In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient yogi who lives an ascetic life on Kailasa[7] as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya.

[55][56] The Shiva-related tradition is a major part of Hinduism, found all over the Indian subcontinent, such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,[57] and Southeast Asia, such as Bali, Indonesia.

[71][b] However, Howard Morphy states that these prehistoric rock paintings of India, when seen in their context, are likely those of hunting party with animals, and that the figures in a group dance can be interpreted in many different ways.

This figure was named by early excavators of Mohenjo-daro as Pashupati (Lord of Animals, Sanskrit paśupati),[74] an epithet of the later Hindu deities Shiva and Rudra.

[82] Gregory L. Possehl in 2002, associated it with the water buffalo, and concluded that while it would be appropriate to recognize the figure as a deity, and its posture as one of ritual discipline, regarding it as a proto-Shiva would "go too far".

[88][89] His contrasting aspects such as being terrifying or blissful depending on the situation, are similar to those of the Greek god Dionysus,[90] as are their iconic associations with bull, snakes, anger, bravery, dancing and carefree life.

[91] Similarly, the use of phallic symbol[note 2] as an icon for Shiva is also found for Irish, Nordic, Greek (Dionysus[93]) and Roman deities, as was the idea of this aniconic column linking heaven and earth among early Indo-Aryans, states Roger Woodward.

[126] Rudra's evolution from a minor Vedic deity to a supreme being is first evidenced in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400–200 BCE), according to Gavin Flood, presenting the earliest seeds of theistic devotion to Rudra-Shiva.

[127] Other scholars such as Robert Hume and Doris Srinivasan state that the Shvetashvatara Upanishad presents pluralism, pantheism, or henotheism, rather than being a text just on Shiva theism.

[145] Shaivism gained immense popularity in Tamilakam as early as the 7th century CE, with poets such as Appar and Sambandar composing rich poetry that is replete with present features associated with the deity, such as his tandava dance, the mulavam (dumru), the aspect of holding fire, and restraining the proud flow of the Ganga upon his braid.

[164] The goddess-oriented Shakti tradition of Hinduism is based on the premise that the Supreme Principle and the Ultimate Reality called Brahman is female (Devi),[166][167][168] but it treats the male as her equal and complementary partner.

[177][178] The Ardhanarisvara concept co-mingles god Shiva and goddess Shakti by presenting an icon that is half-man and half woman, a representation and theme of union found in many Hindu texts and temples.

[182] Shiva is one of the five deities, others being Vishnu, Devi (such as Parvati), Surya and Ganesha or Skanda or any personal god of devotee's preference (Ishta Devata).

[195] The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.

His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama.

When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Shiva does it by the Tandava,[283] and Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed to the goddess Parvati.

[286][287][288] Dakshinamurti (Sanskrit दक्षिणामूर्ति; Dakṣiṇāmūrti, "[facing] south form")[289] represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the shastras.

Astamurti (Sanskrit: अष्टमूर्ति) is an iconographic depiction of Shiva as composed of eight attributes: Rudra, Śarva, Paśupati, Ugra, Aśani, Bhava, Mahādeva, and Īśāna—some of which overlap with Pañcānana, described below.

(Pañcabrahma Upanishad 31)[307]In the hymn of Manikkavacakar's Thiruvasagam, he testifies that Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram had, by the pre-Chola period, an abstract or 'cosmic' symbolism linked to five elements (Pancha Bhoota) including ether.

[309] Sharada Srinivasan notes that, Nataraja is described as Satcitananda or "Being, Consciousness and Bliss" in the Shaiva Siddhanta text Kunchitangrim Bhaje, resembling the Advaita doctrine, or "abstract monism," of Adi Shankara, "which holds the individual Self (Jīvātman) and supream Self (Paramātmā) to be one," while "an earlier hymn to Nataraja by Manikkavachakar identifies him with the unitary supreme consciousness, by using Tamil word Or Unarve, rather than Sanskrit Chit."

[316] In Shiva temples, the linga is typically present in its sanctum sanctorum and is the focus of votary offerings such as milk, water, flower petals, fruit, fresh leaves, and rice.

[331] According to Sivananda Saraswati, westerners who are curiously passionate and have impure understanding or intelligence, incorrectly assume Siva Linga as a phallus or sex organ.

[332][333] In the text Linga Purana, the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.

[348] Maha Shivaratri is a major Hindu festival, but one that is solemn and theologically marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world,[349] and meditation about the polarities of existence, of Shiva and a devotion to humankind.

[353] On this day Hindu women performs the Thiruvathirakali accompanied by Thiruvathira paattu (folk songs about Parvati and her longing and penance for Shiva's affection).

[356] In Himalayan regions such as Nepal, as well as in northern, central and western India, the festival of Teej is celebrated by girls and women in the monsoon season, in honor of goddess Parvati, with group singing, dancing and by offering prayers in Parvati-Shiva temples.

The biggest is in Prayaga (renamed Allahabad during the Mughal rule era), where millions of Hindus of different traditions gather at the confluence of rivers Ganges and Yamuna.

Batara Guru's wife in Southeast Asia is the same Hindu deity Durga, who has been popular since ancient times, and she too has a complex character with benevolent and fierce manifestations, each visualized with different names such as Uma, Sri, Kali and others.

[365][366] In contrast to Hindu religious texts, whether Vedas or Puranas, in Javanese puppetry (wayang) books, Batara Guru is the king of the gods who regulates and creates the world system.

[386] In Mahayana Buddhist cosmology, Maheśvara resides in Akaniṣṭha, highest of the Śuddhāvāsa ("Pure Abodes") wherein Anāgāmi ("Non-returners") who are already on the path to Arhathood and who will attain enlightenment are born.