Significance Of Shiva's Third Eye

Lord Shiva is usually known for His third eye. The eye which emits flames and burns things to ashes. It is believed that when the Lord is extremely angry, He opens His third eye and punishes the culprit.

Many people assume that because of His destructive 'third eye', Lord Shiva is known as the destroyer.

Shiva's third eye is also sometimes known as the eye of wisdom. The right and left eye represent His activities in the physical world while the third eye symbolises His spiritual wisdom and power.

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Through His third eye, Lord Shiva is able to see beyond the apparent and destroy all evil.

The story of the origin of the third eye of Lord Shiva is quite interesting. Let us take a look as to why Lord Shiva developed the third eye.

Burning Of Kama

After the death of Sati, Lord Shiva was deeply grieved by Her death. So, Lord Shiva withdrew Himself to a cave and went into deep meditation. It is the time when Sati is reborn as Parvati and sets out to marry Lord Shiva. But in spite of all the effort of the Gods, Lord Shiva couldn't be brought out of the meditation.

Then the Gods sent Kama, the God of love, to bring Lord Shiva out of His penance. As Kama hit Lord Shiva with his arrow, the third eye of the Lord opened and burnt Kama to ashes.

Significance Of The Third Eye

Shiva's third eye thus represents the rejection of desire. It killed Kama, the God of love and desires. Shiva rejects desire because He understands that when the object of desire (Sati) goes away, there is immense sorrow and rage which develops in a being. Hence, to stay away from the desire is the best way to attain bliss.

Story Of Andhaka

Another story of the third eye of Lord Shiva is as follows. Once, Goddess Parvati playfully closed Lord Shiva's eyes with her palms. The universe was engulfed in darkness. So, Lord Shiva had to open His third eye to provide light and energy to the world.

The heat from the third eye caused Parvati's palms to perspire. And as the drop of perspiration fell on the ground it transformed into a child. The child was called Andhaka and was adopted by a childless Asura devotee of Lord Shiva. Andhaka grew up not knowing his true origin. He obtained a boon from Lord Shiva that he would die only when he aspires for a women he should never aspire for.

After acquiring the boon, Andhaka set out to conquer the world. During his venture he came across Parvati and was smitten by Her beauty. He chased Her and was killed by Lord Shiva.

This story also depicts the dark side of the third eye which rejects all worldly desires because the desires are also important for the survival of a human being. Without desire the world will come to stand still. There would be no reproduction, no regeneration.

Hence, the third eye of Lord Shiva has a great significance and is s source of great knowledge for humankind.

IMAGE COURTESY: Twitter