Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) is one of the Trimurti (the Hindu equivalent of the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity) who along with Bramha ( the creator) and Bishnu ( the preserver) rules the universe.
Shaivism has described Lord Shiva as one of the supreme deity who has got wonderful power by which he can accomplish the work of both creator and destroyer. The followers of lord Shiva are called as Shaivites or Shaivas. The Shaivas called Lord Shiva as Mahadeva. ( Mahadeva means great god) maha means great and deva means god. Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) is also known as Mahesvara which denotes the meaning of great Lord. Maha means great and isvara means the lord. Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) is called as Paramesvara which means supreme lord. The word Param denotes the meaning of supreme in the Indian language and isvara means lord. The followers of Saivaism worships lord Shiva as a caring family man who has married goddesses Durga and the holy couple has two sons and two daughters. The sons and daughters of lord Shiva are Laxmi, Sarawasti, Ganesh and Kartik.
According to some cult of Hinduism, Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) is also the husband of goddesses Kali. The followers of goddess Kali ( Shaktas) also worship Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) as a manifestation of divinity. Here in the Shavik cult of worship the lord Shiva has not only been worshiped as a destroyer but also as a preserver as he preserves his wife and children. The two most loyal associates of lord Shiva are Nandi and Vringi. These are two very powerful persons who works on the command of their lord . According to the Shivapuran (the Hindu mythology on the activities of lord Shiva) lord Shiva has sometimes been depicted as a man who roams in the necropolis
and does not feel for his wife and also for his children. Nandi, Bhringi and the Ghosts are the associates of Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) when he stays in necropolis.
Other branches of Hindu religion worships him as one of the five manifestations of the divinity. In the Smarta tradition of the Hinduism Shiva (the Creator and Destroyer) is worshiped as a divine manifestation. According to the Smarta tradition there are 5 manifestations of Divinity and lord Shiva is just one of these 5 manifestations. These 5 manifestations are Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Surya and Devi.
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