Lord Shiva's 108 Names

Like God Vishnu, or Goddess Shakti, Lord Ganesha, Lord Rama, or Lord Krishna, one of the most important Hindu deities is Lord Shiva. In Hinduism, deities are called by many names, which describe them in different ways. These names often refer to specific stories about the deities, functions they perform, or ways of thinking about them. Study of these names is helpful to understanding deities from multiple points of view. Some names are used by more than one deity, so looking for names that uniquely describe a deity is one way to pinpoint their functions.

Lord Shiva is also known by hundreds of names. There are at least eight different versions of the "Shiva Sahasranama" (thousand names of Lord Shiva), devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva. The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradion. Again, the "Shri Rudram Chamakam", also known as the "Śatarudriya", is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names. The Shiva Purana lists 1008 names for Lord Shiva. Each of these names in Sanskrit signifies certain attribute of the Lord.

"108" is a common auspicious number for the Hindus, specially during chanting or offering something to God, e.g., offering 108 Tulsi / Bael leaves to the Lord, or like pouring 108 aahuti-s (offerings) in the yagna, or chanting 108 names of the Lord, and so on. Though some might opt for 1008 times, while others might opt for 100008 times, or some, even 28 times, and so on. Given here are 108 names of Lord Shiva with their meaning.

108 Names of Lord Shiva Serial No. Lord Shiva's Name Meaning 1 Aashutosh One who fulfills wishes instantly 2 Aja Unborn 3 Akshayaguna God with limitless attributes 4 Anagha Without any fault 5 Anantadrishti Of infinite vision 6 Augadh One who revels all the time 7 Avyayaprabhu Imperishable Lord 8 Bhairav Lord of terror 9 Bhalanetra One who has an eye in the forehead 10 Bholenath Kind hearted Lord 11 Bhooteshwara Lord of ghosts and evil beings 12 Bhudeva Lord of the earth 13 Bhutapala Protector of the ghosts 14 Chandrapal Master of the moon 15 Chandraprakash One who has moon as a crest 16 Dayalu Compassionate 17 Devadeva Lord of the Lords 18 Dhanadeepa Lord of Wealth 19 Dhyanadeep Icon of meditation and concentration 20 Dhyutidhara Lord of Brilliance 21 Digambara One who has the skies as his clothes 22 Durjaneeya Difficult to be known 23 Durjaya Unvanquished 24 Gangadhara Lord of River Ganga 25 Girijapati Consort of Girija 26 Gunagrahin Acceptor of Gunas 27 Gurudeva Master of All 28 Hara Remover of Sins 29 Jagadisha Master of the Universe 30 Jaradhishamana Redeemer from Afflictions 31 Jatin One who has matted hair 32 Kailas One Who Bestows Peace 33 Kailashadhipati Lord of Mount Kailash 34 Kailashnath Master of Mount Kailash 35 Kamalakshana Lotus-eyed Lord 36 Kantha Ever-Radiant 37 Kapalin One who wears a necklace of skulls 38 Khatvangin One who has the missile khatvangin in his hand 39 Kundalin One who wears earrings 40 Lalataksha One who has an eye in the forehead 41 Lingadhyaksha Lord of the Lingas 42 Lingaraja Lord of the Lingas 43 Lokankara Creator of the Three Worlds 44 Lokapal One who takes care of the world 45 Mahabuddhi Extremely intelligent 46 Mahadeva Greatest God 47 Mahakala Lord of All Times 48 Mahamaya Of great illusions 49 Mahamrityunjaya Great victor of death 50 Mahanidhi Great storehouse 51 Mahashaktimaya One who has boundless energies 52 Mahayogi Greatest of all Gods 53 Mahesha Supreme Lord 54 Maheshwara Lord of Gods 55 Nagabhushana One who has serpents as ornaments 56 Nataraja King of the art of dancing 57 Nilakantha The one with a blue throat 58 Nityasundara Ever beautiful 59 Nrityapriya Lover of Dance 60 Omkara Creator of OM 61 Palanhaar One who protects everyone 62 Parameshwara First among all gods First among all gods 63 Paramjyoti Greatest splendor 64 Pashupati Lord of all living beings 65 Pinakin One who has a bow in his hand 66 Pranava Originator of the syllable of OM 67 Priyabhakta Favorite of the devotees 68 Priyadarshana Of loving vision 69 Pushkara One who gives nourishment 70 Pushpalochana One who has eyes like flowers 71 Ravilochana Having sun as the eye 72 Rudra The terrible 73 Rudraksha One who has eyes like Rudra 74 Sadashiva Eternal God 75 Sanatana Eternal Lord 76 Sarvacharya Preceptor of All 77 Sarvashiva Always Pure 78 Sarvatapana Scorcher of All 79 Sarvayoni Source of Everything 80 Sarveshwara Lord of All Gods 81 Shambhu Abode of Joy 82 Shankara Giver of Joy 83 Shiva Always Pure 84 Shoolin One who has a trident 85 Shrikantha Of glorious neck 86 Shrutiprakasha Illuminator of the Vedas 87 Shuddhavigraha One who has a pure body 88 Skandaguru Preceptor of Skanda 89 Someshwara Lord of All Gods 90 Sukhada Bestower of happiness 91 Suprita Well pleased 92 Suragana Having Gods as attendants 93 Sureshwara Lord of All Gods 94 Swayambhu Self-Manifested 95 Tejaswani One who spreads illumination 96 Trilochana Three-Eyed Lord 97 Trilokpati Master of all the Three Worlds 98 Tripurari Enemy of Tripura 99 Trishoolin One who has a trident in his hands 100 Umapati Consort of Uma 101 Vachaspati Lord of Speech 102 Vajrahasta One who has a thunderbolt in his hands 103 Varada Granter of Boons 104 Vedakarta Originator of the Vedas 105 Veerabhadra Supreme Lord of the Nether World 106 Vishalaksha Wide-eyed Lord 107 Vishveshwara Lord of the Universe 108 Vrishavahana One who has bull as his vehicle