Bhagwan Shiva: Why is he called Bholenath?

In India it is very common for people to refer to their deities by several different names. For example, Hanuman is also referred to as Pavan Putra on account of being son of Pavan dev. Ganesh is also called Vigneshwara as he helps his devotees overcome all obstacles. Two gods who probably have the highest number of names assigned to them linked to their different attributes are Vishnu and Shiva. I will not go into details of those names as Vishnu Sahasranam and Shiva Sahasranam include recitation of 1,000 names associated with them.

In this article I want to dwell deeper into one of the most common names associated with Shiva which is Bholenath.

What Does Bholenath Mean?

Simply translated Bholenath means the Simple God, where Bhole or Bhola means simple and Nath refers to God or Lord.

I find this particular name of Shiva very fascinating as this particular name is quite unique and different from the standard names assigned to gods glorifying their powers, strength and intelligence. Bholenath on the other hand refers to a god who is very simple and innocent. Is free from any form of shrewdness or deceit. He does not delve into the shortcomings of his devotees and easily gets pleased by anyone praying to him earnestly. He is in fact so innocent that he does not think of the consequences while rewarding and granting boons to his devotees. Many times the wishes granted by him to undeserving devotees leads to chaos which needs intervention of other gods to resolve the situation.

Another reason why he is called Bholenath is as he prefers to spend all his time in solitary meditation away from the trappings of materialistic world.

Some Popular Stories linked to Innocence of Bholenath

There are many instances which show how childlike and innocent Shiva is. I will share now some of the most interesting stories that reinforce his image as the most innocent god.

1. Granting Boon to Bhasmasur

Bhasmasur was a demon that pleased Shiva with long and arduous penance. When Shiva appeared before him and asked him what boon he desired he asked for the power to burn to ashes anything he put his hand on. Shiva immediately granted the boon without thinking about any consequences.

After receiving the boon Bhasmasur’s mind got corrupted and he thought if he placed his hand on Shiva and destroyed him then he will be the strongest person in the universe with no one left to challenge him.

With this intention he started moving towards Shiva. Vishnu realized how dangerous the situation had become and appeared in the form of a beautiful dancer called Mohini. Mohini enchanted Bhasmasur and made him copy her dance steps. Once Bhasmasur was completely hypnotized and following each step of Mohini blindly, she placed her hand on her head. Bhasmasur did not realize the trick and placed his hand on his own head. Immediately he was burnt to ashes. Through this clever plan Vishnu saved the difficult situation Shiva had got into due to his innocence in granting boons to his devotees.

2. Drinking Halahal that came from Samudra Manthan

When the Samudra Manthan was taking place to churn the ocean to bring out Amrit which will give immortality to the gods several other elements came out before Amrit.

One of the unexpected object to come out of the ocean was Halahal which was an extremely dense poison which had the potency to destroy anything that came into contact with it.

Nobody knew how to handle it and what to do it. Shiva volunteered to consume Halahal without thinking about any consequence as his focus was on saving the gods from the danger of Halahal.

Without thinking whether he will be able to handle the toxicity Shiva consumed all of Halahal. Parvati realized that if the Halahal poison reaches Shiva’s stomach then it could kill him. She immediately blocked the poison in his throat so it does not reach his stomach. The Halahal poison being blocked in his throat made it turn blue. That is the reason why one of the popular names of Shiva is also Nilkanth which means one with a blue throat.

Om Namah Shivay!