Compiled

By
T Mohan
This is a small effort I have made with the grace of
God Shiva.

This ebook is made available free of cost.

You can distribute freely to other readers,friends and

relatives.

T Mohan
Chennai
Tamilnadu
India.
Five Elements of Nature
Who is God Shiva

Bhagwad Gita , the Bible of Hindus, makes it clear

that there is only and one God of the Universe.It
again says that that one God has created a Trinity of
himself as God Brahma, God Vishnu and God Shiva
under him in order to carry on his activities of
Generation (G), Operation (O) and Destruction (D).
Again this is confirmed by God himself in the
Bhagwadgita by his "Viswaroopam"(Sanskrit word
meaning Giant and in explicable form )

This is actually resembled in the system followed by

us in an organization where there will be a Boss
followed by Deputies and a hierarchy of people up to
the last level of the errand boy.
The three chief Gods are Brahma (Creator), Vishnu
(Protector) and Shiva (Destroyer) though all are one
and the same.Among these three, Shiva is said to
be the supreme as he holds the portfolio of
maintaining the entire system.
Otherwise, the life in the universe will be in turmoil.

Lord Shiva is also known by numerous names and

the most common are Mahadeva, Mahayogi,
Pashupati, Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava,
Bhole Nath.

Holy word "NaMaSiVaYa"

The word 'NaMaSiVaYa' stands for Na=Earth,

Ma=Water, Si=Fire,Va=Air and Ya=Space(cosmos
or time).This is a single word denoting that all these
elements are from God Shiva only.
The chanting of this holy word (mantra)with faith in
this God is said to cleanses and curtail the evils
surrounding us .That means leading a healthy life
with bliss.

There are innumerable recordings by the 63 saints

(disciples of God Shiva ) and the rulers and ordinary
people of India and the people from other counties
the world over to prove this.

Why God Shiva as "Linga"

Puranas(Mythology) tell us that there was a dispute

between God Vishnu and God Brahma as to who
was superior.They approached God Siva to judge
who was really superior among the two.
God Siva grew into a sheet of fire or "Jyothir linga
"(Sanskrit meaning Linga of light ) which

stood extending between earth (land)and

heaven(sky), and asked them to find the foot and
crown. of his person.

God Brahma took the form a swan and flew to seek

the crown of God Shiva. But he could not reach the
crown. But in the upward journey,he caught hold of a
flower of Thazmpoo (Fragant Screw Pine in
English)falling from Siva's crown. Brahma requested
the flower to stand a false witness that he collected it
from Siva's crown . Knowing this Lord Siva cursed
Brahma that he would never be worshipped in the
temple, and banished the said Thazampoo flower
from his adornment and the poojas done in his
name.

God Vishnu assumed the form of pig and kept

digging down into the earth .But he returned
disappointed for not finding the feet of God Siva. He
declared his inability also to God Shiva .who in turn
was touched by the humility of Vishnu and took him
his heart.

Then, Shiva appeared out of the fire or 'jyothir linga'

and stated that he was the progenitor of them both
and that henceforth he should be worshiped in his
phallus form, that is the 'lingam', and not in his
anthropomorphic form.This holy event is reported to
have taken place at Thiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu,
India.

Pancha bootha Five Elements

In the ancient age, God Shiva is said to have

emerged in places to represent the five elements of
Nature.These elements are familiar to us as Land,
Air, Water, Fire and Sky (cosmos or time).
These Five elements are known as "Panchabootha"
in Sanskrit. ("Pancha " is Five and "Bootha' denotes
elements)The Five places where God Shiva has
represented these five elements are known as
"Panchabootha Sthalamgal. All the five pilgrimage
centers are located in South India: Four in
Tamilnadu and One in Andhrapradesh.An ardent
Hindu person would like to visit these ancient
temples and worship the god for his blessings.

Element "EARTH" as Sri Ekambereswarar

This holy place is in Kancheepuram town, which is

75 Kms from the Chennai City, Tamilnadu. The town
is known as the city of temples and is one of the
India's seven sacred cities for Hindus.

The shrine of God Shiva known as Ekambereswarar

temple is the largest temple in the town of
Kancheepuram andis located in the northern part of
the town. Shiva is worshipped in the form of as Earth
Linga (made out of river sand)The temple has
eleven-storey gopuram (gateway tower) and
embellished with beautiful sculptures and is one of
the tallest 59 meters temple towers in South
India.This town forms the seat of Shankaracharaya
(the Indian philosopher who consolidates the
doctrine of Advaita Vedanta or non dualism).
Element "WATER" -Sri Jumbukeshwarar

According to the mythology, two Ganas (Siva's

disciples who live in Kailash,that is Mount Himalaya)
used to quarrel with each other for one thing or
other. During one such duel,they cursed each other
as to become an elephant and a spider on earth.

The elephant and the spider came to

Jambukeswaram near the River Cauvery in
Tamilnadu,India and continued their Shiva worship:
the elephant brought water from the river to conduct
daily ablution to the lingam under the Jambu tree
and the spider tried to cover the lingam from the dry
leaves and the sunlight falling on it .

One day the elephant noticed the webs and thought

it was dust spoiling the glory of lingam. So
immediately tore them and cleaned the lingam by
pouring water.

These episodes of spreading the web by the spider

and the removal of same by elephant continued and
became a routine affair. So the spider got so
annoyed on one day that it crawled into the trunk of
the elephant and bit the animal to death.

God Shiva, in the form of Jambukeswara, moved by

the deep devotion of the the elephant and the
spider, relieved them from the curses.

In the next birth, the spider was born as the King

Kochengot Chola who built 70 temples including this
temple. Remembering his enmity with the elephant
in his previous birth, he built the Shiva Shrine
(sanctum) such that not even a small elephant can
enter. The entrance on the sanctorum of
Jambukeswara is only 4 foot high and 2.5 foot wide

As an elephant worshipped Shiva here, this place

came to be called as Thiru Aanai Kaa ("Thiru
"means "holy"," Aana"i is elephant, "kaa means
forest). ]Later the name Thiruaanaikaa becomes
'Thiruvanaikaval' and 'Thiruvanaikoil'.
Element "FIRE" as Sri Arunachaleswarar

This temple for God Shiva displaying the form of Fire

is situated in Thiruvannamalai town of Tamilnadu:
About 198 kilometers away from Chennai,
Tamilnadu.

This town has the sacred mountain (which is said to

be God Shiva himself) with a height of 266ft above
sea level.

The innermost shrine or sanctum, where the deity is

seen, was reported to be built by the Chola Kings
during the Eighth Century AD.Later, the outer
shrines were raised by the rulers of other kingdoms.

The Tallest tower (East gopuram)of this temple was

constructed by King KrishnaDeyaraya of VijayNagar
Empire (the famous Hampi town, in Andhra Pradesh,
India). The tower has 11 storeys with total height
measuring 217 feet .The towers, the pillars in the
halls (Mantapams in Tamil) and Domes (Vimananms
in Tamil) display Sculptures of Excellence.

Element "AIR" as Sri Kalahasteeswarar

The holy place of Air element of God Shiva is in

SriKalahasti town of AndhraPradesh.
The temple is near Tirupati about 150 KMs from
Chennai City .Located on the banks of the river
Swarnamukhi.This is the place where Kannappa,
one of the 63 Saivite Nayanars, was ready to pluck
both his eyes to stop the blood flowing from the Siva
linga when God Siva stopped him and granted
liberation.The temple was constructed in the 12th
century by the Chola king, Rajarajendra.

God Shiva is reportedly taken the form of Air ( Vauyu

in Sanskrit )and worshipped as Kalahasteeswara
.The leading deity is the vayu (air) linga.
The flame of the oil lamp inside the shrine can be
seen to flicker even though the linga is enclosed by
four walls. Which is said to denote the existence of
the God as Air?

Element "SKY" as Sri Chidamberswarar

" Chidambaram" , a tamil word, can be derived from

"chit" meaning "consciousness", and
"ambaram"meaning "sky" (from aakasam or
aakayam). Sky of Consciousness is the ultimate aim,
one should attain according to all the Vedas and any
scriptures.

The temple is located in the heart of the temple town

of Chidambaram,Tamil Nadu, India.The temple ,
About 78 km south of Pondicherry and 235 Km from
Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state .The temple
complex is spread over 50 acres .A unique feature in
this temple is the bejeweled image of Nataraja. God
Shiva is depicted as Lord of the classical dance
Bharatanatyam.

Another specialty of the temple is that God Shiva is

represented by a Human form rather than the usual
and classic shape of Phallus or Lingam. The Cosmic
Dance symbolises the motion of the universe as
sustained by GodShiva. The temple
For details of the places and temples of Five Elements, these links can be useful.

Chidambaram Temple
Location, significance and history of the Chidambaram temple are available
For Tourist information
Here get to know about tourism in South India in general and about all the
temples in that region of Indian continent.
City of Temples and Silk
Comprehensive information on temples in Kancheepuram town and the
world famous , handwoven Silk clothings.

Quote from Bhagwan Ramanamaharshi

Those who have discovered great Truths, have done so in the still
depths of the Self (Mind)