The Tale of the God Who Dissolves the Universe: Shiva Mahadeva

In Hindu mythology, Shiva is one of the highest gods. Stories about Shiva can be found in Hindu scriptures, including the Brahmana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and Agama. In the stories, Shiva is a complex god full of contradictions. Rudra's birth is considered the forerunner of the concept of Shiva, which eventually evolved into the Trimurti or three main deities in Hinduism, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

Birth of Rudra (Source: Private Collection)

The origin of Lord Rudra's name was when a family patriarch named Prajapati had a son who had been crying constantly since birth. The child felt trapped in badness because he had not been given a name. Finally, the boy was named “Rudra” by Prajapati, which is derived from the root word “rud” which means “to cry”. The birth of Lord Rudra is also found in the Visnu Purana. In this story Brahma experienced great anger because his children did not appreciate life, suddenly from Brahma's forehead appeared a child who shone very brightly like the sun. The child who emerged from Brahma's forehead was later named Rudra. The birth of Rudra is also found in the story of Markandeya Purana. In this story Brahma really wanted a child who resembled himself. For that, Brahma went into asceticism. While meditating, a bluish-skinned boy suddenly appeared and cried on his lap. When asked by Brahma, the child replied that he was crying because his parents had not named him. Brahma then gave him the name Rudra. 

Shiva's battle with the evil Asuras (Source: Private Collection)

The origin of the story of Shiva Mahadeva is when Lord Shiva destroyed the evil creatures of the asuras. One day the gods asked Shiva to destroy the evil creatures created by the asuras, because these creatures disturbed the gods. To deal with them, Shiva was given half of the power of each god. After successfully destroying the evil creatures, Shiva was dubbed the supreme god and given the title Shiva Mahadeva. The appearance of Trinetra, Shiva's third eye. The origin of Shiva's third eye is told against a background full of emotion and tragedy. Therefore, Shiva chose to seclude himself by ascending on top of Mount Himalaya. Then the gods asked Shiva for help, because the gods in heaven faced a threat from an evil asura named Tataka. The way to defeat Tanaka is that Shiva must marry Parwati, so Shiva can defeat the evil Asura.

Shiva's marriage to Parwati (Source: Private Collection)

The marriage of Lord Shiva with Dewi Parwati gave birth to a child named Kumara. In this story, Lord Shiva and Dewi Parwati were officially married at the suggestion of the previous gods. This marriage gave birth to a child named Kumara, known as Kartikeya or Subrahmanya. He was the young hero who would face the evil asura also known as Tarkasura. Kumara is also believed to destroy all the evil beings created by Asura.