Lord Shiva is one of the most prominent Gods in the Hindu pantheon. Whether you’re a staunch believer in Lord Shiva or simply know about the Great God, there is great significance attached to every symbol associated with Shiva: from the color of Lord Shiva’s body to the serpent around His neck. Understanding the symbolism allows the seeker to go beyond the form and gives us a deeper understanding of Divinity
1. Crescent moon on Lord Shiva’s head
Shiva Tattva is the realm where there is no mind, and the moon signifies the mind. When there is no mind then how can this ‘no mindedness’ be expressed and how can anybody understand it? You need a little bit of the mind to understand, experience and to express.
The no-mind, infinite consciousness requires that little bit of mind to express itself in the manifest world. The little mind (crescent moon) on the head reminds one to express that inexpressible.
Wisdom is beyond the mind, but it needs to be expressed with a tinge of mind and this is symbolized by the crescent moon.
2. Lord Shiva’s Damru (2-headed drum)
The damru symbolizes the Universe which is always expanding and collapsing. From an expansion, it collapses and then it re-expands, this is the process of creation.
If you observe a heart rate monitor, the heartbeat is not one straight line but a rhythm that goes up and down. The whole world is nothing but rhythms: energy rising and collapsing to rise again. The damru signifies that.
The damru is also a symbol of sound. Sound is rhythm and sound is energy. The whole universe is nothing but a wave function, a rhythm. Quantum physics says the same thing – the whole universe is nothing but rhythms. It is just one wave.
The damru signifies the non-dual nature of the universe.
3. Serpent around Lord Shiva’s neck
In the state of meditation when the eyes are closed, it gives the impression that the person is sleeping, but he is not asleep, he is alert. To express this state of consciousness, a snake is shown around Lord Shiva’s neck.
A state of samadhi where there is nothing, just the inner sky of consciousness, is Shiva; where there is alertness and no action. To describe this alertness, they put a snake around Shiva’s neck. The serpent is a symbol of alertness.
4. Lord Shiva’s trishul (trident)
Trishul represents the three aspects of consciousness – waking, dreaming and sleeping, and it also represents the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas. Holding a trishul signifies that Shiva (the divinity) is above all the three states – waking, dreaming and sleeping, yet the upholder of these three states. The divinity is beyond the three gunas, but it holds the three gunas together.
‘Shul’ means problems or suffering. ‘Trishul’ means that which destroys all kind of suffering.
Three types of pain that arise in life:
Aadibhautik (physical)
Aadhyaatmik (spiritual) and
Aadidaivik (ethereal)
What relieves you from all the problems and suffering is the trishul. And it is in the hand of Shiva.
5. River Ganga flowing from Lord Shiva’s head
Ganga means knowledge; knowledge that purifies one’s soul. The head is always the symbol of knowledge. The heart is the symbol of love. If Ganga were to be love, it should have come out of the heart of Lord Shiva. It is coming out of the head because it simply means knowledge.
Knowledge is liberating, knowledge brings freedom, knowledge is purifying. All these are the characteristics of knowledge. Knowledge is also movement; motion.
Ganga (knowledge) has to flow out of Lord Shiva’s (the divinity’s) head.
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