Shiva, also known as Mahadeva, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism.
Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalguna or Magha. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.
The Srikalahasti Temple is located in the town of Srikalahasti, in Tirupati district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. According to regional tradition, it is said to be the site where Kannappa was ready to offer both his eyes to cover blood flowing from the linga before Shiva stopped him and granted him moksha. The inner temple was constructed around the 5th century and the outer temple was constructed in the 11th century by the Rajendra Chola I and other Chola emperors such as Rajaditya Chola, Rajaraja Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola I, Kulottunga Chola I, Kulottunga Chola III and the Vijayanagara kings especially Krishnadevaraya. Shiva in his aspect as Vayu is worshipped as Kalahasteeswara. The temple is also regarded as Rahu-Ketu kshetra and Dakshina Kailasam.
Gupteswar Cave is a cave shrine dedicated to Shiva. It is a pilgrim site situated about 55 km (34 mi) away Jeypore, Koraput District in the state of Odisha, India. It is a limestone cave, and its main attraction is the gigantic Shiva Linga which is said to be increasing in size. It is believed that the cave was discovered by Rama and re-discovered in the reign of Maharajah Veer Vikram Dev. In the holy month of Shravan, the cave is visited by devotees who walk to the shrine bare-footed with decorated bamboo palanquins called "Kanwadiya" and bathe in the maha kund before worshipping Lord Gupteshwar. There are 200 steps to reach to the Shiva linga temple. Its entrance is about 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide and 2 metres (6.6 ft) high.
Shiva Puja in Hinduism is the way by which one worships Shiva through traditional and ancient rites with the use of mantra, tantra, yantra, kriyas, mudras, and abhishekam.
This article lists the traditional festivals and other cultural events in the Odisha region of India. Odisha celebrates 13 festivals in 12 months as the saying goes Bāra Māsare Tera Parba.
Pradosha or Pradosham is a bimonthly occasion on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in the Hindu calendar. It is closely connected with the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. The auspicious three-hour period 1.5 hours before and after sunset is considered as the most suited and optimal time for worship of Shiva on this day. The fasting vow performed during the period is called "Pradosha vrata". A devotee should wear rudraksha, Vibhuti and worship Shiva by abhisheka, sandal paste, bael leaves, fragrance, deepa and naivedya.
Banalinga, a stone found in nature, in the bed of the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh state, India, is an iconic symbol of worship, based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions among the Hindus, particularly of the Shaivaites and Smartha Brahmins. Stones are ancient and connote divinity. It is a smooth ellipsoid stone.
The Sree Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in Vaikom, Kerala, India.
The religious festivals of the Kashmiri Pandits have Rigvedic roots. Some festivals of Kashmiri Pandits are unique to Kashmir. Some Kashmiri Pandit festivals are Herath (Shivaratri), Navreh, Zyeath-Atham, Huri-Atham, Zarmae-Satam (Janmashtami), Dussehra, Diwali, Pan, Gaad Batt, Khetsimavas (Yakshamavasya), Kava Punim, Mitra Punim, Tiky Tsoram, Gengah Atham, Tila Atham, Vyetha Truvah, and Anta Tsodah.
Mandi Shivaratri Fair is an annual renowned international fair that is held for 7 days starting with the Hindu festival of Shivaratri, in the Mandi town of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
Ernakulam Shiva Temple, also known as Ernakulathappan Temple is one of the major temples of Kerala, located in heart of Ernakulam, Kochi,Kerala, India. The temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is considered as the city temple, with the presiding deity as the protector of the city, as per local Hindu faiths and traditions. As per the common practice in Kerala, the deity is reverently called Ernakulathappan, which means Lord of Ernakulam. The temple is located within the Durbar Hall Ground. The temple history itself has deep association with history of the city and was one of the 7 royal temples of Kochi Maharajas. The temple is now under administration of Cochin Devaswam Board. The temple in its current form was built under active patronage of Diwan Sri Edakkunni Sankara Warrier in year 1846 and raised it level of a Royal temple in the Kochi Kingdom. The temple is built on 1-acre (4,000 m2) land. The temple is one of the major Shiva temples in Kerala counted along with the Ettumanoor Mahadevar Temple, Kaduthruthy Mahadeva Temple, Vaikom Temple, Chengannur Mahadeva Temple, Vadakkunathan temple, and Sreekanteswaram Mahadeva Temple, Thiruvananthapuram.
Haragapur is a village in Belgaum district in the southern state of Karnataka, India. It is attached to NH-4. Places to visit are Shivaji Fort, Mallikarjun Temple & Navanath Mandir. Village is located on Hilltop. Language spoken here is Kannada
Nadutariappar Temple, Kanrappur is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located at Kanrappur near Tiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is incarnated by the hymns of Appar and is classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam.
Iconography of Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu is governed by the Shaiva Agamas (IAST:Āgama) that revere the ultimate reality as the Hindu deity, Shiva. Āgama in the Hindu religious context means a traditional doctrine or system which commands faith. Temple worship according to Āgamic rules can be said to have started during the Pallava dynasty in South India, but they were fully under establishment during the Chola dynasty The temples during the Chola period expanded to Sri Lanka and islands in South East Asia. The temple complex was expanding with niches for various deities on the stipulated sides of the sanctum. Lingam was universalised and prakarams (precincts) with subsequent deities came up. The temple parivara expanded considerably during the Chola period. The niches of following Āgamic rules for building Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state continues even in the modern era. Some of the prime images like that of lingam, Vinayagar and Parvati are present in all the Shiva temples. Almost all the temples follow the same custom during festivals and worship methods with minor exceptions. Most of the Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka are built in Dravidian architecture.
The Karaneeswarar Temple is a 12th-century Hindu temple in the neighbourhood of Mylapore in Chennai, India. The temple is dedicate to Shiva as Karaneeswarar. There are also shrines to Sarvamangala Vinayaka (Ganesha), Dandapani (Kartikeya), Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.
In Hinduism, Rasalingam or Parad Lingam is a Lingam, the symbol of the god Shiva, made of mercury Tamil Siddhas carved Shiva Lingam from solidified mercury. The process of solidification of mercury is the secret process enunciated by Tamil Siddhas. In Tamil, mercury is called Pada-rasam and the Shiva Lingam made using pada-rasam is called Rasalingam. In Sanskrit, mercury is called Parad and the Shiva Lingam made using parad is called Parad Lingam. Rasalingams or Parad Lingams are consecrated in Hindu Shiva temples, Ashrams and other places of worships.
Old Madiwala Sri Someshwara Temple located in Bangalore city, Karnataka, India is dedicated to the deity Someshwara. It is one among the oldest temples in the city and dates back to the Chola Empire period. The temple belongs to the early 12th century.(1247 AD).
A lingam, sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary murti or devotional image in Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, also found in smaller shrines, or as self-manifested natural objects. It is often represented within a disc-shaped platform, the yoni – its feminine counterpart, consisting of a flat element, horizontal compared to the vertical lingam, and designed to allow liquid offerings to drain away for collection. Together, they symbolize the merging of microcosmos and macrocosmos, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence.
Thalikkunu Shiva Temple dedicated to Shiva, is situated in Mankave, Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
