CANES'A and Ii.inrrikEvA (q.v.). One of his principal attendants is laieda, who is one of the original teachers of the arts of dancing and mimicry, whence Siva is the patron of the dancers, and is called _Nat es' team (lord of the dancers). Besides Tanh a' host of other attendants and companions, together with demons and other beings sur rounding lihn, are named by the Puran'as.
Amongst the principal achievements of this god is his conflict with the god Brahma. who was originally possessed of five heads, but lost one through exciting the auger of Siva; for the fifth head of Brahma, once disrespectfully addressing Siva, and even ehal longing his power, Siva inunediately cut off the offending member with the nail of his left thumb. A similar penalty he inflicted on Dal...situ, his father-in-law, who once per formed a great sacrifice, but neither invited his daughter Sat/ nor her husband S'iva. Siva, nevertheless, appeared at the sacrifice; but when Sall, offended at the reception she met with, threw herself into the sacrificial flames, S'iva cat of tike Lead of Daksha; and Daksha would have remained headless had not the gods interfered in his favor with S'iva, who, out of compassion, replaced his head by that of a rani. Besides these feats
he killed several demons—Raru, Andltaka, Telpura; and he also reduced to ashes Edina (the god of love), who, at the instigation of the gods, undertook to excite the desire of S'iva to procreate a son, but was indiscreet enough to choose for this purpose a time when S'iva was engaged in fierce austerities (see Ea_ma.), Siva is especially wor shiped under the symbol of the ling; but there are periods at which homage is paid to him also under other forms corresponding with the description given above, Hindu mythology knows, properly speaking, no incarnations of Siva like those of Vishn'u; in tome writings, however, some of his forms, especially that called Bhairava, and that called Virabhadra, are considered to be his sons or incarnations. Siva, like Vishn'u (q.v.), has 1000 names by which he is addressed; some derived from his exterior attri butes have been mentioned before; among the rest the principal are Is a or le' wart& (lord); lialee,y'a or IfIthe4' team (tire great lord); S anka ra (the conferrer of happiness); Radra (the terrible), or Haharadra (the very terrible); and dfairddera (the great god). For his wor shipers, see S'AIVAS.