Pra Isworn - Shiva

Pra Isworn (??? ?????) is the Thai name for Lord Shiva. Shiva is known as the “Maha Ruesi” (Great Yogi), and is thus the Lord of all the Ruesi Sages. His consort is Pra Uma (??????? – Kali/Parvati).

Pra Uma - Kali
Pra Isworn is one of the three Lords of Heaven in Brahmin cosmology. Pra Isworn lives on the top of Mount Krailash.He has a blue skin and a black throat, with a fiery third eye in the center of his forehead. He wears the “Mongkut Nam Dtao” (Gourd head dress). He holds the Trishul as his Cosmic weapon (Trident spear). In the Thai version Pra Isworn has a head dress. In Hindu India Shiva is depicted with long hair as is expected with a Rishi (Yogi). His black throat is derived from the time when shiva drank the poisoned waters of the Cosmic Ocean after the Asura had attempted to mix Amrita (immortality drink) from the Ocean. He did not die because of his Immortality, but his throat was permanently stained from the poison.

He holds the Tambor drum to chase away Evil. The crescent Moon is affixed to his long hair as a pin. A Cobra is his scarf, and the head of the cobra is poised above his third eye on his forehead. His third eye is always closed,for if it oens, it burns anything which crosses its path to a cinder.
Pra Isworn has many roles and appears many times in the Ramakian story. He appears to help Pra Ram on various key occasions, as well as making things worse by sometimes even helping the opposition.

: Image via Wikipedia

His first role is before the birth of Pra Ram and Totsagan, where the Demon Yaksa Nontuk was brought to justice for murdering the Devas with his diamond finger by the Lord Vishnu. Vishnu transformed into an Apsara maiden and tricked Nontuk into defeat. Nontuk was beheaded and sent to be born on Earth as the Yaksa Totsagan, along with Vishnu being incarnated as Pra Ram.

Pra Isworn is often portrayed wearing a tiger skin or sitting on a tiger skin. This is the reason why the Ruesi (Rishis) wear tiger skins. The Ruesi in Thailand all revere Shiva as the highest of all Ruesi.

Shiva is one of a trinity of Deities, known as Trimurti when unified. Each of the three represent a different aspect of a single higher Deity;