The Name Shiva (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration: S'iva, also spelled Siva; Modern main Indian languages, Shiv) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. Within Shaivaism or Shaivism, He is viewed as the Supreme Being (i.e., God, whereas in other branches of Hinduism such as the Smarta tradition he is worshipped as one of several manifestations of the divine. Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (SanskritShaiva). His role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahadeva ("great god"; maha = great + deva = god), Mahesvara ("great lord"; maha = great + isvara = lord), and Paramesvara ("Supreme Lord"). Shaivism, along with Vaishnava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Sakta traditions that focus on the goddess (Devi) are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism. Who is Shiva Shiva is one of the five primary forms of the Divine in Smartism, a denomination of Hinduism that puts particular emphasis on five deities, the other four being Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha, and Surya. Another way of thinking about the divinities in Hinduism identifies Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as each representing one of the three primary aspects of the divine in Hinduism, known collectively as the Trimurti. In the Trimurti system, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer. Shiva is also often portrayed as the supreme ascetic with a passive and composed disposition. Lord Shiva is said to be the ultimateVaishnava, one who chants or cantillates and meditates the name of the great Lord Vishnu (or Lord Raama), or the supreme soul, in his meditating form. To one point, the supremacy of both the gods Vishnu and Shiva has unified in the devotees' hearts so much that, it is said that, Lord Raama's guru is Shiva, and Lord Shiva's guru is Raama (Lord Vishnu's incarnation). The Harihara image [the combination form of Lords Vishnu (Hari) and Lord Shiva (Hara)] is very popular and common, and is well found in the classical and present day Indian art and literature. Vishnu and Shiva are still again the two of the five main Gods of Hinduism, viz., Soorya (Sun God), Ganesha, Shiva, Shakti (MotherGoddess) and Vishnu, and from these five godheads, the five main subdivisions of the sects of Hinduism has taken birth. They are, Sourya (from Soorya), Gaanapatya (from Ganesha), Shaiva (from Shiva), Shaakta (from Shakti) and Vaishnava (from Vishnu). Vaishnavism and Shaivaism are the most popular of them all at present. Though each of the Gods is the Supreme to his/her devotees. Shiva is 'Shakti', Shiva is power, Shiva is the destroyer, one of the most powerful Gods of the Hindu pantheon and one of the godheads in the Hindu Trinity. Known by many names - Mahadeva, Mahayogi, Pashupati, Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava, Bhole Nath - Lord Shiva is perhaps one of the most complex of Hindu deities. Hindus recognise this by making thousands of His temples all over the world, down the ages, which can compete only with the temples of Lord Vishnu. He is often referred to be in the form of the middle-aged man, or sometimes even bearded old (middle-aged or old may be the symbol of the worn-out or destruction, or the experienced one withyoga, or knowledge, or the age of an experieced yogi (ascetic). Among his many different forms, Shiva sometimes is also shown naked, for which He is attributed as Digambara (Sanskrit: Dik => sky; ambara = cloth, or one who is clad).