Shiva

Don't let his appearance fool you, Shiva is more like than his namesake than most would think. Assists Meteor in protecting the Lair.


Fact Corner:
Shiva (シヴァ, Shiva) is a frequently recurring summoned monster who usually takes the shape of a blue-skinned woman with clothing of the same color. Her signature attack, Diamond Dust (sometimes called Gem Dust, and Transcendantale in the French version), deals Ice-elemental damage.

Along with Ifrit and Bahamut, she is one of the very few summons to appear in every main series game from Final Fantasy III through Final Fantasy XIV (although in Final Fantasy XII she appears as an airship instead of a summon). She also appears in every main series side-story and sequel that features summons, with the only exception being Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.

Shiva (also spelled Śiva) is a Hindu god. The Hindu Shiva once saved the world by consuming poison, giving him blue skin around the area of the neck and throat. Shiva is a male god, but can merge with his consort Parvati to become Ardhanari, an androgynous Hindu god of duality. Shiva is the god of destruction along with Vishnu, who is the god of preservation, and Brahma, the god of creation. Together they are the three principle deities of the Trimurti (Hindu Triad). It is believed he periodically destroys the world, then recreates it.

Shiva has different human forms, males and females. When he was in his avatar form, he spent most of his times in the Himalayan snow mountain. Shiva in the Final Fantasy series is likely inspired by one of his female avatars.

There is a possibility the name was simply the Japanese way of pronouncing the word "shiver", given her icy nature. Another possibility is the reference to the Slavic goddess Živa, the goddess of love and fertility.