During the churning of the Milky Ocean by the Devas and Asuras, the serpent Vasuki began to emit large amounts of the dreded Kalakuta( poison), which was suffocating both. Listening to their mercy please, Lord Shiva  drank the entire poison, due to which his throat had turned blue from which he got one of his names Neelakantha ( One with a Blue Throat) . In a sense, Shiva's drinking of poison to save the Devas and Asuras is seen as God, bearing the sins of his devotees while protecting them from harm.

Bhagiratha  prayed to Lord Shiva for getting the Ganga to earth, which would flow over his ancestor's ashes and grant them salvation.However when Ganga was descending to Earth, she was still in a playful mood. She felt she would just rush down and sweep Shiva off his feet. Sensing her intentions, Shiva, imprisoned the falling Ganga in his locks. It  was again on Bhagiratha's plea, that Shiva let Ganga flow from his hair. The name Gangadhara comes from Shiva carrying Ganga on his head.


Shiva is represented as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, and there are two forms, Tandava, the fierce aspect representing destruction of  universe, and Lasya, the gentler one.

Shiva along with his consort Parvati is represented in the Ardhanarashvara form, which is a half male, half female icon. The concept is  of  the masculine energy(Purusha)  and feminine energy shakti ( Prakrithi)  of the universe. At another level, this is also used to symbolize that in a marital relationship, the wife is one half of the husband, and has an equal status.  That is the reason why Shiva-Parvati are often held as examples of a perfect marriage.