Bhagwan Shiv is considered as the most differently dressed among all our Gods and Goddesses, and every ornament and dressing of his has a significant reason behind it, which makes us understand the above principle that beauty is the one which radiates from within, but not an outer dressing.
The Snake – Considered as one of the fatal animal in the world, the snake is a reason which causes fear. Bhagwan Shiv by wearing it around his neck proves two things one that fear is a factor which can be conquered through facing it. Secondly he shows his compassion towards the animal by wearing it as his main ornament, and letting he world, that being powerful and deadly doesn’t mean being bad and all have their role to play in creation.
The Halahal – Known as the Neelkanth, Bhagwan Shiv bears the most powerful venom of the Universe which is the Halahal. During the Samudra Manthan, Bhagwan Shiv gulped the Halahal which came out of the Milky Ocean and kept it still in his throat to save the world from its poisonous fumes. Through this, he gave astrong message that we need to stop anything which is against nature and life and protect our world. By keeping control of Halahal, he denotes that anything bad is to be stopped from spreading and keep life and values safe and intact.
The Crescent moon – When Daksha cursed the Moon God to wane away with disease, the Moon God seeks refuge of Bhagwan Shiv. The compassionate god adorned the Moon God as his head jewel, by which the Moon God shone with radiance. Compassion is the greatest virtue one can practise and Bhagwan Shiv denotes it through his kindness on Moon God.
The Bhasma – Bhagwan Shiv smears ash all over his body gaining the name Bhasmadhaari. Ash is not something which has a perfume or a sweet fragnance, but is grey and black, denoting roughness and the end of life. By smearing the ash on his entire body, Bhagwan Shiv denotes detachment from life, and reminds life that everything which is born has to perish one day and become ash. Hence, it is important to develop the quality of detachment from self, and be more attached to Dharma and doing good to others.
The Rudraksh – Bhagwan Shiv wears the most precious dry flowers known as the Rudraksh around his neck. There are 108 Rudrakshas in the garland representing the elements used for the creation of the Universe. The number 108 is considered the most sacred number and by wearing 108 rudrakshas around his neck, Bhagwan Shiv conveys that everything in creation has a sacredness to it which must be respected.
The Skin of Tiger – Bhagwan Shiv adorns the tiger skin as his dress. This he did when the arrogant Rishis in the forest of Thillai sent the Vyaghra on him to attack him. Bhagwan Shiv simply tore open the tiger and adorned its skin around his body. The tiger is a symbol of arrogance here, and Bhagwan Shiv by wearing it around his body, proved that arrogance and pride never can win and he subdues them as easily as wrapping a cloth around his body.
Through his dressing, Bhagwan Shiv portrays the core principles of life and Dharma, and teaches mankind that beauty and dressing is one which radiates from within, but not in the outer looks. It is this uniqueness of his dressing which makes him different and special.