5 Famous Lord Shiva Names And Their Meanings!

Lord Shiva, the Hindu deity, the supreme being within Shaivism, the destructor, and what not! Shiva is arguably the most popular deity of the Hindu universe.  The lord of destruction is accepted as the most inspirational deity among youths. These are the five most famous Lord Shiva Names the diety is known by. 

People of all ages take life lessons from the stories of Shiva. A crucial god of the Trinity or Trimurti is said to be the “destroyer of evil and a transformer”. However, in Shaivism tradition, he is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe.

The mighty Shiva has a thousand and eight names you can read in the list names as Shiva Sahasranama. Now each of Lord Shiva names has individual meaning and story behind it. There are many hundreds of names of Shiva and stories behind them that are unknown to most of his devotees.

Owing to the fact that we are discussing the popularity of the mighty lord, we have the most popular names, their meaning, and stories behind it.

5 Famous Lord Shiva Names And Their Meanings

1. Trilochana

Shiva has three eyes. He is often sketched or painted with a third eye on his forehead. Hindu mythology, suggests that the third eye of Shiva is the center which he uses to observe the multiverse. Although is also depicted as the weapon of destruction as once, he burnt Kamdev into ashes with the rays of his third eye after being abruptly woken in the middle of his meditation.

He is known as Trilochana owing to the fact that he has an extra eye on his forehead. In Sanskrit lochan means eyes that explains this name of Shiva.

2. Gangadhar – Lord Shiva Different Names

When King Bhagirath prayed to Lord Brahma for the celestial river, Ganga to descend to earth, Brahma feared that the powerful force of the river will cause massive destruction on the planet.

It was Shiva who asked Ganga to ensconce herself in his matted hair so that he can tame her force and send a steak of her on earth. Thus he got the name – Gangadhar.

Also Read: 7 Lord Shiva Lessons You Can Use In Your Life To Stay Calm!

3. Nilakantha

According to mythological stories, during the time of Samudra Manthan, among many other things appeared the Halahala poison, which has the power to cause cataclysmic disasters in the world. The consumption of the poison was necessary but it was so lethal that no-one dared to drink it.

Shiva poured the Halahala poison and hold it on his throat. The poison did not spread out but it turned his neck blue. The God of destruction owes this name to this story as he became popular by the name of Nilakantha or the blue-necked-one.

4. Nataraja

Nataraja is an avatar of Lord Shiva. It is an embodiment who dances the world to destruction. It is popular that Natraja brings the destruction of evil forces but in an artistic manner.

Whenever the world overbears the weariness, Shiva does the nat (a form of art which includes dancing) and cause destruction.

5. Omkara

In Shiva Purana, it is explained that Om and Shiva are the same as Shiva is the creator of world famous Hindu chant Om. Having said that he earned the name Omkara as he created the sacred vowel Om himself.

These were the most popular Lord Shiva names and their significances. Call him as you please.

Also Read: Lord Shiva Daughters

If you wish to know the meaning of another name of Shiva you can comment below or on our facebook page.