i read that Lord Shiva is master of both Meditation & Yoga.
Mahadeva.
Shiva (/ˈʃivə/; Sanskrit: Śiva, meaning 'The Auspicious One', also known as Mahadeva ('Great God'), is one of the three major deities of Hinduism. Shiva is distinct from Vishnu and Brahma yet one with them. He is Anant, one who is neither found born nor found dead. He is the Greatest of the Gods within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism. He is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta Tradition, and 'the Transformer'.
At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formless. Shiva also has many benevolent and fearsome forms. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya, and in fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.
The main iconographical attributes of Shiva are the third eye on his forehead, the snake Vasuki around his neck, the adorning crescent moon, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the trishula trident as his weapon and the damaru drum as his musical instrument.
Mantras.
Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namaḥ śivāya).
Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans. As forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography.
According to Śaiva Agama, Lord Shiva performs five actions - creation, preservation, dissolution, concealing grace, and revealing grace. Each of the five actions corresponds to a name and form of Shiva with varying attributes. These five names are:
Sadyojāta - Creation. Earth.
Vāmadeva - Preservation. Water.
Aghora - Dissolution/Rejuvenation. Fire.
Tatpuruṣa - Concealing Grace. Air.
Īsāna - Revealing Grace. Ether.
There are other meanings as well, depending on forms.
According to Gavin Flood, 'Shiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox,' whose attributes include opposing themes. The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.
Nataraja & Mahakala, Wand & the Drum.
One of forms and roles of Shiva is Nataraja.
The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Sanskrit: naṭarāja, 'Lord of Dance') is popular. The names Nartaka ('dancer') and Nityanarta ('eternal dancer') appear in the Shiva Sahasranama. His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period. In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: nṛtyamūrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu in particular. The two most common forms of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance as Kala-Mahakala associated with the destruction of the world. When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Lord Śiva does it by the tāṇḍavanṛtya. and Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed to the goddess Parvati. Lasya is regarded as the female counterpart of Tandava. The Tandava-Lasya dances are associated with the destruction-creation of the world.
A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru.
This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for 'ḍamaru-hand') is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.
In Tibetan Buddhism, the damaru is used as an instrument in tantric practices. A few of insights that i had was that world destruction is understood as ego destruction, world in my or someone else's head destruction & recreation.
Khaṭvāṅga is staff or wand used by Kāpālika sect as well.
..The Khatvanga (Skt.) could be called a magic wand or magicians' stick and represents the 'magic powers' or siddhis (Skt.) of an accomplished tantric practitioner.
'The shaft of the khatvangha has eight sides which represent the Noble Eightfold path (the fourth Noble Truth) and the eight classes of protectors.
At the end of the shaft is a dorje representing totality and completion. Along the shaft of the khatvangha are crossed dorjes, a gTérbum and three heads. The crossed dorjes are symbolic of the indestructibility of beginningless wisdom mind. The gTérbum is symbolic of wealth and enrichment. The three heads – one freshly severed, one rotting and one a skull – are the symbols of the three spheres of being, chö-ku, long-ku and trül-ku [Nirmanakaya, the middle one represents the Sambhogakaya, and the top one is a skull, representing the Dharmakaya] which are unified by the shaft of the khatvangha demonstrating their inseparability.
Streamers of the colours of the five elements hang from the khatvangha, as well as a bell and dorje which represent emptiness and form. At the top of the khatvangha are the three prongs which pierce the fabric of attraction, aversion and indifference. Hanging from the prongs are two pairs of rings. These signify the four philosophical extremes that are denied by Dharma: eternalism and nihilism, monism and dualism.
Finally the khatvangha is surmounted by wisdom fire – the fire that burns self-protection, justification and referentiality.'
The top of the khatvanga can be formed by a vajra or a trident (often depicted with flames around it)
Sources: Shiva on Wikipedia, Sadyojata on Wikipedia, Damaru on Wikipedia, A View on Buddhism. TANTRIC SYMBOLS, Kali, Kundalini, Serpent.
Mahakala is Wrathful Deity, Guardian & Protecting Energy in Buddhism, for example in the Karma Kagyu Lineage, Diamond Way Buddhism led by Buddha Karmapa, currently in 17th incarnation Trinley Thaye Dorje. Maha means 'Great' ... Kala is 'Death', 'Time', 'Black'. Mahakala is translated with names of 'Black Cloak' & 'Great Black' as well.
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