Shiva is known as the fatherless & motherless God in the Hindu religion.
You might think:
How a person or deity come into existence without a father and a mother! It’s weird!
Whether Shiva possesses parents or not, you are going to get your answer in this article today.
So let’s get started.
Father of Lord Shiva

I have to mention a story to tell you the names of his parents.
One day a saint asked Lord Shiva that who is his father.
Shiva replied that Brahma is his father.
Then the saint went on to ask him who is his grandfather…
Shiva replied that Vishnu is his grandfather.
Then the saint further went on to ask him who is his great grandfather.
Shiva replied that his own-self is his great grandfather!
Shiva’s reply boggled the mind of the saint.
Even Shiva’s reply is probably boggling your mind also…
How someone can be his own great grandfather?
Well, there’s another story behind this intricate reply of Shiva.
Here’s what once happened:
At the end of the last Kalpa, there was a little destruction taking place on earth. The whole earth was flooded with water.
Note: A Kalpa is equal is to 432 lakh years or 4.32 billion years, which is equal to a day for Lord Brahma.
Vishnu was sleeping on the water with his great snake Anant. Suddenly a lotus grew from his navel and after some while, Brahma arrived (Vishnu was playing with his lotus).
Brahma asked Vishnu, “Who are you and why are you sleeping on this water?”
Vishnu said, “I am Vishnu and I am the God of Everything.”
Brahma was not willing to accept Vishnu’s claim, so he asked Vishnu to enter his stomach to see that Brahma is the lord of the Universe.
Vishnu agreed and entered Brahma’s stomach. There he found lots of worlds, stars, mountains and living things including those that are yet to come into existence. Vishnu spent 1000 years and found that there is neither beginning nor end of Brahma’s stomach. Hence he came outside of Brahma’s stomach through his mouth. And Lord Vishnu finally accept Brahma as the lord of the Universe.
After that, Vishnu also asked Brahma to enter his stomach to see what’s inside.
Brahma did the same as per Vishnu’s request and found many worlds there. He also came to know that there is also neither beginning nor end in Vishnu’s stomach.
But Vishnu closed all his exits on his body and Brahma didn’t find any way to come out. Eventually, Brahma turned his body extremely small and came out from Vishnu’s navel. He climbed up the stem of the lotus and finally seated on the lotus flower.
Brahma was annoyed at Vishnu for his mischievous behavior. Vishu said that he was just playing with him and asked him to be friends. He also said that as a representation of their friendship, please give him the boon that henceforth Brahma will be known as his son. And Brahma happily agreed to Vishnu’s proposal.
Soon after that, Lord Shiva arrived there (Shiva was ten armed and fierce-looking). Vishu told Brahma that he is Shiva and they should bow down to him (Brahma was unable to recognize Shiva).
At first, Brahma refused to bow-down to Shiva. But as Vishnu was unhesitant to bow down to Lord Shiva, Brahma did the same.
Shiva said to Brahma, “What boon do you desire?”
Brahma said, “Please forgive me that I doubted you. And as a representation of your forgiveness, please give me the boon that you’ll be born as my son.”
Shiva gladly gave Brahma the desired boon.
This is the reason behind Shiva’s intricate reply.
Note: This event took place in some of the kalpas. What happened in the very first Kalpa is unknown.
Now, in case of finding the mother of Lord Shiva…
We need to debate further.
Mother of Lord Shiva
By going back to the aforementioned story of Lord Shiva and the saint…
The saint also asked Shiva lastly, “Who is your mother?”
Lord Shiva replied, “SHAKTI IS OUR MOTHER”.
Why all these confusions?
How a Devi or a female being can be the mother of all of these three gods?
See this:
Actually, Lord Shiva has not any parents!
He is called SWAYAMBHU (self-created). Meaning, he is created by his own-self.
And not only Shiva but also Brahma & Vishnu are also self-created.
They don’t need a biological Yoni or Womb to create themselves.
Astounding! Right?
But what shakti actually is?
By using the term SHAKTI Shiva is implying the infinite divine feminine energy KUNDALINI.
Note: Kundalini is the primordial spiritual energy resides in all living things (humans, animals, birds & fishes), that is resposible for our spiritual growth.
The Kundalini is inexplicable energy that can create & manifest any kind of thing according to one’s own will, whether it’s multi-dimensional divine energy or 3-Dimensional material energy…
…there’s no limitation!
And since he is Swayambhu (not born out of biological sexual energy), the Kundalini Energy is responsible for creating Shiva’s form or body. Hence, she’s the mother of him as well as of the other two deities (Brahma & Vishnu) of the Trimurti.
Apart from giving form to Shiva, there are also many forms of Kundalini Shakti in Shiva, which plays many different roles. But I’ll not talk about them in this article as they are not part of the discussion of this article.
So now you know that Shiva has no father and mother. And more accurately, his own-self is his both mother & father.
What do you think about Shiva’s origin?
General FAQs
It is said that Lord Shiva is unborn, who has not any origin.
Though Shiva is said to be unborn, Shiva once said that Lord Brahma is his father.
In accordance with the unborn nature of Lord Shiva, it can be metaphorically interpreted that Shakti is his mother.
This is an utterly stupid question. Since he is unborn, he never dies. He is God.
Elsewhere I read about the Creator God of Hindu religion that above Brahma, Bishnu and Shiva there is another supreme being above all three …
It is most probably in Wikipedia
Please give your comment on this
As for me I am also an enthusiast of religious philosophies of different religions..
Please let me know the source reference of your this article?
Yes, above all the Trinity Gods (Brahma, Vishnu & Maheshwara) there is a concept of a supreme being in Hindu religion, which is called “Para Brahman”. The Para Brahman always remains unmanifested and never come into existence by getting a form. The Para Brahman is neither space nor a vacuum. It is beyond all of the things that we can perceive.
It is all-pervading, meaning it resides in all animate and inanimate objects (living & non-living things).
Understanding this concept is far too complicated as well as too much confusing. I’ll try to come up with an article regarding Para Brahman as soon as I can.
You asked:
There are multiple source references and the story that I’ve mentioned is taken from Vayu Purana – Brahma, Vishu & Shiva
Any further doubts?
Do let me know.
PS: Sorry for the late reply.
But if u dont look puranas and ithihasas. the vedas only said about 1 god
I think this is absolutely correct. And it was an amazing article. After reading this article, I feel to progress further and research on the parents of Lord Shiva! Thank You for this amazing article.
I’m glad that you found this article helpful and amazing. 😀
Astounding ..n mesmerized….loved ur article
I’m so glad that you found my article mesmerizing, Neeti! 😀
I wanted to have a tattoo of “Aham Brahmasmi” and wanted to get deep knowledge of the term, I can now relate everything from Vishnu to Bramha to Shiva to ganesh. Thank you for the knowledge.
Hi everyone(HUMAN BEGAN) out there…. It’s a simple matter for all “Q” that doubt in ur mind….
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Who is the LORD}
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First time replying to an article ,well i dont beleive in worship but like others i am curious to get those answers can u tell me hanuman ji is clone of shiva ? And if yes then also tell me about ram ji also
Hi
Abhi,
Hanuman Ji is not a clone of Shiva, in fact, he is known as a part of Shiva (Shivansh). It means that Lord Hanuman has some essence of Lord Shiva. Hence he is also known as an Avatar of Shiva. Having said that, Hanuman is the son of Anjana (aka Anjani) who give birth to him after she received a boon from Shiva to have a male child.
hello
I am curious to know why there are so many different stories about shiva,vishnu and brahma?
And I also want to know if the 3 gods needs each other?
Thank you
That 1 god always comes everywhere.
All are same and they all are from same source. He came everywhere with a task or responsibility.
In Bhagavad Gitam. Lord Krishna said he is the Supreme lord and while showing this cosmic form which is infinite lord shiva, brahma and Lord Vishnu was there.
So, he was everywhere. He is Shiva, He is Vishnu and He is Brahma Too.
As they all are same so that you can also say, Shiva is Krishna, Shiva is Vishnu, Shiva is Brahma and same gose for them too like Vishnu is Krishna, Vishnu is Shiva, Vishnu is Brahma. And it will be same for Brahma too.
Everything they did was part of Lila.
Similarly, Lord Shiva is the devotee of Lord Krishna or Vishnu, and Lord Vishnu or Krishna is also a devotee of Lord Shiva.
In Shiva purana, mentioned that Lord Shiva is the Supreme Lord. And In Vishnu Purana mentioned that Lord Vishnu is the Supreme Lord. But why right?
Because they are same.
Yes, Exactly.