For Shiva, there is no such thing as good or evil, friend or enemy, truth or false. Shiva grants knowledge to people and Gods alike. Shiva has no identity, is abstract and encompasses the entire universe. One of his many names is Hara- destroyer. In fact, the meaning of Shankar’s name literally translates to doubt (shanka) destroyer (hara). He not only destroys the old world order, but he is also the destroyer of the impurities and doubts and darkness prevalent in the world. Shankar, on the other hand, is the destroyer. The Supreme Soul is the reason all of us exist. According to the Linga Purana, this particular shivaling has the divine power to create, destroy, and re-create the existence of everything. Legends say that Shiva is the creator of all we know (and not know). Now that we’ve established the form-related differences between Shiva and Shankara, let us take you through other distinctions. Shankar is the destroyer- not just of the world, but of all the sins and impurities of the human soul. But the thing that stands out the most is his third eye- representative of eternal wisdom and extreme awareness. He has a blue throat owing to the poison he drank to save the world. He also carries the holy Ganga on his head. The damru signifies the non-dual nature of the world.
Myths attribute the presence of the crescent-shaped moon on his matted hair or jata to him curing the moon God of a curse. He usually wears animal skin, which again is a reminder of his asceticism. The trident placed next to him (or with him) is representative of his control on all the three worlds. A serpent is coiled around his neck, representing Shankar’s domination over fear. He is depicted having long, matted hair- symbolic of his ascetic days. Shankar resides on Earth (in Kailash) along with his consort- Parvati. His form is supposed the most beautiful physical form in the Universe. The linga form is a reminder of all of this. The little red dot is Shiva who resides in all of them. In other words, it stands for the Trimurti- Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar. The tripund is symbolic of the three characteristics of Shiva- trinetri, trilokinath, and trikaldarshi. A knowledge powerhouse, Shiva has always existed. Shiva is supreme and needs no identity- neither young nor old, neither male nor female, unborn (anadi) and undead (anant).
Shiva’s representation as a linga is symbolic of his incorporeal nature. The oval shape indicates the formlessness of the Ishvara (not to be confused with other devas or devatas).
The universe came into existence because of Shiva. Shiva is the supreme soul, the Paramatma. The oval-shaped form of shivlinga that we worship has a much deeper meaning to it. First, let’s tell you the meaning behind both the forms. We are all set to take you on a journey to discovering how different and similar they both are. The linga of the formless is Shiva, whereas the angelic deity is called Shankar. And while our parents would have us believe that they both are the same, in a lot of ways, they are not. But, most of their depictions show one of them meditating in front of the other, implying that there indeed is a difference between the two. We would worship him in his linga form or his human body form. Growing up, all of us heard several stories of Lord Shiva the destroyer and his manifold miracles.
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