Although known as the most auspicious Shiva, and white in color in contrast to Lord Vishnu who is darker, He has been the object of worship by many schools of tantra, some of whom follow sexual cults and other the negative paths in search of self-realization. The fact that a great mass of heterogeneous cults and practices came to be associated with Lord Shiva, suggests that in His unlimited wisdom and boundless love as a World Teacher and Father of all, Lord Shiva, gives immense freedom to His followers to chose whatever path they want to follow for their self-realization. To the followers of Vira Saiva cult, He is Virabhadra, valor personified. In His terrific forms, He is Rudra. He is also worshipped as Bhairavamurthy, Pataleswar and so on. His names are endless. So does His popularity. Even as early as the 2nd Century A.D., His fame spread beyond the boundaries of the Indian Subcontinent and spread to Central Asia. As the Hindu culture spread to far east, temples were built in His Honor in many places like Java, Champa ( Indo-China), Kambhoja ( present day Cambodia) and in the adjoining areas of the now south east Asian countries. Some of these temples were built there as early as 5th Century A.D.
Har Har Mahadev ~ Jai Bholenath!!
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