108 Shiva Names

Sadhguru says, “In the yogic tradition, Shiva is worshipped as a guru, not as a god. That which we refer to as Shiva is multi-dimensional. All the qualities that you can ever ascribe to anyone are ascribed to Shiva. When we say Shiva, we are not saying he is this kind of a person or that kind of a person.

Generally, the moralistic traditions always understand Divinity as good. But if you look at Shiva, you can neither fix him as good or bad. Everything that is in the Existence is a part of him. That is how he is described in the tradition.”

▵ The Origin of the 108 Names of Shiva
Sadhguru continues, “He has innumerable forms and manifestations but fundamentally, we can categorize these into seven categories. There is the distant godhead that we call as Ishwara; there is a benevolent personal god that we call as Shambho; there is an uncomplicated hermit or Bho, or an endearingly naïve Sambaleshwara or Bhola; there is a wise teacher of the Vedas whom we call as Dakshinamurthy; the fountainhead of all art forms, we call him Natesha; the fierce, the destroyer of the wicked, we call him Kalabhairava or Mahakala; the dashing seducer of the romantic, we call him Somasundara, which means more beautiful than the moon. These are the seven basic forms out of which millions of manifestations can be derived.”

Shiva’s 108 Names with Meanings

Aashutosh – One who instantly fulfills all wishes
Adiguru – The first Guru
Adinath – The first Lord
Adiyogi -The first Yogi
Aja – The Unborn
Akshayaguna – The one with limitless qualities
Anagha – The faultless one
Anantadrishti – Of infinite vision
Augadh – One who revels all the time
Avyaya – prabhuImperishable
Bhairav – Destroyer of fear
Bhalanetra – One who has an eye in the forehead
Bholenath – The simple one
Bhooteshwara – One who has mastery over the elements
Bhudeva – Lord of the earth
Bhutapala – Protector of the disembodied beings
Chandrapal – Master of the moon
Chandraprakash – One who has moon as a crest
Dayalu – The compassionate one
Devadideva – The god of gods
Dhanadeepa – Lord of wealth
Dhyanadeep – The light of meditation
Dhyutidhara – Lord of brilliance
Digambara – The one who wears the sky as his raiment
Durjaneeya – Difficult to be known
Durjaya – The unvanquished
Gangadhara – Lord of river ganga
Girijapati – Consort of girija
Gunagrahin – Acceptor of gunas
Gurudeva – The great Guru
Hara – Remover of sins
Jagadisha – Master of the Universe
Jaradhishamana – Redeemer from afflictions
Jatin – The one with matted hair
Kailas – One who bestows peace
Kailashadhipati – Lord of Mount Kailash
Kailashnath – Master of Mount Kailash
Kamalakshana – Lotus-eyed lord
Kantha – Ever-radiant
Kapalin – One who wears a necklace of skulls
Kochadaiyaan – The lord with long dreadlocks
Kundalin – One who wears earrings
Lalataksha – One who has an eye in the forehead
Lingadhyaksha – Lord of the lingas
Lokankara – Creator of the three worlds
Lokapal – One who takes care of the world
Mahabuddhi – Extreme intelligence
Mahadeva – Greatest God
Mahakala – The lord of time
Mahamaya – Of great illusions
Mahamrityunjaya – Great victor of death
Mahanidhi – Great storehouse
Mahashaktimaya – One who has boundless energies
Mahayogi – Greatest yogi
Mahesha – Supreme lord
Maheshwara – Lord of Gods
Nagabhushana – One who has serpents as ornaments
Nataraja – King of the art of dancing
Nilakantha – The Blue-throated one
Nityasundara – Ever beautiful
Nrityapriya – Lover of Dance
Omkara – Creator of AUM
Palanhaar – One who protects all
Panchatsaran – Vigorous
Parameshwara – First among all gods
Paramjyoti – Greatest splendor
Pashupati – Lord of all living beings
Pinakin – One who has a bow in his hand
Pranava – Originator of the primal sound of AUM
Priyabhakta – Favorite of the devotees
Priyadarshana – Of loving vision
Pushkara – One who gives nourishment
Pushpalochana – One who has eyes like flowers
Ravilochana – Having Sun as the eye
Rudra – The Roarer
Sadashiva – The Transcended one
Sanatana – The Eternal God
Sarvacharya – The Supreme Teacher
Sarvashiva – The Eternal Lord
Sarvatapana – Preceptor of All
Sarvayoni – Always Pure
Sarveshwara – Lord of All
Shambho – The auspicious one
Shankara – Lord of All Gods
Shantah – Peaceful Lord
Shoolin – One who has a trident
Shreshhtha – Always pure
Shrikantha – One who has a pure body
Shrutiprakasha – Illuminator of the Vedas
Skandaguru – Perceptor of Skanda
Someshwara – Lord of the Moon
Sukhada – The giver of joy
Swayambhu – Self-created
Tejaswani – One who spreads illumination
Trilochana – Three-eyed Lord
Trilokpati – Master of all the three worlds
Tripurari – Destroyer of the “Tripur” (the 3 planets created by Asuras)
Trishoolin – One who has a trident in his hands
Umapati – Consort of Uma
Vachaspati – Lord of Speech
Vajrahasta – One who has a thunderbolt in his hands
Varada – Granter of Boons
Vedakarta – Originator of the Vedas
Veerabhadra – Supreme Lord of the Nether World
Vishalaksha – Wide-eyed Lord
Vishveshwara – Lord of the Universe
Vishwanath – Master of the Universe
Vrishavahana – One who has bull as his vehicle

Learn More:
▵ Shiva’s Names – 108 Shiva Names With Meanings (Isha)