Shiva

Shiva (Sanskrit: Śiva, "The Auspicious One") is one of the principal deities of Hinduism and the Supreme Being in Shaivism. Known as the destroyer and transformer within the Trimurti (alongside Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver), Shiva is also the lord of yoga, meditation, dance, and cosmic creation/destruction cycles. Common icons: Lingam (abstract aniconic form) Nataraja (cosmic dancer) Meditating ascetic with matted hair, Ganges river, crescent moon, third eye, trident, and serpent Ardhanarishvara (half-male, half-female form) He is both fearsome (as Bhairava or Mahakala) and benevolent, the ideal husband to Parvati, and father of Ganesha and Kartikeya. Shiva represents ultimate reality, purity, and liberation (moksha).