If we picture Lord Shiva, we imagine him with his Trishul, with his draped hair, and wearing tiger skin and snakes as Necklace. It’s almost unique in compared to other gods. There’s a legend behind his dressing, however.
Why Lord Shiva Wears Tiger Skin?
The story has it that Lord Shiva wandered around the forest without any clothes on, according to Shiva Puran. One day, he reached a forest that was home to various saints and then he lived with their families. As Shiva wandered through that village, he used to do it naked, and it was distracting the women in the village. Shiva was not aware of this, but the saints were agitated that their wives were attracted to Lord Shiva.
Thus, they decided to teach him a lesson. The saints dug out a pit with a tiger inside it, and when Shiva was wandering through the forest, he fell into the pit. They thought that the tiger would scathe him. Little did they acknowledge the power of Lord Shiva. Instead, he killed the tiger and tore off the skin to cover his body. This incident is now used as a symbolism to denote victory of divine force over animal instinct.
With that, the saints acknowledged the real power of Lord Shiva and started to worship him. The tiger skin worn by Lord Shiva is thus an anecdote to the power of divine force over mortal beings.