It is important to know for staunch believers of Lord Shiva, what the story behind of the birth of Lord Shiva. Have a look.  As Lord Shiva carries a significant role in the Holy Trinity. On the other hand, Lord Brahma plays the role of a Creator and Lord Vishnu plays the role of the Preserver, Lord Shiva, is essentially the Destroyer.  Together these three Lords express nature’s rules, which is everything that is created is eventually destroyed.

The birth of these three Gods is a great mystery in itself. While many 'purans' assume that God Brahma and God Vishnu were born from God Shiva, there is no hardcore evidence to prove the same. This confusion brings us to another vital question which is how was God Shiva born?

Many believe that God Shiva is a Sayambhu – which means He is not born from a human body. He has created automatically! He was there when there was nothing and He will remain even after everything is destructed. That is why; he is also loving called as the ‘Adi-Dev’ which means the ‘Oldest God of the Hindu mythology.’ 

However, stories also suggest that this mighty Lord was created thanks to an argument between Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. Apparently, both these Lords were arguing with one another as to who was more superior. Suddenly, out of nowhere a blazing pillar appeared. The top and the root of the pillar was invisible and both the Gods heard an oracle which asked them to compete with one another. They both had to find the start and end of the blazing pillar.

To find this answer, Lord Brahma immediately transformed Himself into a goose and flew upwards to find the pillar top. Simultaneously, Lord Vishnu converted Himself into a boar and dug deep into the earth to find the end of the pillar. Both tried tirelessly but couldn’t locate the top or the end. When they both gave up, they found God Shiva waiting for them. This made them realize that there is another ultimate power that is ruling this universe and that is God Shiva! The eternity of the pillar actually symbolizes the never-ending eternity of God Shiva. 

While His birth continues to be a mystery, His avatars also garner a lot of questions for they too are quite extreme. While on one hand, he became Virabhadra to symbolize massive destruction and on another He took the form of Kaal Bhairava to protect the Sati Pind. 

On earth, God Shiva is also popularly worshipped in the form of the Linga – which are spread across the length and breadth of our country in the form of jyotirlingas. The Linga symbolizes masculinity and personifies God Shiva’s role in the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the Universe.