Clothing And Jewellery
A crescent moon crowns Shiva's head earning him the title Chandrachuda. Like the waxing and waning of the moon, Shiva is in tune with the activity and passivity of the cosmos. On this moon grows the herb soma whose sap is the favourite drink of the gods. Shiva as guardian of this sacred herb is known as somnath.

By utilising a black antelope skin as his upper garment, elephant hide as his garment and a tiger skin for his seat, Shiva becomes Krittivasa, wearer of animal hides.

In keeping with his and rogyanous nature Shiva is often shown wearing a masculine kundala, in his right ear and a feminine tatanka, in his left ear.

Shiva as Kapalin usually carries a human skull in his hand to confront the world with its mortality. Sometimes he uses the skull-cap as a drinking bowl. Sometimes the skull is mounted on a staff called Khatvanga which serves as Shiva's mace. Shiva also wears a garland of skulls. The skull is said to be the fifth head of Brahma, cut off by Shiva who resented Brahma's pride and cupidity.

The lord also bedecks himself with rudraksha beads created out of the tears he sheds as he contemplates the end of the world. He also likes datura flowers and bel leaves.

Ascetic traits
Shiva covers himself with ash, thus rejecting symbolically the material world and expressing his disdain for its transience. He prefers being indentified with the permanent soul, that lies untainted within the body. The ash is usually put as three parallel horizontal lines.

Like a typical sanyasi, Shiva carries a kamandalu, a water pot, for his rituals and ablutions; rosaries to assist his concentration; a pipe, chillum, to smoke the narcotic Indian hemp, ganja; a bowl made out of a human skull to drink. While meditating, Shiva sits cross legged with his legs tied together with a belt, yoga-patta, resting his arm on a yoga-danda.