ॐ नमः शिवाय · oṁ namaḥ śivāya

Śiva Purāṇa The Codex of the Lord of Beginnings & Endings

He is Ādiyogī and Naṭarāja, the still mountain and the dancing flame, the ash on the cremation ground and the moon on the matted hair. Walk His nineteen descents, His twelve self-arisen lights, the eternal love that wedded Him to Pārvatī, and the dreadful grace of Kālī.

19Avatāras
12Jyotirliṅgas
1,008Sacred Names
7Tāṇḍavas
5Faces · Pañcānana
108Holy Kṣetras

मङ्गलाचरण · Maṅgalācaraṇa

The Opening Salutation

कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् ।
सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥
karpūra-gauraṁ karuṇāvatāraṁ saṁsāra-sāraṁ bhujagendra-hāram |
sadā vasantaṁ hṛdayāravinde bhavaṁ bhavānī-sahitaṁ namāmi ||
White as camphor, descent of compassion, essence of the world, garlanded by the king of serpents — ever-dwelling in the lotus of my heart — I bow to Śiva together with Bhavānī. Śiva-Bhujaṅga Stotra

त्रिमूर्तिः · The Three Forms

The Cosmic Trinity

One Brahman, three offices — creation by Brahmā, preservation by Viṣṇu, dissolution and rebirth by Śiva. Together, they are the breathing of the universe.

01 · सृष्टि ब्रह्मा

Brahmā

The Self-Born · Creator of the Worlds

Sṛṣṭi · Creation

Lotus-born from Viṣṇu's navel, four-faced reciter of the Vedas. He thought, and the fourteen worlds were spoken. His vāhana is Haṁsa — the swan of discrimination.

02 · स्थिति विष्णुः

Viṣṇu

The Pervader · Preserver of Dharma

Sthiti · Preservation

Reclining on Ananta-Śeṣa upon the milk ocean, He descends in age after age — Matsya, Kūrma, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa — to keep dharma alive. Cloud-hued, lotus-eyed, four-armed.

03 · संहार शिवः

Śiva

The Auspicious · Dissolver, Liberator

Saṁhāra · Dissolution

Ash-smeared ascetic on Kailāsa, dancing the Tāṇḍava of time. He devours the worlds at pralaya only to release them into peace. His vāhana is Nandi — the white bull of dharma.

Read the full Trimūrti chapter →

पञ्चानन · Pañcānana

The Five Faces of Śiva

From the five faces flow the five elements, the five senses, the five sheaths, and the five-syllable mantra — na · ma · śi · vā · ya.

01 सद्योजात

Sadyojāta

West · Earth

The face that creates moment by moment — the form from which the world is freshly born.

02 वामदेव

Vāmadeva

North · Water

The preserving face — beautiful, sustaining, the gentle Lord of life and continuance.

03 अघोर

Aghora

South · Fire

The face of dissolution — terrible only to ignorance. Aghora is the absence of all fear.

04 तत्पुरुष

Tatpuruṣa

East · Air

The face that veils — māyā as Īśvara's mercy, so that finite eyes may bear infinite light.

05 ईशान

Īśāna

Zenith · Ākāśa

The hidden fifth face that points upward — grace, anugraha, the look that liberates.

पथ-प्रवेश · Path of Entry

Walk Deeper into the Codex

Twelve chapters of the Lord's universe — pick a door and step inside.

01 · PANTHEON पात्र-संग्रह

The Pantheon

Holographic character codex

Śiva, Pārvatī, Gaṇeśa, Kārtikeya, Nandi, Bhairava, Satī, Dakṣa, Vīrabhadra — all in foil-flipped cards.

Open the Pantheon
02 · DESCENTS शिवावतार

The 19 Avatāras

From Vīrabhadra to Hanumān

The nineteen recognized descents of Mahādeva, each with mission, weapon, and yuga.

Walk the Nineteen
03 · TEMPLES ज्योतिर्लिङ्ग

The 12 Jyotirliṅgas

Self-arisen pillars of light

Somnāth to Rāmeśvaram — the twelve sthala-purāṇas where Śiva is worshipped as undivided flame.

Begin the Pilgrimage
04 · COSMIC DANCE ताण्डव

The Tāṇḍava

Naṭarāja · the seven dances

Ānanda, Sandhyā, Tripura, Rudra, Saṁhāra, Ūrdhva, Gaurī — the seven Tāṇḍavas and their meaning.

Enter the Dance
05 · LOVE शिव-पार्वती

The Eternal Love

Satī, Dakṣa-yajña, tapasyā, Kalyāṇa

From the broken yajña of Dakṣa to the wedding of Kalyāṇa-sundara — the love that survives death itself.

Read the Story
06 · TALES कथा-कोश

Kathās of the Purāṇa

Hālāhala · Tripura · Mārkaṇḍeya

The drinking of the world-poison, the burning of three flying cities, the boy who outran death.

Read the Tales
07 · ŚAKTI पार्वती

Pārvatī Mā

Ādi-Śakti · daughter of the mountain

Her tapasyā, her forms as Annapūrṇā, Durgā, and Lalitā Tripurasundarī — the feminine cosmos itself.

Enter Her Codex
08 · MAHĀKĀLĪ काली

Kālī Mā

Daśa Mahāvidyā · time devouring time

She who stands upon Śiva — Kālī, Tārā, Bhuvaneśvarī and the ten great wisdom-goddesses.

Enter Her Codex
09 · TRINITY त्रिमूर्ति

The Trimūrti

Brahmā · Viṣṇu · Śiva

The three offices of the one Brahman — and the saints who saw them as one.

Read the Chapter
10 · CURRENTS शाश्वत भाव

Eternal Currents

Vairāgya · Bhakti · Liṅga · Naṭarāja

Four meditations the Lord embodies — the still ascetic, the loving householder, the formless pillar, the cosmic dancer.

Walk the Themes
11 · FAMILY कुलवृक्ष

The Divine Family

Kailāsa · Mount of the Lord

Śiva and Pārvatī, Gaṇeśa and Kārtikeya, Nandi and Bhairava — the household of the cosmos.

Open the Lineage
12 · BEGINNINGS गणपति

Vighna-Hartā Gaṇapati

First-worshipped of the gods

The elephant-headed remover of obstacles — born of Pārvatī's own breath, restored by His father's grace.

Open His Card

महामृत्युञ्जय · Mahā-Mṛtyuñjaya

The Verse that Conquers Death

त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् ।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मुक्षीय माऽमृतात् ॥
tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭi-vardhanam |
urvārukam-iva bandhanān mṛtyor-mukṣīya mā'mṛtāt ||
We worship the three-eyed Lord, fragrant, nourisher of all — release me from the bondage of death like the ripe cucumber from its vine, but not from immortality. Ṛgveda 7.59.12 · Mahā-Mṛtyuñjaya Mantra

शाश्वत भाव · Eternal Currents

Four Currents of Śiva-Bhakti

The Purāṇa is, in the end, a meditation on these four — and the moment they meet in a single still flame on the Lord's brow.

वैराग्य

Vairāgya · Renunciation

Ash on the body, the world in the ash. The Lord is the ascetic who has nothing because He is everything.

भक्ति

Bhakti · Devotion

A single bilva-leaf, dropped without thought, is enough — the Lord is conquered by love alone.

शक्ति

Śakti · The Goddess

Without Her He is Śava — a corpse. Śiva-Śakti is one being seen as two so that love may have a name.

नटराज

Naṭarāja · The Dance

Creation in one hand, fire of dissolution in another. Beneath His foot, ignorance. Above His head, the halo of the cosmos.

Read the four currents in full →