Snakes are dangerous reptile feared by many of us. Lord Shiva shows us that he controls fear and death by wearing snake as an ornament. Shiva is Pashupatinath, the lord of all creatures. By wearing the snake around his neck, Lord Shiva gives us the assurance that no evil can touch us or destroy us once we surrender to him, seek his protection and worship him with deep devotion. Serpents on his neck signify the ego which one mastered can be worn as an ornament. Three rounds of snake around Shiva's neck depicts future, present and past. It states that Lord Shiva is Independent of Time and controls time.
Matsya Purana states that Shiva should be garlanded with snakes. Most images of Shiva in modern day only depict a single snake around his neck and there are many stories related to Shiva wearing snake as necklace. Shiva made ornaments of poisonous snakes and submitted it to Maa Parvati as gift on their marriage. Snakes, especially cobras, are said to carry ‘mani’ (rubies) in their head. It is said that these rubies serve as lamp during night to Parvati and Shiva.
The most famous legend of Lord Shiva’s association with snakes is when he drinks the Halahala from Snake Vasuki’s mouth during the churning of ocean to get Amrit, nectar. From that day onwards Shiva is called Neelkanth. There is also a story that when the snake species were in danger, and they approach Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva gave them shelter by letting them stay in Kailasha. But due to cold weather, the snakes used to approach Lord Shiva for warmth of his body. Thus, He as a protector wore these snakes as ornament to provide them warmth. The snake also stands for the power of kundalini, which is described as a coiled serpent lying dormant in the muladhara chakra of all human beings and descends upwards when one starts ones spiritual journey and becomes increasingly divine oriented. ππ»✨ππππππ·πππΏπππ¨ππ»
Hari Om Tat Sat ~ Har Har Mahadev ~Jai Pashupatinath Ji ππ»ππππ»
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