Where did Lord Shiva come from with snake, Damru, Trishul, Tripund and Nandi?

Shiva’s trident

The only image that emerges in the mind by meditating on Lord Shiva is that of a recluse man. He has a trident in one hand, a drum in the other, a snake garland around his neck and Tripund sandalwood on his head. There is a half moon on the forehead and a braid on the head from which the stream of Ganga is flowing. When one meditates a little deeper, his vehicle Nandi is also seen along with him. It means to say that these 7 things are associated with Shiva.
Wherever you go in the world, you will definitely see these 7 things along with Shiva in Shivalaya. Let us know how his relationship with Shiva came into existence i.e. how he got connected with Lord Shiva. Did he appear along with Shiva or did he become associated with Shiva with different events?
Lord Shiva is the best connoisseur of all types of weapons, but in the mythology, there is mention of his two main weapons, one is a bow and the other is a trident.

The killing of Tripurasura and the dishonor of Arjuna are two such incidents where Lord Shiva demonstrated his archery. Whereas Trishul has been used many times by Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva had killed Shankhachuda with the trident. With this, Lord Ganesha was beheaded and Lord Vishnu, who was trapped in the web of attachment in Varaha incarnation, was disillusioned and forced to go to Vaikuntha.
There is a story about Lord Shiva’s bow that it was invented by Lord Shiva himself. But there is no story about how the trident came to them.
It is believed that at the beginning of creation, when Shiva appeared from Brahmanaad, along with it, the three qualities Sat, Raja, Tama also appeared. These three qualities became the three prongs i.e. Trishul of Lord Shiva.

It was difficult to operate the universe without maintaining harmony among them. Therefore Shiva held these three qualities in his hands in the form of a trident.

Lord Shiva’s Damru

Lord Shiva has been described as the destroyer in the Vedas and Puranas. Whereas the Nataraja form of Shiva is exactly the opposite. They are happy and dance. At this time, Shiva has an instrument in his hands which is called Damru.
Its shape is like a sand clock which symbolizes the balance of day, night and time. Shiva is also like this. One of his forms is that of a recluse and the other is that of a foodie who dances and lives with his family.
Therefore, Damru is the most appropriate musical instrument for Shiva. It is also believed that just as Shiva is the original god, similarly Damru is also the original musical instrument.

Know how Damru came into the hands of Shiva

The story of Damru coming into the hands of Lord Shiva is very interesting. When Goddess Saraswati appeared in the beginning of the creation, the Goddess gave birth to sound in the creation with the sound of her Veena. But this sound was without tune and music.
At that time, Lord Shiva played the Damru fourteen times while dancing and from this sound the rhythm and sound of grammar and music were born. It is said that Damru is the form of Brahma which appears wide from a distance but as we get closer to Brahma, it gets narrower and meets the other end and then moves towards vastness. Lord Shiva had also appeared carrying this with him for balance in the universe.

Where did the poisonous snake come from around Shiva’s neck?

Lord Shiva is always accompanied by a snake. The name of this snake is Vasuki. It is told about this snake in the Puranas that he is the king of snakes and he rules over Naglok. During the churning of the ocean, he worked as a rope with which the ocean was churned.
It is said that Vasuki Nag was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Pleased with his devotion, Lord Shiva made him the king of Nagalok and also gave him the boon of keeping him wrapped around his neck like an ornament.

This is how Nandi became Shiva’s vehicle.

According to the story found in the Puranas about Nandi, Nandi and Shiva are actually one and the same. Shiva himself was born in the form of Nandi. There is a story that a sage named Shilad got freed from the illusion and became engrossed in penance.
Due to this, their ancestors and forefathers were worried that their lineage would come to an end. On the advice of his ancestors, Shilad did penance to Lord Shiva and got an immortal son who came to be known as Nandi.
Being a part of Shiva, Nandi wanted to stay close to Shiva. Due to the penance of Lord Shiva, Nandi became prominent in the ranks of Shiva and got the good fortune of becoming Shiva’s vehicle in the form of Taurus.

How did the moon reach Shiva’s head?

According to Shiva Purana, Chandrama was married to 27 daughters of Daksh Prajapati. These girls are 27 constellations. Among these, Chandrama had special affection for Rohini. When other girls complained about this to Daksh, Daksh cursed the moon to decay.
To save himself from this curse, Chandrama did penance to Lord Shiva. Pleased with Chandrama’s penance, Lord Shiva saved Chandrama’s life and gave her a place on his head.
The place where Chandrama did penance is called Somnath. It is believed that the moon keeps increasing and decreasing due to the curse of Daksh.

This is how Tripunda appeared on Shiva’s forehead.

There are three lines made of Bhabhut (ash) on the forehead of Lord Shiva. It is believed that it is a symbol of all three worlds. It is also considered a symbol of Raja, Tama and Sat qualities. But there is a very interesting story of how these three lines of ghost appeared on Shiva’s forehead.
According to the Puranas, after Sati immolates herself in the Yagya Kund of Daksh Prajapati, Lord Shiva assumes a fierce form and starts creating havoc in the Trilok by taking Sati’s body on his shoulders. At last Vishnu disintegrates Sati’s body with the Chakra. After this, Lord Shiva applies the ashes of the Havan Kund on his forehead and thus places the memory of Sati on his forehead in the form of Tripunda.

This is how Ganga got absorbed in Shiva’s hair.

The incident of Ganga sitting on the forehead of Lord Shiva is believed to be related to King Bhagiratha. The story is that Bhagiratha had brought Ganga down from heaven to earth to liberate the sons of his ancestor Sagar. But there are many stories behind this story due to which Bhagiratha’s efforts were successful.
It is said that Brahma’s daughter Ganga was very capricious. One day when sage Durvasa came to take bath in the river, his clothes got blown away by the wind and then Ganga laughed. An angry Durvasa cursed Ganga that she would go to earth and sinners would wash away their sins in her.
After this incident, Bhagiratha’s penance started and Lord Shiva gave a boon to Bhagiratha and asked Ganga to come from heaven to earth. But to protect the earth from the speed of Ganga, Lord Shiva had to tie it in his locks. The story also goes that Ganga wanted to be close to Shiva, hence before descending to earth she took a fierce form. To handle this situation, Lord Shiva placed Ganga in his locks.

Atha chittaam samadhaatum na shakroshi mayi sthiram.
Abhyasa yogen tato mamichhaptun dhananjay

Jai Shri Mahalakshmi ji