Lord Shiva is one of the most widely revered gods in Hinduism, and he’s also worshiped as one of the five primary deities in Mahayana Buddhism. Over time, Lord Shiva has taken on many different forms to help teach people different aspects of the universe and human experience, known as avatars. These 19 avatars of Lord Shiva are depicted in Hindu paintings and sculptures in various forms. They represent Shiva’s different aspects that help to destroy evil in the world. Let us learn about each one of them.
Piplaad Avatar
Shiva was born in Rishi Dadhichi’s house as Piplaad, but the sage left because of Shani’s position. So, Piplaad cursed Shani and caused the planet to fall. Shani was later forgiven on the condition that he would never trouble anyone under 16. Therefore, worshipping Lord Shiva in his Piplaad form helps remove Shani dosha.
Nandi Avatar
Shilada, the sage who performed intense penance to seek Shiva’s blessings, requested an immortal child to be born to him. Sage’s devotion led Lord Shiva to take birth as Nandi, who became the gatekeeper of Kailasha (Lord Shiva’s heavenly abode) and his mount.
The Nandi avatar represents masculinity and vigor as he holds an axe. A bull with four hands, two of which hold an axe and an antelope, and the other two joined together. The name Nandi means happy one in Sanskrit, which he earned by providing joy to his master through his unconditional devotion and loyalty.
Veerabhadra Avatar
Veerabhadra is a form of the Hindu god Shiva. His name means dreadful. He was created to destroy the demon king Daksha.
This avatar of Shiva was incarnated after the death of his wife, Sati. In King Daksha’s Yagya, he destroyed and beheaded the king for killing Sati.
Bhairava Avatar
One of Lord Shiva’s most fearsome incarnations is the Bhairava Avatar, sometimes known as Dandapani. As one of the embodiments of negative aspects of existence, this particular incarnation punishes those who are greedy, lustful, and arrogant. He wears a garland made from skulls
Ashwatthama Avatar
Ashwatthama was a warrior who fought on the side of the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He was born to Drona and Kripi and had great mastery over weaponry. He learned all types of weapons from his father and became a master in each one of them.
Sharabha Avatar
Shiva, in this form, appeared to calm Narasimha after he killed Hiranyakashipu, the demon. He had a lion’s head and body but with four arms and human feet. He is considered to be a symbol of patience.
Grihapati avatar
The Grihapati form of Lord Shiva emerged from a sage named Vishwanar and his wife, who resided on the Narmada banks. The sage’s partner desired Lord Shiva to be born as her offspring. Thus, the sage did intense penance in Kashi. A few days later, Lord Shiva was born as Grihapati to the sage and his wife after being pleased by Vishwanar’s devotion.
Durvasa avatar
Durvasa is a Hindu god and one of the 8th revered sages, or Saptarishis. The Panchalas traditionally worship him. Durvasa was a great sage with power over all five elements, including lightning. He was also known for his anger and easily getting offended by people he felt were not showing him respect.
Rishabha Avatar
In the Rishabh Avatar, Lord Vishnu takes on the form of a Bull. He is often depicted with four arms and rides a white Bull.
When the sons of Lord Vishnu would plague both Gods and Humans, Lord Shiva appeared as an ox (also called a water buffalo), killed all of the evil sons of Lord Vishnu, and, in so doing, taught them a lesson. Vishnu, on realizing it was Shiva, went back to his place.
Yatinath Avatar
The tribesman Aahuk and his wife were passionate Shiva devotees. Their small hut could not accommodate Shiva disguised as a guest, so Aahuk slept outside. After he was killed by a wild animal outside, his wife decided to kill herself. Shiva blessed her that they would be born as Nala and Damyanti in their next life.
Hanuman
As an incarnation of Lord Shiva, Hanuman serves as a symbol of a devotee to the people. During the Samudra Manthan (sea exploration), Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a beautiful woman named Mohini to distract the demons from the Samudra Manthan site, allowing the semi-Gods to go about their work without disruption.
Even knowing the facts, Lord Shiva somehow became infatuated with the great beauty of Mohini. The powerful emotion caused by the infatuation gave rise to the birth of Hanuman from the womb of Anjani.
Bhikshuvarya Avatar
This Avatar is for protecting humans in all adverse conditions and dangers in their lives and is said to aid humans in overcoming these dangers and threats.
Krishna Darshan Avatar
To teach King Nabhag how to obtain spiritual goals during this lifetime. Although Nabhag is a prince, his brother overthrew him, forcing him to come and study the rites of Yajna at the house of the holy man Angiras, after which the holy man wanted to award him a precious item. Lord Shiva counseled Nabhag to forget worldly affairs and devote time to his true spiritual advancement. Nabhag listened and received the blessings of Lord Shiva. This is a rare avatar of Lord Shiva where he has taken on the role of the spiritual teacher.
Sureshwar Avatar
A disguised Indra and Indrani appeared before the son of sage Vyaghrapaad, Upamanyu. To test Upamanyu’s devotion, they told him not to do penance and not to worship Shiva. Despite their curses, Upamanyu was enraged and refused. Shiva and Parvati were pleased with Upamanyu’s total dedication and devotion. Shiva promised to remain in the vicinity of Upamanyu’s hermitage with Parvati for the rest of his life. Due to his appearance as Indra, Shiva got the name ‘Sureshwar’.
Keerat Avatar
The avatar of Lord Shiva appeared to test the bravery of Arjuna. During the Pandavas’ exile, Arjuna meditated to find Shiva’s Pashupat. During his meditation, a demon named Mooka transformed into a boar to kill Arjuna. The Keerat Avatar of Lord Shiva and Arjuna each killed the boar with arrows. Initially, Arjun didn’t recognize Lord Shiva’s, but eventually, he realized that only the Lord could be a better archer than him.
Sunatnartak avatar
Lord Shiva took this incarnation of Sunatnartak avatar to appear in the Himalayan King for marrying and expressing his love for Parvati.
Brahmachari avatar
When Sati took birth as Parvati and performed intense penance to please Shiva, he appeared to her as a Brahmachari. To test Parvati’s devotion, he abused Shiva. In response to the Brahmachari, Parvati, who loved Lord Shiva more than anyone else, gave a fitting reply. Lord Shiva blessed Parvati eventually after revealing himself.
Yaksheshwar Avatar
This avatar is associated with Samudra Manthan when the gods became arrogant after consuming Amrit. To eradicate this false ego, Lord Shiva became a Yaksha. They were given a piece of grass by Lord Shiva and asked to cut it. It was done to destroy false pride through this divine grass. Eventually, nobody was able to cut the grass, and their pride vanished.
Avadhut Avatar
The avatar of Shiva was taken by Lord Shiva when Lord Indra became arrogant and uncaring. He used this avatar to make Indra realize arrogance was undesirable.
Add comment