Lord Shiva is regarded as one of the most powerful Hindu Gods. He is known by many other names like Mahadeva, Adiyogi, Natraja, Mahayogi, Bholenath, and Shankar by his devotees. He is also referred to as Tryambaka, Trayambakeshwar, Trinetra or Trilochana for the third eye which is placed on the center of his forehead. Shiva’s third eye is the eye of wisdom which is free from all illusions. Lord Shiva’s third eye can even see things which are not physical, like air which is not seen by our eyes.
Lord Shiva is the AadiYogi which means that he is meditating from the beginning of time and thus his third eye is a symbolic energy he possess. The third eye is also called the Ajna Chakra (it is the sixth primary chakra in the body according to Hindu tradition)!
Lord Shiva’s third eye is also known as eye of wisdom or eye of destruction. It is believed that Lord Shiva opens the third eye in extreme cases when there is no more space left for forgiveness and there is no question of granting another chance. Are you curious to know the incidences when did Lord Shiva opened his eyes? Read it to know!
When did Lord Shiva open his third eye?
1. To destroy Kaama (lust):
As per legend, Lord Shiva opened his third eye for the first time to destroy Kamadeva. This is one of the most famous Lord Shiva’s story goes as following, Lord Shiva was enraged by the death of his first wife, Sati. He was completely devastated and angry. He abandoned his duties and went into severe meditation. Even when Sati was reborn as Parvati, he wouldn’t come out of meditation, He awakened only when Kamdeva hurled his Kamabana on Shiva. He got very angry with this act of Kamdeva for disturbing him made him open his third eye to burn Kamadeva to ashes.
2. To destroy Lord Indra’s arrogance:
According to Shiva Purana, when Indra and Brihaspati were going towards Mount Kailash to meet Lord Shiva, their way was blocked by a naked yogi with matted hair and a radiant face. The yogi was Lord Shiva himself, who had taken the form to test the knowledge of Indra and Brihaspati. Indra did not recognize the yogi and was infuriated at the fact that the man was not moving out of their way. Indra asked him to move but the man did not budge. After getting no reply Indra became enraged and threatened him with his thunderbolt. Lord Shiva neutralized the thunderbolt and Indra’s arm became paralyzed. Shiva became angry with this action of Indra and his eyes turned red and Indra was frightened. This anger caused Shiva’s third eye to open, nearly killing Indra. Brihaspati recognized Shiva and prayed to him, requesting him to pardon Indra. Lord Shiva forgave Indra and in order to save Indra, Shiva sent the fire from his eye towards the ocean and upon meeting with the ocean it assumed the form of a boy which was known as Jalandhara.
3. A Demon from The Third Eye:
As per another tale Pippalada (son of sage Dadhichi ) wanted to take revenge from the Gods for killing his father and he started praying to Lord Shiva. Shiva granted him the wish that will be complete only Pippalada would be able to see the third eye of Lord Shiva. Pippalada performed severe penance for years and became successful in seeing the third eye of Shiva. Soon, a demon appeared from Shiva’s third eye and attacked Pippalada first. When shocked Pippalada confronted Shiva, he was told that his own body was made up by Gods. Shiva was then able to convince Pippalada to forget about revenge as it would not bring back his father.
4. Bhairav manifested from Lord Shiva’s third eye:
Once, there was a bet placed between Brahma and Vishnu to prove who is greater between them, and who should be worshipped first. Lord Brahma lied and tried to trick Lord Vishnu to win the competition. Lord Shiva got angry after watching this opened his third eye and ‘Bhairav’ was manifested from it. Lord Shiva asked Bhairav to kill Lord Brahma. Bhairav cut one head of Lord Brahma with his sword. Lord Brahma was scared and he was trembling with fear. Lord Vishnu felt pity for Brahma and requested Lord Shiva to forgive him. Lord Shiva then asked Bhairav to stop. He said to Lord Brahma – “You lied with a desire to win the competition so that you can be worshipped first”. Then Lord Shiva cursed Brahma that he will not be worshipped by anybody and he will possess only four heads. Lord Brahma begged for forgiveness. Lord Shiva was feeling pity for Brahma and he blessed him with a boon of being the presiding deity of all the yagya (Yajna). To know more please read here.
Q – What happens if lord shiva opens his third eye?
A – Lord Shiva’s third eye is known for destruction, if he opens the third eye, it destroys everything it sees.
Q – How many times Lord Shiva opened his third eye?
A – As per Hindu mythology, there are a total four incidences when Lord Shiva has opened his third eye.
Q – What is the story behind Shiva’s third eye?
A – In the Sixth chapter of Mahabharat, the story of Lord Shiva’s third eye has been mentioned. It follows that once Lord Shiva was meeting with Rishis & other deities at Kailas mountain and then Parvarti, his wife came and closed both eyes of Lord Shiva’s eyes just in joke. As soon as Parvati closed the Lord Shiva’s eyes, the whole world got dark like there is no sun. Lord Shiva could not see this and he got this third eye from his meditation power to bring light to the life.
Do you know any other incident when Lord Shiva opened his third eye, let us know in the comment section.
1 comment
nice blog!