SHIVŬ, THE DESTROYER.
The third personage in the Hindū trinity is Shivŭ, the Destroyer: he is represented as a silver-coloured man, with five faces; an additional eye and a half-moon grace each forehead; he has four arms; he sits on a lotus, and wears a tiger-skin garment. Nandi is the epithet always given to the white bull, the vehicle of Shivŭ, on which he is frequently seen riding; in his temple it is represented sometimes of great dimensions, couchant, and it is commonly met with in brass. The Nandi is often represented couchant, bearing the particular emblem the type of Shivŭ, crowned by the five heads of the god; the trident, called trisula, is his usual accompaniment. Durgā and Satī are his consorts.
Having thus given a brief account of the Hindū trinity, or emanations of the “One Brŭmhŭ without a second,” let me return to Vishnŭ, the second personage of the triad, and trace him through his various descents.