Etymology and other names

A statue of Shiva on Delhi-Gurgaon Highway

The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, śiva) is an adjective meaning "auspicious, kind, gracious".^[5][6] As a proper name it means "The Auspicious One", used as a euphemistic name forRudra.^[6] In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. The adjective śiva, meaning "auspicious", is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.^[7] In the Rig Veda, Indra uses this word to describe himself several times. (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3)

The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the god Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect.^[8] It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism.^[9]

Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", or "the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)" or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name."^[10] Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu sahasranama, further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means "the One who is eternally pure" or "the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas".^[11]

The name Shiva, in one interpretation, is speculated to have derived from the Dravidian word Siva, meaning "to be red", as a loan translation of Rudra, "the red".^{[dubious – discuss][12]}

Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great God";mahā = Great + deva = God),^[13][14] Maheśhvara ("Great Lord"; mahā = Great + īśhvara = Lord),^[15][16] and Parameśhvara ("Supreme Lord").^[17]

There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva.^[18] The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradition.^[19] Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.^[20][21]