My salutations to the letter “Ya” , which is Shiva, Who takes the form of Yaksha, Who has a tufted hair, Who is armed with spear, Who is forever filled with peace, Who is godly, Who is the great God, And who wears the directions themselves as dress.!!

Yaksha swaroopaya jada dharaya, Pinaka hasthathaya sanathanaya, Divyaya devaaya digambaraya, Tasmai yakaraya namashivaya. ~ My salutations to the letter “Ya” , which is Shiva, Who takes the form of Yaksha, Who has a tufted hair, Who is armed with spear, Who is forever filled with peace, Who is godly, Who is the great God, And who wears the directions themselves as dress.!!‪ The Warrior Shiva, Rudra, Kailasanath, Pashupatinath, Jatadhari, Gangadhara, one with long matted hair. Matted hair is usually seen as a sign of uncleanliness. But in case of Shiva, He is beyond such worldly ideas. His matted hair or 'jata' shows that He is beyond the standard definitions of beauty and holiness. His matted hair denotes his spiritual life and his powers, his Power to hold River Ganga in his locks of hair. Ganga thought that no one would be able to withstand her power and descended to the Earth with all her power. Shiva decided to teach her a lesson and held her in his matted locks. Ganga tried to get free, but failed to escape from the Great Shiva. After one year of rigorous penance of Bhagiratha, Shiva was pleased and released Ganga. Ganga understood the greatness of Lord Shiva and asked for his forgiveness. Shiva is known as Gangadhara as Lord Shiva absorbed the flow of Ganga and saved the earth from flooding, by receiving Ganga on his matted locks.