Lingam (Sanskrit: ??????, IAST: li?ga?, lit. "sign, symbol or mark"; also linga, Shiva linga, ling or Shiva ling), is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu deity Shiva, used for worship in temples, smaller shrines, or as self-manifested natural objects. In traditional Indian society, the linga is seen as a symbol of the energy and potential of Shiva himself.
The lingam is often represented as resting on aadhar (Sanskrit word, lit. "origin" or "source", ""), a symbol of beginning [[]] in Hinduism.
Video Lingam
Definition
The lingam is a column-like or oval (egg-shaped) symbol of Shiva, the Formless All-pervasive Reality, made of stone, metal, or clay. The Shiva Linga is a symbol of Lord Shiva - a mark that reminds of the Omnipotent Lord, which is formless. In Shaivite Hindu temples, the linga is a smooth cylindrical mass symbolising Shiva. It is found at the centre of the temple, often resting in the middle of a rimmed, disc-shaped structure, a representation of Shakti.
Maps Lingam
Origin
Terracotta Shiva Linga figurines found in excavations at Indus Valley Civilization site of Kalibangan and other sites provide evidence of early Shiva Linga worship from circa 3500 BCE to 2300 BCE.
Anthropologist Christopher John Fuller wrote that although most sculpted images (murtis) are anthropomorphic, the aniconic Shiva Linga is an important exception. Some believe that linga-worship was a feature of indigenous Indian religion.
There is a hymn in the Atharvaveda that praises a pillar (Sanskrit: stambha), and this is one possible origin of linga worship. Some associate Shiva-Linga with this Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In the hymn, a description is found of the beginning-less and endless Stambha or Skambha, and it is shown that the said Skambha is put in place of the eternal Brahman. The Yupa-Skambha gave place in time to the Shiva-Linga. In the Linga Purana the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the supreme nature of Mahâdeva (the Great God, Shiva).
The Hindu scripture Shiva Purana 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. Lord Shiva is pictured as emerging from the Lingam - the cosmic pillar of fire - proving his superiority over the gods Brahma and Vishnu. This is known as Lingodbhava. The Linga Purana also supports this interpretation of lingam as a cosmic pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. According to the Linga 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. A similar interpretation is also found in the Skanda 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." In yogic lore, the linga is considered the first form to arise when creation occurs, and also the last form before the dissolution of creation. It is therefore seen as an access to Shiva or that which lies beyond physical creation. In the Mahabharata, at the end of Dwaraka Yuga, Lord Shiva says to his desciples that in the coming Kali Yuga, He would not appear in any particular form, but instead as the formless and omnipresent.
Historical period
According to Shaiva Siddhanta, which was for many centuries the dominant school of Shaiva theology and liturgy across the Indian subcontinent (and beyond it in Cambodia), the linga is the ideal substrate in which the worshipper should install and worship the five-faced and ten-armed Sad??iva, the form of Shiva who is the focal divinity of that school of Shaivism.
The oldest example of a lingam that is still used for worship is in Gudimallam. It dates to the 2nd century BC. A figure of Shiva is carved into the front of the lingam.
The lingam is the considered to be the primordial representation of pure form devoid of energy.
However in the last 100 years, there has been a concerted effort to link Hindu religious symbols to misplaced Western notions of the nearly banned Tantric practices, including imagining the Lingam as a representation of a sexual organ to promote other religions and show Hinduism in poor light as something barbaric and primitive.
Making of Lingam according to Scriptures
The Saiva Agamas says "one can worship this Great God Shiva in the form of a Lingam made of mud or sand, of cow dung or wood, of bronze or black granite stone. But the purest and most sought-after form is the quartz crystal (Sphatika), a natural stone not carved by man but made by nature, gathered molecule by molecule over hundreds, thousands or millions of years, grown as a living body grows, but infinitely more slowly. Such a creation of nature is itself a miracle worthy of worship." Hindu scripture rates crystal as the highest form of Siva Lingam.
Naturally occurring Lingams
An ice lingam at Amarnath in the western Himalayas forms every winter from ice dripping on the floor of a cave and freezing like a stalagmite. It is very popular with pilgrims..
In Kadavul Temple, a 700-pound, 3-foot-tall, naturally formed Spatika(quartz) Lingam is installed. In future this crystal lingam will be housed in the Iraivan Temple. it is claimed as among the largest known sphatika(Quartz) self formed lingams. Hindu scripture rates crystal as the highest form of Siva Lingam.
Shivling, 6,543 metres (21,467 ft), is a mountain in Uttarakhand (the Garhwal region of Himalayas). It arises as a sheer pyramid above the snout of the Gangotri 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.
A lingam is also the basis for the formation legend (and name) of the Borra Caves in Andhra Pradesh.
See also
References
Sources
- 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).
- Schumacher, Stephan and Woerner, Gert. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, Hinduism, Shambhala, Boston, (1994) ISBN 0-87773-980-3.
- Chakravarti, Mahadev. The Concept of Rudra-?iva Through the Ages, Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass (1986), ISBN 8120800532.
- Davis, Richard H. (1992). Ritual in an Oscillating Universe: Worshipping ?iva in Medieval India. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691073866.
- Drabu, V.N. ?aiv?gamas: A Study in the Socio-economic Ideas and Institutions of Kashmir (200 B.C. to A.D. 700), New Delhi: Indus Publishing (1990), ISBN 8185182388.
- Ram Karan Sharma. ?ivasahasran?m???akam: Eight Collections of Hymns Containing One Thousand and Eight Names of ?iva. With Introduction and ?ivasahasran?m?ko?a (A Dictionary of Names). (Nag Publishers: Delhi, 1996). ISBN 81-7081-350-6. This work compares eight versions of the ?ivasahasran?m?stotra. 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.
- Kramrisch, Stella (1988). The Presence of Siva. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9788120804913.
Further reading
- Daniélou, Alain (1991). The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. pp. 222-231. ISBN 0-89281-354-7
- Versluis, Arthur (2008), The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism: Sacred Practices and Spiritual Marriage, Destiny Books, ISBN 978-1-59477-212-2
External links
- Famous Temple Having Shivling in Delhi NCR
Source of article : Wikipedia
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