Why Is Shiva Worshipped as the Controller of Past, Present, and Future?

“कालः कालाय नमः।

अनादिनिधनं देवं कालकालनमच्युतम्।”

Salutations to the One beyond time, the beginningless and endless, the eternal Shiva, the destroyer of Time itself.

Time is the most relentless force in existence. It shapes worlds, governs all beings, and eventually erases everything. Yet, in the vision of Sanatana Dharma, there is One who is untouched by its grip, Lord Shiva as Mahakaal. He is not bound by time; He commands it. Past, present, and future exist within Him, and at the end of creation, all of time collapses back into His infinite consciousness.

This is why Shiva is worshipped as Mahakaal, the Lord of Time. To truly understand this, we must explore His cosmic role and spiritual significance.

Shiva is described in scriptures as Kalatita, beyond time. Time, as we know it, is a measure of change in the created universe. But Shiva is the unchanging reality that exists before creation, during its existence, and after its dissolution. He does not move with time; time moves within Him. Worshipping Him as Mahakaal means recognizing that He alone is eternal while everything else is transient.

Shiva is Anadi (without beginning) and Ananta (without end). In the grand cycles of creation, time begins when the universe manifests and ends when it dissolves, both by His will. The Linga Purana says that at the close of every kalpa (cosmic age), time itself merges into Shiva. He is not merely a participant in the flow of time but its origin and its conclusion, making Him the ultimate Lord of Kala.

For humans, time leads to decay, old age, and death. But Mahakaal is the One who consumes death itself. In spiritual symbolism, He is the conqueror of Yama, the god of death. Devotees turn to Mahakaal not only to overcome the fear of mortality but also to transcend the cycles of birth and rebirth. In His presence, time loses its power to terrify, for He reveals that consciousness is beyond death.

The form of Nataraja, Shiva as the cosmic dancer, expresses His mastery over time. The drum in His hand creates the rhythm of creation, while the fire signifies destruction. Every movement of His dance represents the pulse of the universe — birth, sustenance, and dissolution. By worshipping Him as Nataraja, devotees see Shiva not as a distant god but as the very rhythm that governs existence and time itself.

Shiva is described as Sakshi Chaitanya — the pure witness. Unlike beings who are bound by memories of the past or worries about the future, He observes time without being influenced by it. He is fully present in all three dimensions of time simultaneously. This witnessing quality makes Him the controller of time, for He is beyond its changes yet intimately aware of its flow.

The Mahakaaleshwar Jyotirlinga in Ujjain is one of the most revered shrines of Shiva, where He is worshipped explicitly as the Lord of Time. Ujjain has long been considered a cosmic center for timekeeping and astrology, reinforcing its association with Mahakaal. The temple’s famous Bhasma Aarti, where Shiva is worshipped with funeral ash, is a profound reminder of life’s impermanence and His dominion over death and time.


Ultimately, Mahakaal is not a fearful destroyer but a liberator. To worship Him is to rise above time-bound existence and realize one’s eternal nature. By meditating on Him, the seeker transcends attachments to the past and anxieties about the future, entering the timeless awareness of the present. In this state, time no longer binds, and the soul moves closer to moksha — liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Calling Shiva Mahakaal is an acknowledgment of the deepest truth: time spares nothing and no one, yet before Shiva, even time bows. He is the eternal stillness at the heart of the ever-turning wheel of existence. To worship Mahakaal is to surrender to that stillness, to live beyond fear, beyond attachment, and beyond the ticking clock of our mortal lives.

In Shiva, the past, present, and future dissolve — and what remains is the eternal.