Lord Shiva – The ultimate reality of life:  Chapter 6

Lord shiva as सदाशिव (Sadāśiva)?

सदा (Sada) means always and शिव (Shiva) means benevolent, so meaning Sadashiva means one who is always benevolent. It is the highest form of Lord Shiva. 

He is traditionally shown with five faces and ten arms.

The five faces of Sadashiva are ईशान (Ishana), तत्पुरुष(Tatpurusha), अघोर (Aghora), वामदेव (Vamadeva) and सद्योजात (Sadyojata).

Five faces of Sadashiva and their Shakti:

ईशान (Ishana) is a sanskrit ruler or Supreme lord. 

An upward facing head that represents pure consciousness and अनुग्रह (Anugraha) means grace. It also represents the element आकाश (Akash) means ether.

तत्पुरुष(Tatpurusha) in a sanskrit  तत् (tat) means Supreme and पुरुष (Purusha) means Person. 

An eastern face represents आनन्द (Ananda) which means bliss and तिरोभाव) (Tirobhava) means concealment. It also represents the element वायु (Vayu) means Air. 

अघोर (Aghora) in Sanskrit अ (a) means not and घोर (ghora) means terrible, means the one who is not terrifying or fearless. 

The south face represents समाहार शक्ति (Samhara Shakti) means of power dissolution and ज्ञान(Jnana) which means knowledge as well as power of regeneration. It also represents the element अग्नि (Agni) means Fire.

वामदेव (Vamadeva) in Sanskrit वाम (Vama) means beautiful and देव (Dev) means deity, meaning the one who is a beautiful deity.

The North face represents स्थिति शक्ति (Sthithi Shakti) which means power of preservation. It also represents the element आप (Apa) means Water.

 सद्योजात (Sadyojata) in Sanskrit  सद्य (sadyaḥ) means immediately or new and जात (jata) means born, meaning the one who is born just now or one who is alive in every movement.

The West face represents सृष्टि-शक्ति (Srishti Shakti) which means desire and power of creation. It also represents the element पृथ्वी (Prithvi) means Earth.

Lord Sadashiva is worshipped to receive grace and liberation.

ॐ सांब सदाशिव नमो नमः ||