Bholenath

Shiva is not called Bhole nath for nothing. Bhole means Innocent and Nath means king. So he’s the primary amongst the innocents or the king of innocents.

Well at first sight shiva looks like a great tapasvi which he is. A lot of people more than reverance and love, fear Shiva, as he’s often taken to be the God of Destruction etc etc Then this funny name for such as man who wanders in graveyards and rubs his body with ashes and has ghouls & ghosts for company. For such a man how can the name bholenath fit in.

But it does, as it’s said none in the world is more innocent than the lord, He’s childlike with no sense of malice or cunningness, no sense of ego & no sense of power or arrogance. Hence BHOLENATH.

There is a story that once there was a Asura or a Demon who was praying for thousands of years, doing intense Penance and chanting Shiva’s name. Shiva the simpleton appeared before him knowing that he was a demon and is upto no good. Still he appeared and asked the Asura to pray for any boon and he shall be rewarded.

The asura by name “bhasmaSura” asked that whatsoever he touched should burn to ashes, without battling an eyelid, shiva granted the boon. Nw since The asura was in the himalayan region where there was only snow, he wanted to test the effects of the boon & knew that if he burnt shiva to ashes there’d be none superior ro defeat.

so he told shiva he wanted to test it on shiva himself. the story goes that since shiva cannot refuse a devotee, and since he cannot himself die since that will bring an end to the world shiva is supposed to have run.

Till vishnu came about disguised as a beautiful woman called “mohini” and danced in front of the demon and tricked him into touching his own head hence bringing an end to his tyranny.

The story is funny and is used only to describe shiva as Bholenath, he’s supposed to be easiest to beget boons from amongst the gods, and also the most gracious. He’s the easiest to pacify. yet all this is just once facet of the lord Shiva.