Alingam (Sanskrit:लिङ्गIAST:liṅga, lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to aslinga orShiva linga, is an abstract oraniconic representation of theHindugodShiva inShaivism.[1] The wordlingam is found in theUpanishads andepic literature, where it means a "mark, sign, emblem, characteristic",[2] the "evidence, proof, symptom" of Shiva and Shiva's power.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The lingam of theShaivism tradition is a short cylindrical pillar-like symbol of Shiva, made of stone, metal, gem, wood, clay or precious stones.[1][7] It is often represented within a disc-shaped platform,[1][8] theyoni – its feminine counterpart,[9][10] consisting of a flat element, horizontal compared to the vertical lingam, and designed to allow liquid offerings to drain away for collection.[11]
Thelingam is an emblem of generative and destructive power. While rooted in representations of the male sexual organ,[12] thelingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless reality", the symbolization of merging of the 'primordial matter' (Prakṛti) with the 'pure consciousness' (Purusha) intranscendental context.[13] Thelingam-yoni iconography symbolizes the merging ofmicrocosmos and macrocosmos,[10] the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence.[11][14]
Lingam, statesMonier Monier-Williams, appears in theUpanishads andepic literature, where it means a "mark, sign, emblem, characteristic".[2][17] Other contextual meanings of the term include "evidence, proof, symptom" of Shiva and Shiva's power.[2][3]
The wordlingam is found inSanskrit texts, such asShvetashvatara Upanishad,Samkhya,Vaisheshika and others texts with the meaning of "evidence" ofGod and God's existence,[18] or existence of formlessBrahman.[19] The original meaning oflingam as "sign" is used inShvetashvatara Upanishad, which says "Shiva, the Supreme Lord, has no liūga", liuga (Sanskrit:लिऊगIAST:liūga) meaning he is transcendental, beyond any characteristic and, specifically, the sign of gender.[4][20]
The term also appears in early Indian texts on logic, where an inference is based on a sign (linga), such as "if there is smoke, there is fire" where the linga is the smoke.[2] It is a religious symbol in Hinduism representing Shiva as the generative power,[17] all of existence, all creativity and fertility at every cosmic level.[9][21]
In early Sanskrit medical texts,linga means "symptom, signs" and plays a key role in the diagnosis of a sickness, the disease.[22][23][24] The author of classical Sanskrit grammar treatise, Panini, states that the verbal rootling which means "paint, variegate", has the sense "that which paints, variegates, characterizes". Panini as well as Patanjali additionally mention lingam with the contextual meaning of the "gender".[25][26]
In theVaisheshika Sutras, it means "proof or evidence", as a conditionally sufficient mark or sign. This Vaisheshika theory is adopted in the early Sanskrit medical literature.[5] Like the Upanishads, where linga means "mark, sign, characteristic", the texts of theNyaya school of Hindu philosophy uselinga in the same sense.[27][28] In theSamkhya sutras, and inGaudapada's commentary onSamkhyakarika, the termlinga has many contextual meanings such as in verses 1.124.136, 3.9.16 and 5.21.61, as it develops its theory of the nature ofAtman (Self) andSarira (body,prakriti) and its proposed mechanism of rebirth.[6][29] In thePurvaMimamsa Sutra and theVedanta sutra, as well as the commentaries on them, the term linga appears quite often, particularly in the form of"lingadarsanacca" as a form of citing or referencing prior Hindu literature. This phrase connotes "[we have found an] indicative sign", such as the "indicative sign is in a Vedic passage".[30]
A linga-yoni in Nepal carved with four seated Buddhas
The termlinga also appears in Buddhist and Jaina literature, where it means "sign, evidence" in one context, or "subtle body" with sexual connotations in another.[31][note 1]
The lingam of theShaivism tradition is a short cylindrical pillar-like symbol of Shiva, made of stone, metal, gem, wood, clay or precious stones.[7][1][32]
Various styles of lingam iconography are found on the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.[33][34] The historic lingam iconography has included:
Lingam-yoni, wherin thelingam is placed within a lipped, disked structure that is an emblem of goddessShakti and this is called theyoni. Together they symbolize the union of the feminine and the masculine principles, and "the totality of all existence", statesEncyclopædia Britannica.[1]
Mukhalingam, where the lingam has the face of Shiva carved on it.[35][36] AnEkmukha lingam has just one face,Chaturmukha lingam has four faces in the cardinal directions, while aPanchamukha lingam has a total of five (the fifth is on the top) and represents Sadashiva.[37][38] Among the mukha-lingam varieties, the four face version are more common.[39]
Ashtottara-sata linga, where 108 miniature lingas are carved on thepujabhaga (main linga) following certain geometric principles.[40]
Sahasra linga, where 1001 miniature lingas are carved on thepujabhaga (main linga) following certain geometric principles (set in 99 vertical lines, 11 horizontal).[41]
Dhara linga, where lingas have five to sixty four fluted facets, with prime numbers and multiples of four particularly favored.[42]
Lingodbhava, where Shiva is seen as emerging from within a fiery lingam.[1] On top of this icon is sometimes a relief of a swan representing Brahma asHamsa, and a wild boar at the bottom representing Vishnu asVaraha. This reflects the Shaiva legend describing a competition between Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, as to who has priority and superiority in theShiva Purana.[1]
Lingam as interpreted in theShaiva Siddhanta tradition, a major school ofShaivism. The icon is regarded to represent theParashiva andParashakti aspects of Shiva and Parvati.
A lingam may be made of clay (mrinmaya), metal (lohaja), precious stone (ratnaja), wood (daruja), stone (shailaja, most common), or a disposable material (kshanika).[32] The construction method, proportions and design is described in Shaiva Agama texts.[32] The lingam is typically set in the center of a pindika (also called yoni or pithas, symbolizing Shakti). A pindika may be circular, square, octagonal, hexagonal, duodecagonal, hexadecagonal, elliptical, triangular or another shape.[43] Some lingams are miniaturized and they are carried on one's person, such as by Lingayats in a necklace. These are calledchala-lingams.[32] The Hindu temple design manuals recommend geometric ratios for the linga, the sanctum and the various architectural features of the temple according to certain mathematical rules it considers perfect and sacred.[44] Anthropologist Christopher John Fuller states that although most sculpted images (murtis) areanthropomorphic ortheriomorphic, theaniconic Shiva Linga is an important exception.[45]
Thelingam is conceptualized both as an emblem of generative and destructive power,[11][46] particularly in the esotericKaula andTantra practices, as well as theShaivism andShaktism traditions of Hinduism.[47]
Thelingam andyoni together symbolize the merging ofmicrocosmos and macrocosmos,[10] the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence.[11][14] Thelingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless Reality", the symbolization of merging of the 'primordial matter' (Prakṛti) with the 'pure consciousness' (Purusha) intranscendental context.[48]Sivaya Subramuniyaswami elaborates that the lingam signifies three perfections ofShiva.[8] The upper oval part of the lingam representsParashiva and the lower part of the lingam, called the pitha, representsParashakti.[8] In the representation of Parashiva, Shiva is regarded to be the absolute reality, the timeless, formless, and spaceless. In the representation of Parashakti, Shiva is regarded to be all-pervasive,pure consciousness, the power and primal substance of all that exists. Parashakti is regarded to possess form, unlike Parashiva, which is formless.[49][4]
According toSivananda Saraswati, the lingam speaks unmistakable language of silence: "I am one without a second, I am formless".[50] It is only the outward symbol of formless being, Shiva, who iseternal, ever-pure, immortal essence of this vast universe, who is your innermostSelf or Atman, and who is identical with theSupreme Brahman, states Sivananda Saraswati.[50]
According toShaiva Siddhanta, the linga is the ideal substrate in which the worshipper should install and worship the five-faced and ten-armed Sadāśiva, the form of Shiva who is the focal divinity of that school of Shaivism.[52]
According to Doniger, there is persuasive evidence in later Sanskrit literature that the early Indians associated the lingam icon with the male sexual organ;[12] the 11th-century CE Kashmir textNarmamala by Kshemendra on satire and fiction writing explains his ideas on parallelism with divine lingam and human lingam in a sexual context. Various Shaiva texts, such as theSkanda Purana in section 1.8 states that all creatures have the signs of Shiva or Shakti through theirlingam (male sexual organ) orpindi (female sexual organ).[12][57] According to Doniger, a part of the literature corpus regardslingam to be the phallus of Shiva, while another group of texts does not. Sexuality in the former is inherently sacred and spiritual, while the latter emphasizes the ascetic nature of Shiva and renunciation to be spiritual symbolism oflingam. This tension between the pursuit of spirituality through householder lifestyle and the pursuit of renunciate sannyasi lifestyle is historic, reflects the different interpretations of the lingam and what lingam worship means to its devotees. It remains a continuing debate within Hinduism to this day, states Doniger.[12] To one group, it is a part of Shiva's body and symbolicallysaguna Shiva (he in a physical form with attributes). To the other group, it is an abstract symbol ofnirguna Shiva (he in the universal Absolute Reality, formless, without attributes).[12] In Tamil Shaiva tradition, for example, the common term for lingam iskuri or "sign, mark" which is asexual.[12] Similarly, inLingayatism tradition, the lingam is a spiritual symbol and "was never said to have any sexual connotations", according to Doniger.[12]
According to Dasgupta, the lingam symbolizes Shiva in Hinduism, and it is also a phallic symbol.[9]
Some extant ancient lingams, such as theGudimallam Lingam, unambiguously depict a male sexual organ.
Since the 19th century CE, states Dasgupta, the popular literature has represented the lingam as the male sex organ. This view contrasts with the traditional abstract values they represent in Shaivism wherein the lingam-yoni connote the masculine and feminine principles in the entirety of creation and all existence.[9]
Thecolonial eraOrientalists andChristian missionaries, raised in theVictorian mold where sex and sexual imagery were a taboo subject, were shocked by and were hostile to thelingam-yoni iconography and reverence they witnessed.[9][58][59] The 19th and early 20th century CE colonial and missionary literature describedlingam-yoni, and related theology as obscene, corrupt, licentious, hyper-sexualized, puerile, impure, demonic and a culture that had become too feminine and dissolute.[9][60][61] To the Hindus, particularly theShaivites, these icons and ideas were the abstract, a symbol of the entirety of creation and spirituality.[9] Thecolonial disparagement in part triggered the opposite reaction from Bengali nationalists, who more explicitly valorised the feminine.Swami Vivekananda called for the revival of the Mother Goddess as a feminine force, inviting his countrymen to "proclaim her to all the world with the voice of peace and benediction".[60]
According to Doniger, the termslingam andyoni became explicitly associated with human sexual organs in the western imagination after the widely popular firstKamasutra translation bySir Richard Burton in 1883.[62] In his translation, even though the original Sanskrit text does not use the wordslingam oryoni for sexual organs, and almost always uses other terms,Burton adroitly avoided being viewed as obscene to theVictorian mindset by avoiding the use of words such as penis, vulva, vagina and other direct or indirect sexual terms in theSanskrit text to discuss sex, sexual relationships and human sexual positions.Burton used the termslingam andyoni instead throughout the translation.[62] This conscious and incorrect word substitution, states Doniger, thus served as anOrientalist means to "anthropologize sex, distance it, make it safe for English readers by assuring them, or pretending to assure them, that the text was not about real sexual organs, their sexual organs, but merely about the appendages of weird, dark people far away."[62] SimilarOrientalist literature of the Christian missionaries and the British era, states Doniger, stripped all spiritual meanings and insisted on theVictorian vulgar interpretation only, which had "a negative effect on the self-perception thatHindus had of their own bodies" and they became "ashamed of the more sensual aspects of their own religious literature".[63] Some contemporary Hindus, states Doniger, in their passion to spiritualizeHinduism and for their Hindutva campaign have sought to sanitize the historic earthly sexual meanings, and insist on the abstract spiritual meaning only.[63]
The sexualization is criticized byStella Kramrisch[64] andMoriz Winternitz who opines that thelingam in the Shiva tradition is "only a symbol of the productive and creative principle of nature as embodied in Shiva", and it has no historical trace in any obscene phallic cult.[65]
According to Alex Wayman, various works on Shaivism by some Indian authors, following the Shaiva philosophical texts and spiritual interpretations, "deny that the linga is a phallus."[66] To the Shaivites, a linga is neither a phallus nor do they practice the worship of erotic penis-vulva, rather the linga-yoni is a symbol of cosmic mysteries, the creative powers and the metaphor for the spiritual truths of their faith.[67]
According toSwami Sivananda, the correlation of the linga and phallus is wrong; the lingam is only the external symbol of Shiva's formless being. He further states that it is the light or power of consciousness, manifesting fromSadashiva.[68]
The popular belief is that the Siva Lingam represents the phallus or the virile organ, the emblem of the generative power or principle in nature. This is not only a serious mistake but a grave blunder. In the post-Vedic period, the Linga has become symbolic of the generative power of Lord Siva. Linga is the differentiating mark. It is certainly not the sex mark.[69]
Linga-yoni worship in different ways; Left: river, Right: temple.
The traditional lingam rituals in major Shiva temples includes offerings of flowers, grass, dried rice, fruits, leaves, water and a milk bath.[1] Priests chant hymns, while the devotees go to the sanctum for adarshana followed by a clockwise circumambulation of the sanctum.[1] On the sanctum walls, typically are reliefs of Dakshinamurti, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. Often, near the sanctum are other shrines, particularly for Shakti (Durga), Ganesha and Murugan (Kartikeya). In the Hindu tradition, special pilgrimage sites include those where natural lingams are found in the form of cylindrical rocks or ice or rocky hill. These are calledSvayambhuva lingam, and about 70 of these are known on the Indian subcontinent, the most significant being one in Kashi (Varanasi) followed by Prayaga, Naimisha and Gaya.[1][70]
Stone lingam and yoni pedestal found inCát Tiên, Vietnam, circa 8th century CE. At 2.1 meter tall, this is the largest lingam ever found in Southeast AsiaA Buddhiststupa (above) may have influenced the later iconography of the Hindu Shiva-linga, according toSwami Vivekananda.[71][note 2]
The colonial-era archaeologistsJohn Marshall andErnest Mackay proposed that certain artifacts found at Harappan sites may be evidence of yoni-linga worship in Indus Valley Civilization.[73] Jones and Ryan state that lingam/yoni shapes have been recovered from the archaeological sites at Harappa andMohenjo-daro, part of theIndus Valley civilisation.[74][75] According to Chakravarti, "some of the stones found inMohenjodaro are unmistakably phallic stones". These are dated to some time before 2300 BCE. Similarly, states Chakravarti, the Kalibangan site ofHarappa has a smallterracotta representation that "would undoubtedly be considered the replica of a modern Shivlinga [a tubular stone]."[76][77] According to Srinivasan, in theHarappan sites, objects that resemble "lingam" have been found.[78] That includes "a seated trident-headed ithyphallic figure", which was found on Indus seals, "has been compared to Shiva as meditatingascetic", states Srinivasan.[78][79]
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, while Harappan discoveries include "short cylindrical pillars with rounded tops", there is no evidence that the people of Indus Valley Civilization worshipped these artifacts as lingams.[1]
Scholars such asArthur Llewellyn Basham dispute whether such artifacts discovered at the archaeological sites of Indus Valley sites are yoni.[73][80]
According to the IndologistAsko Parpola, "it is true that Marshall's and Mackay's hypotheses of linga and yoni worship by the Harappans has rested on rather slender grounds, and that for instance, the interpretation of the so-called ring-stones as yonis seems untenable".[73] He quotes Dales 1984 paper, which states "with the single exception of the unidentified photography of a realistic phallic object in Marshall's report, there is no archaeological evidence to support claims of special sexually-oriented aspects of Harappan religion".[73] However, adds Parpola, a re-examination at Indus Valley sites suggest that the Mackay's hypothesis cannot be ruled out because erotic and sexual scenes such as ithyphallic males, naked females, a human couple having intercourse and trefoil imprints have now been identified at the Harappan sites.[73] The "finely polished circular stand" found by Mackay may be yoni although it was found without the linga. The absence of linga, states Parpola, maybe because it was made from wood which did not survive.[73]
Indologist Wendy Doniger rejects Srinivasan's interpretation, and states that this relatively rare artifact can be interpreted in many ways and has unduly been used for wild speculations such as being a linga. Another Indusstamp seal often called thePashupati seal, states Doniger, has an image with a general resemblance with Shiva and "the Indus people may well have created the symbolism of the divine phallus", but given the available evidence we cannot be certain, nor do we know that it had the same meaning as some currently project them to might have meant.[81]
The wordlingam is not found in theRigveda,[82] or the other Vedas.[83] However,Rudra (proto-Shiva) is found in the Vedic literature.[82][84]
Worship of the lingam was not a part of theVedic religion. The worship of the lingam originated from the famous hymn in theAtharva VedaSamhita sung in praise of theYupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In that hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endlessStambha orSkambha, and it is shown that the saidSkambha is put in place of the eternalBrahman. Just as theYajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, theSoma plant, and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for theVedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva's body, his tawny matted hair, his blue throat, and the riding on the bull of the Shiva, theYupa-Skambha gave place in time to theShiva-Linga.[85][86] In the textLinga Purana, the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.[86]
There is a hymn in theAtharvaveda that praises a pillar (stambha), and this is one possible origin of linga worship.[87] According to Swami Vivekananda, the Shiva-linga had origins in the idea ofYupa-Stambha or Skambha of the Vedic rituals, where the term meant the sacrificial post which was then idealized as the eternalBrahman. TheYupa-Skambha gave place in time to theShiva-Linga, quite possibly with influence from Buddhism's stupa shaped like the top of a stone linga, according to Vivekananda.[71][86]
Shvetashvatara Upanishad states that, of the three significations ofLingam, the primary one is "the imperishable Purusha",the absolute reality,[20] whereby thelinga is "sign", a mark that provides the existence ofBrahman,[4][88] which is itself formless.[19] Furthermore, it mentioned that Shiva is transcendent, beyond any characteristic orliūga, specifically the sign of gender.[4] Linga, "sign", not only signifies the existence of perceptible "things" but also denotes the imperceptible essence of "a thing" or pieces ofBrahman calledAtma[88] even before that thing has come to exist in any concrete form.[note 3] The imperceptible essence of "a thing", in its potentiality, is theliūga of the thing.[4]
The insight of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad conveyed through the wordliūga is formulated explicitly inSamkhya andschools of Yoga orways of looking at things, that is, looking at their appearance and at Ultimate Reality.[4]Liūga here denotes thesubtle body, (liṇga śarīra) underlying and ontologically preceding anything perceptible.[4] The perceptible state, in this context, is thegross body (sthūla śarīra), or concrete reality as it appears to the sense organs. In between the Ultimate and concrete reality isPrakṛti, also calledPradhana[4] which is the imperceptible substratum of the manifest world or pre-matter.[89] Out of this imperceptible cosmic substance, all things have come out, and to which they will return ultimately.[4]
Early iconography and temples (3rd century BCE - first mill. CE)
Gudimallam LingamLinga inside a railing (left), being worshipped byGandharva winged creatures.Art of Mathura, circa 100 BCE.[90]
TheGudimallam Lingam, one of the oldest examples of a lingam, is still in worship in the Parashurameshwara temple,Gudimallam, in a hilly forest about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east ofTirupati inAndhra Pradesh.[91] It has been dated to the 3rd-century BCE,[1] or to the 2ndcentury BCE,[92] and is mostly accepted to be from the 3rd- to 1st-century BCE,[93] though some later dates have been proposed. The stone lingam is clearly a representation of an anatomically accuratephallus, with a figure ofLakulisha, theascetic manifestation ofShiva,[78] carved on the front, holding an antelope and axe in his hands.[93][94] He stands on top of aApasmara(demon) dwarf, who symbolizes spiritual ignorance, greed, sensual desires orKama and nonsensical speech on the spiritual path, hence must be subdued in spiritual pursuits.[95][96][97]
In this earliest representation, the phallic representation illustrates the centrality of the energetic principle ofUrdhva Retas (Sanskrit:ऊर्ध्वरेतस्IAST:Ūrdhvaretas, lit. "ascent of vital energies or fluid") the upward flow of energy in spiritual pursuits and practice ofcelibacy (Brahmacarya),[98] contrary to fertility or release of vital energies.[99][100][101][102][103] Lakulisa as anascetic manifestation of Shiva is seen in later peninsularIndian scriptures whose ithyphallic aspects connotesasceticism and conserved procreative potentialities (Brahmacarya orcelibacy), rather than mereeroticism.[78][104] According to Stella Kramrisch, the pictorial symbol of the Gudimallam Lingam should not be mistaken for fertility or eroticism, due to incomplete or impure understanding of the underlying refined principles.[note 4][note 5][106]
The Bhita linga – now at the Lucknow museum – is also dated to about the 2nd century BCE, and has four directional faces on the pillar and aBrahmi script inscription at the bottom.[107][108][109] Above the four faces, the Bhita linga has the bust of a male with his left hand holding a vase and the right hand in theabhaya (no-fear) mudra.[108][note 6] The pillar itself is, once again, a realistic depiction of phallus but neither symbolizes fertility nor sexuality, but the refined energetic principles ofUrdhva Retas[note 7] duringSannyasa orAsceticism.[101][99][102][108][103]
The Mathura archaeological site has revealed similar lingams, with a standing Shiva in front (2nd century CE) and with one or four faces around the pillar (1st century CE to 3rd century CE).[112][113]
Numerous stone and cave temples from the mid to late 1st millennium feature lingams. TheBhumara Temple near SatnaMadhya Pradesh, for example, is generally dated to late 5th-centuryGupta Empire era, and it features an Ekamukha Lingam.[114][115]
According to Wendy Doniger,lingam in theMahabharata is represented as the phallic form which suggestsSthula sarira of Shiva,[93][116] although not the primary significance,[4] however it connotes much more than that.[117] Theanthropomorphic shape, in this specific context, functions as the"subtle body" (Lińga Śarīra)[118] of Shiva in theMahabharata.[117] It is a superabundant evocation of fierce potency on a cosmic scale, although it states crassly phallic.[117] Doniger further finds that Shiva was called by many names, includingRudra or Girisha.[93] Chapter 10.17 of theMahabharata also refers to the wordsthanu in the sense of an "inanimate pillar" as well as a "name of Shiva, signifying the immobile, ascetic, desexualized form of thelingam", as it recites the legend involvingShiva,Brahma, Brahma asPrajapati.[93][119] This mythology weaves two polarities, one where the lingam represents the potentially procreative phallus (fertile lingam) and its opposite "a pillar-like renouncer of sexuality" (ascetic lingam), states Doniger.[93]
TheLinga Purana (5th century CE -10th century CE) states, "Shiva is signless, without color, taste, smell, that is beyond word or touch, without quality, motionless and changeless".[120] The source of the universe is the signless, and all of the universe is the manifested Linga, a union ofunchanging principle and theever changing nature.[120] TheLinga Purana andSiva Gita texts builds on this foundation.[121][122] Linga, statesAlain Daniélou, means sign.[120] It is an important concept in Hindu texts, wherein Linga is a manifested sign and nature of someone or something. It accompanies the concept ofBrahman, which as invisible signless and existent Principle, is formless or linga-less.[120]
According to theLinga Purana, the lingam is a complete symbolic representation of the formless Universe Bearer – the oval-shaped stone is the symbol of the Universe, and the bottom base represents the Supreme Power that holds the entire Universe in it.[50] A similar interpretation is also found in theSkanda Purana: "The endless sky (that great void which contains the entire universe) is the Linga, the Earth is its base. At the end of time the entire universe and all the Gods finally merge in the Linga itself."[123] In theLinga Purana, an Atharvaveda hymn is expanded with stories about the great Stambha and the supreme nature of Mahâdeva (the Great God, Shiva).[86]
According toShiva Purana (10th century CE - 11th century CE), the legend about the origin of the phallic form of Shiva is that somebrahmin devotees of Shiva were highly engrossed in the meditation of Shiva. In the meantime, Shiva came in a hideous nakedascetic form with ashes smeared all over his body holding his phallus, to test the devotion of his devotees. The wives of the sages were scared at this sight but some embraced theholy ascetic. Although Shiva put them to test, the sages and wives did not recognize him.[124] The sages were stupefied and deluded by Śiva's power of illusion,māyā,[124][125] became infuriated at this sight and cursed the ascetic form of Shiva:[125] "You are acting pervertedly. This violates the Vedic path. Hence let your penis fall on the ground.”[note 8]
Lingodbhava is a Shaiva sectarian icon where Shiva is depicted rising from the Lingam (an infinite fiery pillar) that narrates how Shiva is the foremost of theTrimurti;Brahma on the left andVishnu on the right are depicted bowing to Shiva in the centre.
TheShiva Purana also describes the origin of the lingam, known as Shiva-linga, as the beginning-less and endless cosmic pillar (Stambha) of fire, the cause of all causes. Shiva is pictured as emerging from the lingam – the cosmic pillar of fire – proving his superiority over the godsBrahma andVishnu. It also describes right way to worship Shiva linga in its 11th chapter in detail[128][129][130] This is known asLingodbhava. TheLinga Purana also supports this interpretation of lingam as a cosmic pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.[130][71][86]
In the 11th-century CE, afterconquests of the subcontinent by Muslim rulers, several sultans of Delhi, ofteniconoclastic, regarded the lingam as a sexual and anthropomorphic statue of Shiva, and ordered as many be destroyed as possible and destroyed them all off then after.[131] In some situations, the linga were deliberately laid at the thresholds of mosques for public usage and incorporated into Islamic architecture, notably at a mosque inBanbhore.[132]
A necklace with linga-containing pendant is constantly worn by the Lingayats.[133]
Lingayats, a sect of theShaivite religious tradition in India, wear a miniaturized linga called theistalinga.[134]Lingayats wear a lingam inside a necklace, calledIshtalinga.[135][136] Initially known asVeerashaivas (heroic worshippers of Shiva), since the 18th century CE adherents of this faith are known asLingayats.[137] This tradition originated in Karnataka around the 12th-century CE.[135][138] Lingayatism is derived from the termlinga and suffixayta.[139] The term Lingayat is based on the practice of both genders of Lingayats wearing aniṣṭaliṅga (also calledkarasthala-linga) contained inside a box with a necklace all the time. Theistalinga is a personalized and miniature oval-shaped linga and an emblem of their faith symbolisingParashiva, the absolute reality and their spirituality.[139][140] It is viewed as a "living, moving" divinity within the Lingayat devotee. Every day, the devotee removes this personal linga from its box, places it in left palm, offerspuja and then meditates about becoming one with the linga, in his or her journey towards theatma-linga.[141]
Anice lingam atAmarnath in the westernHimalayas forms every winter from ice dripping on the floor of a cave and freezing like astalagmite. It is very popular with pilgrims.[142]
Left: 2 sphatika (quartz) lingams in the Shri Parkasheshwar Mahadev Temple, Dehradun; Right: Ice Lingam in the cave at theAmarnath Temple, Kashmir.
InKadavul Temple, a 700-pound, 3-foot-tall, naturally formedSphatika (quartz) lingam is installed. In the future, this crystal lingam will be housed in theIraivan Temple. It is claimed as among the largest known sphatika self formed (Swayambhu) lingams.[143][144] Hindu scripture rates crystal as the highest form of Shiva lingam.[145]
Shivling, 6,543 metres (21,467 ft), is a mountain inUttarakhand (the Garhwal region of Himalayas). It arises as a sheer pyramid above the snout of theGangotri Glacier. The mountain resembles a Shiva lingam when viewed from certain angles, especially when travelling or trekking from Gangotri to Gomukh as part of a traditional Hindu pilgrimage.[citation needed]
^This view is shared by K.R. Subramanian, who writes that some Buddhist stupas have been worshipped by Tamil Saivites because they believe it is a Shivalinga, and some ancient stupa sculptures from Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta look so much like a linga that anyone would mistake them for one.[72]
^The form of fire, which exists in the kindling stick in a latent form, may not be seen, yet itslinga is not destroyed but be seized again by another kindling stick.[4] Fire in its latent condition, unkindled, the potential of fire, its imperceptible essence, is theliūga of fire, in contrast with and indispensable to its visible form (Rūpa).[4]
^Kramrisch claims that the representation of the phallic shape in theGudimallam Lingam does not represent sexuality.[151] It represents "seminal retention" and practice ofcelibacy (Brahmacarya) (illustration ofUrdhva Retas),[101][99][111][152] and represents Shiva as "he stands for complete control of the senses, and for the supreme carnal renunciation".[151]
^Furthermore, the phallic shape, standing erect, always negates its function as an organ of procreation. Rather, the shape or pictorial representation is conveying that, the seed was channeled upward, not ejected for the sake of generation, but was reversed, retained and absorbed for regeneration as creative energy.[105]
^This linga is likely a dedication memorial stone according to the inscription which states, "The Linga of the sons of Khajahuti, was dedicated by Nagasiri, the son of Vasethi. May the deity be pleased."[108] Bloch objected to "Linga of the sons" interpretation, stating it made no sense. Other scholars maintain that to be a cryptic epigraphic reference to "worshipped by", given the mention of "deity" later in the inscription.[109][110]
^In the practice of seminal retention through self-discipline andSādhanā, the mind is stirred, but not by external stimuli, but the result of realisation of true nature of the Self in the path of liberation(moksha). However, due to lack of understanding of the iconography of Lingam, the representation is often misunderstood.[111][99]
^Although the sages were alsoascetics, only because they observed established conventions, they failed when Shiva tested them with his outrageous ways.[124] The purpose of Shiva's visit to the hermitage, the place where the sages were living with their wives, was to enlighten the false sages by allowing them to humiliate him.[126] But the sages were lost in anger, but Shiva allowed himself to be humiliated in the image that met the eye of the sages.[126] Even though Shiva excited some of them as the source of their desire, they were unable to see him as the killer of desires.[127] Although Shiva revealed his true nature by his dance (Tandava), yet so great was his power of illusion (māyā), the deluded sages did not recognize him.[127] That falling phallus burnt everything in front; wherever it went it began to burn everything there. It went to all three Hindu worlds (hell,heaven,earth). All the worlds and the people were distressed. The sages could not recognise it as Shiva and sought refuge fromBrahma.Brahma answered that they should pray toParvati to assume a form of vaginal passage, and perform a procedure reciting vedic mantras and decorating the penis with flowers etc., so that the penis would become steady. As the phallus was held by Parvati in that form, an auspicion arrow formed. The pedestal shaped as the vagina and the phallus fixed therein are symbolic of the eternal creative forces personified as Śivā and Śiva. After the procedure was completed, the penis became static. This phallus was known as"hatesa" and "Siva Siva".[125] In one version of the story found inVamana Purana, Shiva's visit to the hermitage inDeodar forests was an act of grace atParvati's request.[124]
^abcBeltz, Johannes (1 March 2011). "The Dancing Shiva: South Indian Processional Bronze, Museum Artwork, and Universal Icon".Journal of Religion in Europe.4 (1). Brill Academic Publishers:204–222.doi:10.1163/187489210x553566.S2CID143631560.
^abcSivananda, Swami (1996)."Worship of Siva Linga".Lord Siva and His Worship. The Divine Life Trust Society.Archived from the original on 18 February 2018. Retrieved8 December 2008.
^Dominic Goodall, Nibedita Rout, R. Sathyanarayanan, S.A.S. Sarma, T. Ganesan and S. Sambandhasivacarya,The Pañcāvaraṇastava of Aghoraśivācārya: A twelfth-century South Indian prescription for the visualisation of Sadāśiva and his retinue, Pondicherry, French Institute of Pondicherry and Ecole française d'Extréme-Orient, 2005, p.12.
^O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (1981).Śiva, the erotic ascetic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-520250-3.
^O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (2013).On Hinduism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780199360079.
^O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (2009).The Hindus: An Alternative History. United States: Viking Press.ISBN978-0143116691.
^Rohit Dasgupta (26 September 2014). Michael Kimmel; Christine Milrod; Amanda Kennedy (eds.).Cultural Encyclopedia of the Penis. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 107.ISBN9780759123144.Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved1 October 2018.
^Doniger 2011, p. 500, Quote: "The British missionaries most despised what they regarded as the obscene idolatry of the lingam. The British in general, who were of course Victorian in every sense of the word, regarded the Hindus, as they regarded most colonized people of color, as simultaneously oversexed and impotent, and the British presence had a negative effect on the self-perception that Hindus had of their own bodies (Nandy 1983). For, still reeling from the onslaught of the Muslim campaigns against lingams, the Hindus who worked with and for the British internalized their colonizers' scorn."
^Alex Wayman (1987). "O, that Linga!".Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.68 (1/4): 30., Quote: "That is why today one will read in various works by Indians on Saivism a denial that the linga is a phallus; and the late Dr. Basham once told the present writer that in all the years of his India contacts he never found any Saivite admitting that the linga is a phallus."
^Alex Wayman (1987). "O, that Linga!".Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.68 (1/4):29–31.
^ Lord Shiva and His Worship by Sri Swami Sivananda (1945), Chapter IX: Siva Yoga Sadhna, Section 7: Worship of Siva Lingam, 2015 edition, Allahabad Book World Ltd.
^Lord Shiva and His Worship by Sri Swami Sivananda (1945), Chapter IX: Siva Yoga Sadhna, Section 7: Worship of Siva Lingam, Page 220, 2015 edition, Allahabad Book World Ltd.
^abcdefAsko Parpola (1985). "The Sky Garment - A study of the Harappan religion and its relation to the Mesopotamian and later Indian religions".Studia Orientalia.57. The Finnish Oriental Society:101–107.
^Ellwood Austin Welden (1910). "The Samkhya Term, Linga".The American Journal of Philology.31 (4). The Johns Hopkins University Press:445–459.doi:10.2307/288521.JSTOR288521.
^Klostermaier, Klaus K. (2007).A Survey of Hinduism (3. ed.). Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press. p. 111.ISBN978-0-7914-7082-4.Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved24 September 2016.
^abcdPensa, Corrado. "Some Internal and Comparative Problems in the Field of Indian Religions." Problems and Methods of the History of Religions. Brill, 1972. 102-122.
^abSwami Agehananda Bharati (1970).The Tantric Tradition. Red Wheel/Weiser. p. 294.ISBN0877282536.
^abDevdutt Pattanaik (2018).Shiva to Shankara: Giving Form to the Formless. HarperCollins. pp. 13–14.ISBN9789352641956.
^O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. "Asceticism and Sexuality in the Mythology of Śiva. Part I."History of Religions 8, no. 4 (1969): 300-37. Accessed September 7, 2021.http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062019Archived 30 June 2021 at theWayback Machine.
^abPattanaik, Devdutt. Shiva to Shankara: Decoding the phallic symbol. Indus Source, 2006.
^Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1966).Indian Costume. Popular Prakashan. pp. xvi, xlvii.ISBN978-81-7154-403-5.Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved30 September 2018.
^Chaturvedi (2004).Shiv Purana (2006 ed.). Diamond Pocket Books. p. 11.ISBN978-81-7182-721-3.Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved15 November 2020.
^abBlurton, T. R. (1992)."Stone statue of Shiva as Lingodbhava".Extract from Hindu art (London, The British Museum Press). British Museum site.Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved2 July 2010.
^Doniger 2011, pp. 498–499: "But several of the Delhi sultans, those who were particularly devout and iconoclast Muslims, regarded the lingam as sexual and anthropomorphic, and took pride in destroying as many lingams as they could. In 1026, Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the temple of Somnath, which held a famous Shiva lingam; this much, at least, seems to be historical fact. But then comes the mythologizing. According to some versions of the story, including early Turko-Persian triumphalist sources, Mahmud stripped the great gilded lingam of its gold and hacked it to bits with his sword, sending the bits back to Ghazni, where they were incorporated into the steps of the new mosque (Keay 2000: 207–209). Medieval Hindu epics of resistance created a countermythology in which the stolen image came to life (another bit of evidence that it was regarded as a living thing, a body in itself) and eventually, like a horse trotting back to the stable, returned to the temple to be reconsecrated (Davis 1997: 90–112)"
^under the section "General Introduction"."Kadavul Hindu Temple".Himalayanacademy.Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved15 February 2018.
Basham, A. L.The Wonder That Was India: A survey of the culture of the Indian Sub-Continent before the coming of the Muslims, Grove Press, Inc., New York (1954; Evergreen Edition 1959).
Davis, Richard H. (1992).Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping Śiva in Medieval India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691073866.
Doniger, Wendy (2011), "God's Body, or, The Lingam Made Flesh: Conflicts over the Representation of the Sexual Body of the Hindu God Shiva",Soc. Res. Social Research,78 (2):485–508,ISSN0037-783X,JSTOR23347187,OCLC772197753
Drabu, V.N.Śaivāgamas: A Study in the Socio-economic Ideas and Institutions of Kashmir (200 B.C. to A.D. 700), New Delhi: Indus Publishing (1990),ISBN8185182388.
Kramrisch, Stella (1988).The Presence of Siva. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN9788120804913.
McCormack, William (1963), "Lingayats as a Sect",The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,93 (1):59–71,doi:10.2307/2844333,JSTOR2844333
Olson, Carl (2007),The Many Colors of Hinduism: A Thematic-historical Introduction, Rutgers University Press,ISBN978-0813540689
Śarmā, Rāmakaraṇa (1996).Śivasahasranāmāṣṭakam : eight collections of hymns containing one thousand and eight names of Śiva. Delhi: Nag Publishers.ISBN9788170813507.OCLC36990863. IncludesŚivasahasranāmakoṣa, a dictionary of names. This work compares eight versions of theŚivasahasranāmāstotra. The preface and introduction (in English) by Ram Karan Sharma provide an analysis of how the eight versions compare with one another. The text of the eight versions is given in Sanskrit.
Schumacher, Stephan and Woerner, Gert.The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Hinduism, Shambhala, Boston, (1994)ISBN0-87773-980-3.
Schouten, Jan Peter (1995),Revolution of the Mystics: On the Social Aspects of Vīraśaivism, Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN978-8120812383
Chakravarti, Mahadev (1986).The concept of Rudra-Śiva through the ages. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.ISBN81-208-0053-2.
Constance, Jones; James, Ryan (2006).Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Facts On File.ISBN0816054584.
DeVito, Carole; DeVito, Pasquale (1994).India - Mahabharata. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1994 (India). United States Educational Foundation in India.
Grimes, John A. (1996).A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: Sanskrit Terms Defined in English. State University of New York Press.ISBN0791430677.
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