1. Gurus to explain the shloka with the complete meaning Gurus to write down on the board – the key words from the meaning of the shloka – example Consort of Uma, divine Guru, Adorned with Snakes, Lord whose three eyes are Sun, Moon and Fire etc.
2. Then ask one boy to role play Lord Shiva (Gurus may choose to dress up one child as Lord Shiva) or place a picture of Lord Shiva in the class.
3. Other Children individually or in groups of two depending on the strength of the class can write their own prayer incorporating most of or all the key words given on the board. Example of such a prayer could be – “I bow down to the Consort of Uma, Divine Guru, Lord of all the creatures, Adorned with Snakes. Please bestow bliss.”
4. The children are then asked to learn their respective prayers and enact this prayer one by one or group by group by chanting it with devotion while offering a flower to Lord Shiva.

Debriefing

This is meant to be a fun exercise to build up devotion for Lord Shiva and also understand the values the Lord represents. Since this activity is for Group 1 third year children, it can be made little challenging by giving points to the different teams according to how well they chant their prayer and how many key words from the original prayer they have incorporated in their version.

After this exercise all the children should chant this prayer and the meaning together in class.

God creates and sustains the universe and dissolves it into elementary condition.

Shiva is the facet of the Divine, representing the powers of disintegration and dissolution.

He is the Vairaagya aspect of God, totally detached. The Lord, who has projected the cosmos by His own will, does not crave even for a fraction of His own creation.

He is called Shiva, the Auspicious One. He is the destroyer of all that takes us away from God’s love, peace and strength; i.e. He destroys the inner enemies of man like delusion, greed, pride, jealousy and anger and confers auspiciousness.

He resides in kailas, the Abode of Light, Purity and Bliss.

Symbolisms

The Sanyasi Rupa denotes Vairaagya, complete non-attachment.

The Third Eye denotes the Eye of Wisdom.

The Lord is Sarvannya, Sarvasaakshim, omniscient and all witnessing.

Body smeared with ashes: Renders to ashes the sins of His devotees and adorns Himself with them.

The Snakes symbolise Spiritual Power.

The Ganga emanating from His matted locks, symbolises the Jnaana Ganga, the fount of Wisdom flowing from the sages. A dip in this washes away the sins of many births, and confers auspiciousness.

The Trishul denotes He is the Master of Time, Past, Present and future, Master of the three dimensions of space – Bhu (gross), Bhuvah (subtle), svaha ( casual) Lokas, Master of the three gunas – Sathva (state of equanimity, serenity and poise), Rajas (state of passion, ambition, desire and restlessness) and Tamas (state of ignorance, inertia and dullness) that govern prakriti (nature).

The begging bowl: Though He is the Lord of the Universe, He is a mendicant with a begging bowl, clamouring for the alms of Love from every human heart.

Tiger skin: The ferocious tiger represents animal tendencies. Shiva has Killed the tiger and wears its skin as His apparel. This indicates complete mastery over animal tendencies.

Crescent Moon stands for the Mind. He is the Master of the Mind.