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Shiva
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Shiva and his family Pashupati seal Statues of Shiva and Parvati seated together in a shrine, with a statue of Ganesha in front, surrounded by offerings and lamps in a Hindu temple cave in Namchi, Sikkim, India. Goddess Sati carried by Shiva Shiva burns Kama with his third eye Wedding of Shiva and Parvati Ganesha A Nepali devotee stands facing the large, colorful statue of Bhairava at Kala Bhairava temple in Kathmandu, reaching up to perform a ritual with offerings and garlands. Gods and demons churning the cosmic ocean Descent of the Ganges
At a Glance
Shiva, bronze statue, Madras, c. ad 900.
Shiva summary
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Omar Ali Saifuddin mosque, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
World Religions & Traditions
Ganesha. Hinduism. Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, figure on external walls of a South Indian Temple in Kerala, India.
Hindu Religion and Myth Quiz
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Shiva and his family
Shiva and his family Shiva and Family at the Burning Ground, opaque watercolor on paper, in the Kangra style, from northwestern India, c. 1810; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Parvati, Shiva's wife (right), holds their son Skanda while watching their son Ganesha (left) and Shiva string skulls. Dogs pick at bones while the bull Nandi rests behind the tree.

Shiva

Hindu deity
Also known as: Śiva, Śiwa
Written by
Wendy Doniger
Wendy Doniger is the Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of the History of Religions in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Her research and teaching interests revolve around...
Wendy DonigerAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, whom Shaiva Hindus worship as the supreme god. Shiva is a complex figure, encompassing diverse roles, abilities, personalities, paths of devotion, and stories. Within the Hindu Trimurti, he is the destroyer of the universe who dances the world to dissolution, following the work of Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver. However, for Shaiva Hindus, Shiva is supreme and serves in all three cosmological roles. On a...

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