Shiva, also called Mahadeva or Maheshvara, is one of India’s principal deities, beside Brahma and Vishnu. The name is read as “the destroyer” and as “the Auspicious One.”
Within the International Nath Order this is a principal name of the Cosmic Spirit, not a creed. Adinath is another name of the same Lord. Rudra is the older form; Bhairava is the fierce office of the Lord of Magick. Shakti is the power without which Shiva is shava—a corpse. The three primal Shaktis—Iccha, Jnana, Kriya—are his. Patron of yogis and wanderers, he is not a rule that the householder Nath must become a sadhu. The lingam is a sign, not the whole of the entry. Festival lore is on Mahashivaratri.