His approval, our ambitions will remain unrealised.