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Shiva is especially worshipped and popularly depicted in the following forms:
1). As the Lord of Yoga meditating on Mount Kailasha in the Himalayas. Often in sculptures, the Mt. Kailasha is depicted in a symbolic manner. He is portrayed with a third eye with which he burned Desire (Kama), with his matted locks in a chignon, a crescent moon in his hair, the Ganges pouring from his locks, garlanded by a snake and sacred Rudraksha beads, seated upon a tiger skin and holding a trident.
2). Shiva as the family man with his wife, the goddess Parvati, and their two sons, Karttikeya and the elephant-headed Ganesha, with the sacred bull Nandi, standing nearby.
3). Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, who, in his awesome dance which expresses his boundless energy, creates, maintains and destroys the cosmos. In such sculptures, Shiva is four-armed, dancing upon the dwarf of ignorance (Apasmara) within a circle of flames.
4). As the aniconic Shiva linga found in most Hindu temples. The linga is symbolic of the union of Shiva with his dynamic energy or Shakti.
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