Shiva and Vishnu In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, God, Vishnu or Shiva respectively, is personified as male.
It is believed that the God is Lord Shiva and the woman part is his consort Goddess Parvati or Shakti.
Shiva, (Sanskrit: “Auspicious One”) also spelled Śiwa or Śiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, whom Shaivites worship as the supreme god. Among his common epithets are Shambhu (“Benign”), Shankara (“Beneficent”), Mahesha (“Great Lord”), and Mahadeva (“Great God”).
Parvati, (Sanskrit: “Daughter of the Mountain”) also called Uma, wife of the Hindu god Shiva. Parvati is a benevolent goddess. Born the daughter of a mountain called Himalaya, she won Shiva's affection only after undergoing severe ascetic discipline.
Shiva is therefore seen as the source of both good and evil and is regarded as the one who combines many contradictory elements. Shiva is known to have untamed passion, which leads him to extremes in behaviour. Sometimes he is an ascetic, abstaining from all wordly pleasures. At others he is a hedonist.
Shiva and Vishnu
In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, God, Vishnu or Shiva respectively, is personified as male. God, however, transcends gender in these sub-schools, and the male form is used as an icon to help focus the Puja (worship). The use of icons is not restricted to male forms.
In Hindu society, unmarried girls are still taught to worship Lord Shiva with the idea that they may get husbands like him. You would see a lot of women worshiping shivling or the idol of Lord Shiva. The calm and loving God is worshiped in different cultures to get a good and caring husband like Lord Shiva.
Mohini, beauty personified, enchanted God Shiva to fall for Vishnu in female form. In Western states of India she is called Mahalasa and her consort is Khanboda, a regional avatar of Shiva.
Parvati decided to act. She went to the god of love, Kama, and asked him to shoot an arrow into Shiva's heart to arouse him. She was sure this would work. Kama, always down for love, shot an arrow into Shiva's heart and woke him out of meditation.
Christ spent the last phase of his life in the Himalayas. After regaining health, Christ established a 'math' (monastery) at the foothills of the Himalayas, probably in Kashmir. He worshipped Lord Shiva there for three years and achieved 'darshan' of Shiva.
He was created automatically! He was there when there was nothing and He will remain even after everything is destructed. That is why; he is also loving called as the 'Adi-Dev' which means the 'Oldest God of the Hindu mythology.
Out of all the gods and goddesses, Lord Shiva is considered to be the most powerful. Lord Shiva is known by many names, such as Mahadeva, Rudra, Shankara, Bholenath, and more. He is also referred to as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe.
The appellation "lord" is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation "lady" is used. This is no longer universal: the Lord of Mann, a title previously held by the Queen of the United Kingdom, and female Lords Mayor are examples of women who are styled as "Lord".
Sati married Shiva against her father's wishes. When her father failed to invite her husband to a great sacrifice, Sati died of mortification and was later reborn as the goddess Parvati.
Who is Brahma? Brahma is the first god in the Hindu triumvirate, or trimurti. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Vishnu and Shiva.
A Feminist God
Shiva believed in equality of the sexes long before the word feminism was added to our vocabulary. His androgynous form, Ardhanarishvara, is depicted as half male and half female.
Shiva (Siva) is one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon and is considered a member of the holy trinity (trimurti) of Hinduism with Brahma and Vishnu.
Brahma the creator
In the beginning, Brahma sprang from the cosmic golden egg and he then created good and evil and light and dark from his own person. He also created the four types: gods, demons, ancestors and men, the first of whom was Manu. Brahma then made all the other living creatures upon the earth.
Meanwhile, Parvati, the reincarnation of Sati, was born to Himavan, the god of the Himalayas and his wife the apsara Mena. She underwent severe austerities to compel Shiva to marry her.
Shiva has many wives
There are four of his wives that stand out the most. Their names are - Parvati, Uma, Durga, and Kali.
Sage Narada knew that Parvati was Goddess Mahadevi reincarnated and had come to marry Lord Shiva. Parvati was the first one to salute Sage Narada.
According to Rohit Dasgupta, the lingam symbolizes Shiva in Hinduism, and it is also a phallic symbol. Since the 19th century, states Dasgupta, the popular literature has represented the lingam as the male sex organ.
The god Shiva is utterly seduced by Mohini, the enchanting female form assumed by the god Vishnu during the churning of the ocean for nectar.
Shiva's fondness for meat is further emphasised when Jarasandha, a devotee of Shiva, keeps kings as captives only to kill them and offer their flesh to Shiva. Shiva's meat-eating habits find a clear voice in the Vedas as well as the Puranas, but his association with wine-drinking seems a later appendage.