What are the names of 19 incarnations of Lord Shiva?
Many incarnations of Lord Shiva are described in Shiva Mahapuran, but very few people know about these incarnations. According to religious texts, Lord Shiva had nineteen incarnations, let us know about the incarnations of Lord Bholenath.
1- Virbhadra Avatar
This incarnation of Lord Shiva took place when Mother Sati sacrificed her body in the yagya organized by Dakshdwara. When Lord Shiva came to know about this, in anger he uprooted a lock of hair from his head and threw it on top of the mountain in anger. The fearsome Veerbhadra appeared from the front portion of that hair. This incarnation of Shiva destroyed Daksh’s yagya and gave him death sentence by cutting off Daksh’s head.
2- Pippalada Avatar:
Pippalad incarnation of Lord Shiva has great importance in human life. The relief from Shani’s pain was possible only by the grace of Pippalad. The story is that Pippalada asked the gods – What is the reason that my father Dadhichi left me before I was born? The gods told that such a problem was created due to the sight of Saturn. Pippalad became very angry after hearing this. He cursed Saturn to fall from the constellation.Due to the effect of the curse, Saturn started falling from the sky at the same time. On the prayer of the gods, Pippalad forgave Shani on the condition that Shani would not harm anyone from birth till the age of 16 years. Since then, just by remembering Pippalad, the pain of Shani goes away. According to Shiva Mahapuran, Brahma himself had named this incarnation of Shiva.
3-Nandi Avatar:
Lord Shankar represents all living beings. Nandishwar incarnation of Lord Shankar also follows this and gives the message of love to all living beings. Nandi (bull) is a symbol of Karma, which means Karma is the basic mantra of life. The story of this incarnation is as follows – Shilad Muni was celibate. Seeing the end of the dynasty, his ancestors asked Shilad to produce children. Shilad performed penance to Lord Shiva with the desire of having an unborn and deathless child.Then Lord Shankar himself blessed Shilad to be born as a son. After some time, while plowing the land, Shilad found a child born from the land. Shilad named him Nandi. Lord Shankar made Nandi his Ganadhyaksha. In this way Nandi became Nandishwar. Nandi was married to Suyasha, daughter of the Maruts.
4- Bhairav Avatar:
In Shiva Mahapuran, Bhairav has been described as the complete form of God Shankar. Once, influenced by Lord Shankar’s illusion, Brahma and Vishnu started considering themselves superior. Then a manly figure was seen in the midst of the beam of light. Seeing him, Brahmaji said – Chandrashekhar, you are my son. Therefore, come to me for shelter. Lord Shankar got angry after hearing such words of Brahma. He said to that male figure – Because of your beauty like Kaal, you are the real King of Kaal. They are afraid of being terrible. After receiving these boons from Lord Shankar, Kalbhairav cut off the fifth head of Brahma with his finger nail. By cutting off the fifth head of Brahma, Bhairav became guilty of the sin of Brahmahatya. In Kashi, Bhairav got freedom from the sin of Brahmahatya. Devotion to Bhairav has been said to be mandatory for the people of Kashi.
5- Ashwatthama:
According to Mahabharata, Ashwatthama, son of Pandavas’ guru Dronacharya, was the incarnation of Kaal, Krodha, Yama and Lord Shankar. Acharya Drona had performed severe penance to get Lord Shankar in the form of a son and Lord Shiva had given him a boon that he would be incarnated as his son. When the time came, Savantika Rudra incarnated from his part as Ashwatthama, the powerful son of Drona.It is believed that Ashwatthama is immortal and he still resides on earth. According to Shiva Mahapuran (Shatrudra Samhita-37), Ashwatthama is still alive and he resides on the banks of Ganga, but it has not been told where his residence is.
6- Sharabhavtar:
Sharbhavathar is the sixth incarnation of Lord Shankar. In Sharabhavatar, Lord Shankar’s form was half of a deer and the rest of the Sharabha bird (an eight-legged animal mentioned in the Puranas which was more powerful than a lion). In this incarnation, Lord Shankar had calmed the anger of Lord Narasimha. There is a story of Shiva’s incarnation in Lingapuran, according to which Lord Vishnu took the incarnation of Nrisimha to kill Hiranyakashipu. When Lord Narasimha’s anger did not subside even after killing Hiranyakashipu, the gods approached Lord Shiva. Then Lord Shiva took the form of Sharabhavatar and in this form he approached Lord Narasimha and praised him, but the fire of Narasimha’s anger did not subside. Seeing this, Lord Shiva in the form of Sharabha wrapped Narasimha in his tail and flew away. Then somewhere the anger of Lord Narasimha subsided. He apologized to Sharabhavtar and praised him in a very humble manner.
7- Grihapati Avatar:
Grihapati is the seventh incarnation of Lord Shankar. Its story is as follows- There was a city named Dharampur on the banks of Narmada. There lived a sage named Vishwanar and his wife Shuchishmati. After remaining childless for a long time, Shuchishmati one day wished to have a son like Shiva from her husband. Sage Vishwanar came to Kashi to fulfill his wife’s wish. Here he worshiped the Veeresh Linga of Lord Shiva by performing severe penance. One day the sage saw a child in the middle of Veeresh Linga. The sage worshiped Shiva in child form. Pleased with his worship, Lord Shankar blessed him to incarnate from the womb of Shuchishmati. Later, Shuchishmati became pregnant and Lord Shankar appeared in the form of a son from Shuchishmati’s womb. It is said that grandfather Brahma had named that child Grihapati.
8- Sage Durvasa:
Among the various incarnations of Lord Shankar, the incarnation of sage Durvasa is also prominent. According to religious texts, Maharishi Atri, the husband of Sati Anusuiya, performed severe penance along with his wife on Rikshakul mountain with the desire of having a son, as per the instructions of Brahma. Pleased with his penance, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh came to his ashram. He said – From our share you will have three sons, who will be famous in Triloki and will increase the fame of your parents. When the time came, the moon was born from Brahmaji’s part. From the part of Vishnu, Dattatreya, who popularized the best method of renunciation, was born and from the part of Rudra, Munivar Durvasa was born.
9- Hanuman:
Hanuman incarnation of Lord Shiva is considered the best among all the incarnations. In this incarnation Lord Shankar took the form of a monkey. According to Shivmahapuran, seeing the Mohini form of Lord Vishnu while distributing nectar to the gods and demons, Lord Shiva, out of lust, ejaculated his semen. The Saptarishis stored that semen in some leaves. When the time came, the Saptarishis implanted the semen of Lord Shiva in the womb of Anjani, the wife of the monkey king Kesari, through the ear, from which the extremely bright and powerful Shri Hanuman ji was born.
10- Taurus Avatar
Lord Shankar took the Vrishabha incarnation under special circumstances. In this incarnation Lord Shankar had killed the sons of Vishnu. According to religious texts, when Lord Vishnu went to the underworld to kill the demons, he saw many moon-faced women there. Vishnu had fun with her and gave birth to many sons. These sons of Vishnu created a lot of trouble from the underworld to the earth. Frightened by them, Lord Brahma along with the sages went to Lord Shiva and started praying for protection. Then Lord Shankar took the form of Taurus and killed the sons of Vishnu.
11- Yatinath Avatar:
Lord Shankar had propounded the importance of guest by taking the incarnation of Yatinath. In this incarnation, he had tested the Bhil couple by becoming a guest, due to which the Bhil couple had to lose their lives. According to religious texts, a Shiva devotee Ahuk-Ahuka Bhil couple lived near Arbudachal Parvat. Once Lord Shankar came to his house in the guise of Yatinath. He expressed his desire to spend the night at the house of a Bhil couple. Ahuka, reminding her husband of the dignity of a householder, proposed to spend the night outside with her bow and arrow herself and let the Yeti rest in the house. In this way Ahuk went out with the bow and arrow. In the morning Ahuka and Yeti saw that the wild animals had killed Ahuka. Yatinath became very sad on this. Then Ahuka calmed him down and told him not to mourn.There is a religion of sacrificing one’s life in hospitality service and we are blessed by following it. When Ahuka started burning in the fire of her husband, Lord Shiva appeared to her and blessed her to meet her husband again in the next life.
12- Krishnadarshan Avatar:
In this incarnation, Lord Shiva has explained the importance of Yagya and other religious activities, thus this incarnation is completely a symbol of religion. According to religious texts, King Nabhag was born in the ninth generation of Ikshvaku dynasty Shraddhadev. When Nabhag, who had gone to Gurukul to study, did not return for a long time, his brothers divided the kingdom among themselves. When Nabhag came to know about this, he went to his father. Father told Nenbhag to remove the attachment of the yagya-oriented Brahmins by completing their yagya and attaining their wealth. Then Nabhag reached the yagya ground and performed the yagya by clearly reciting the Vaishya Dev Sukta. Angarik Brahmin gave the remaining money of the yagya to Nabhag and went to heaven. At the same time, Lord Shiva appeared in the form of Krishna and said that the remaining wealth of the Yagya was his right. When there was a dispute, Lord Shiva in the form of Krishna asked him to get the decision from his father.
When Nabhag asked, Shraddhadev said – That man is Lord Shankar. The remains of the Yagya belong to him only. Obeying his father’s words, Nabhag praised Lord Shiva.
13- Avadhoot Avatar:
Lord Shankar had crushed Indra’s ego by taking Avadhoot incarnation. According to religious texts, once Indra along with Jupiter and other gods went to Mount Kailash to visit Lord Shankar. To test Indra, Shankarji took the form of Avadhoot and blocked his path.
Even when Indra disobediently asked the man for his introduction, he remained silent. Angered by this, as soon as Indra tried to release his thunderbolt to attack Avadhoot, his hand became paralyzed. Seeing this, Brihaspati recognized Lord Shiva and praised Avadhoot in many ways, due to which Lord Shiva was pleased and forgave Indra.
14- Bhikshuvarya Avatar:
Lord Shankar is the god of gods. He is also the protector of the life of every living being born in the world. The monk incarnation of Lord Shankar gives this message. According to religious texts, Vidarbha king Satyaratha was killed by his enemies. His pregnant wife saved her life by hiding from the enemies. When the time came, she gave birth to a son. When the queen went to the lake to drink water, the crocodile ate her as its food. Then the child started suffering from hunger and thirst. Meanwhile, with the inspiration of Lord Shiva, a beggar woman reached there. Then Lord Shiva, taking the form of a beggar, introduced the child to the beggar woman and gave instructions on his upbringing and also said that this child is the son of Vidarbha king Satyaratha.Saying all this, Shiva in the form of a beggar showed his real form to the beggar woman. As per the orders of Shiva, the beggar woman raised that child. After growing up, that child, by the grace of Lord Shiva, defeated his enemies and regained his kingdom.
15- Sureshwar Avatar:
Sureshwar (Indra) incarnation of Lord Shankar shows his love towards the devotee. In this incarnation, Lord Shankar was pleased with the devotion of a small child Upamanyu and blessed him with his supreme devotion and immortality. According to religious texts, Vyaghrapada’s son Upamanyu grew up in his maternal uncle’s house. He was always restless with the desire for milk. His mother asked him to seek refuge in Lord Shiva to fulfill his wish. On this, Upamanyu went into the forest and started chanting Om Namah Shivay. Lord Shiva appeared before him in the form of Sureshwar (Indra) and started criticizing Lord Shiva in many ways. Enraged at this, Upamanyu stood up to kill Indra. Seeing Upamanyu’s strong strength and unshakable faith in himself, Lord Shiva showed him his true form and gave him an immortal ocean like the ocean of milk. On his request, merciful Lord Shiva also gave him the position of supreme devotion.
16- Kirat Avatar:
In Kirat incarnation, Lord Shankar had tested the bravery of Pandu’s son Arjun. According to the Mahabharata, the Kauravas usurped the kingdom of the Pandavas by deceit and the Pandavas had to go into exile. During his exile, when Arjun was doing penance to please Lord Shankar, a demon named Mud, sent by Duryodhana, arrived there in the form of a pig to kill Arjun. Arjun hit the boar with his arrow, at the same time Lord Shankar, disguised as Kirat, shot an arrow at the same boar. Due to Shiva’s alchemy, Arjun could not recognize him and started saying that the boar was killed by his arrow. There was a dispute between the two on this. Arjun fought with Shiva in Kirat attire. Seeing Arjun’s bravery, Lord Shiva became pleased and came in his true form and blessed Arjun for victory over the Kauravas.
17- Suntanartak Avatar:
Lord Shiva had disguised himself as a Sunat dancer to ask Parvati’s father Himachal for his daughter’s hand. Shivji reached Himachal’s house in the form of a nut with Damru in his hand and started dancing. Nataraja Shiva performed such a beautiful and graceful dance that everyone became happy. When Himachal asked Nataraja to beg for alms, Nataraja Shiva asked for Parvati in alms.
Himachalraj became very angry at this. After some time, Shiva in the form of Nataraja showed his form to Parvati and went away himself. After his departure, Maina and Himachal got divine knowledge and decided to give Parvati to Lord Shiva.
18- Brahmachari Avatar
When Sati was born in the house of Himalaya after sacrificing her life in Daksh’s yagya, she performed severe penance to get Lord Shiva as her husband. To test Parvati, Lord Shiva approached her in the guise of a celibate. Parvati saw the celibate and worshiped him duly.When Brahmachari asked Parvati the purpose of her penance and on knowing, he started criticizing Shiva and also called him a cremation dweller and a Kapalik. Hearing this, Parvati became very angry. Seeing Parvati’s devotion and love, Shiva showed her his true form. Parvati became very happy seeing this.
19- Yaksha Avatar
Yaksha incarnation was assumed by Lord Shiva to remove the unjust and false pride of the gods. According to religious texts, when a terrible poison came out during the churning of the ocean by gods and demons, Lord Shankar took that poison and kept it in his throat. After this the nectar pot came out. By drinking the nectar, not only did all the gods become immortal but they also became proud that they were the most powerful.To break this pride of the gods, Lord Shiva took the form of a Yaksha and placed a straw in front of the gods and asked them to cut it. Even with all his might, the gods could not cut the straw. Then a voice came from the sky that this Yaksha is Lord Shankar, the destroyer of all pride. All the gods praised Lord Shankar and sought forgiveness for their crime.
Yam sannyasamiti prahuryogam tam viddhi pandava.
Na hyasanyastasankalpo yogi bhavati kashchan..
🚩🙏🏻 Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah Sukhasya Moolam Dharmah 🚩
bhaj mana🙏
Om Shantish Shantish Shantih