Come on guys.. i didnt mean to hurt u. Does it help it if Shiva had 3 hands or 4 hands or 5 hands or a hundred hands. I dont know much about Hinduism, though i am a hindu. That goes for christianity or islam or anything. Its good to believe in god as it gives a sense of security, that when u are morally right and still some people doesnt understand those, still there is somebody up there who exactly know what u had in mind when u did it. Do u think God cares that some people have to look at it with 4 hands or no hands. Not even God can save the people if such people like Ranjhan are around. People like him are the source of problems.. they think their religion is the best. Think whatever u like but dont impose please.
If you want know the truth you should dig deep into understanding of Hindu God,
You can not have rule or definition of Shiva from a single book like yours. If you want to start Shiva cult you be the one to define such rules. Bhakthi (Devotion) can lead you to understand real meaning of multi tasking nature of god. Physical appearance of the god is only understanding of that particular artist not universal. After all how you imagine Shiva depends on you. (More info available in Shiva Purana)
According to hinduism Shiva is formless....his statues can have as many arms as someone wants but his arms represent his omnipresence. The important things to notice in all these figures is not the number of arms but the gestures he's making with them and the things he's holding(i.e. drum, snake, sword, etc)...they all have meanings...also notice the things he's wearing(necklace, moon shaped thing on his head, tiger print clothing)..they're symbols of his attributes/powers.
In other figures you'll see of him dancing, half male half female, him with his consort (Uma, Parvati, Durga, or Kali) which are some of the few of the basic forms he's worshipped in by hindus.
Color is only important on his neck which is always blue coz he took poison to save the world from destruction.
