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| Thanjavur Big temple -huge Shiva linga in natural form. Divya Darisanam |
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| Shiva Lingam .pinterest.com |
In our great epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Shiva worship was given due importance. Sage Vyasa mentions that Arjuna fashioned a Lingam out of clay when worshipping Lord Shiva. Similarly, in the Ramayana before crossing to over to Sri Lanka, Rama, Lakshmana and fashioned a Shiva Lingam at Rameswaram for worshipping Lord Shiva and also that Ravana could not lift the Lingam after it was placed on the ground by the small boy. After slaying the demon King Ravana, back at Rameswaram again fashioned a Shiva Linga; this time to do tharpanam for the reason he had slain a great Shiva Baktha. Arjuna and Rama and Sita worshipped Lord Shiva as Nirguna Brahman or the formless Supreme Being. According to the Indian sages, Shiva and Vishnu are present in the Lingam.
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| Brihadeeswar temple, Thanjavur. luxoindia.com |
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| Brihadeeswae temple, Shiva lingam, Thanjavur, TN Lingampixshark.com |
The following are quite awe-inspiring facts of Shiva Linga:
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| Shiva Lingam krishnasankar93.blogspot.com |
02. In traditional Indian society, the lingam is seen as a symbol of the energy and potential of Shiva himself and is consecrated in the center of Garbagriha right below a tall or small tower and it is the focal point the cosmic energy from outside through the upper part of the tower.
03. According to Anthropologist Christopher John Fuller the an-iconic Shiva Linga is an exception though most sculpted images (murtis) are anthropomorphic. This kind of Linga worship is native to India, in particular, South India and it part of religious tradition here.
04. The lingam is a pillar-like or oval (egg-shaped) symbol of Shiva; all-pervasive formless 'Reality', it is made of stone, metal, or clay. In south India in many places, the lingam is made from granite and its related group of hard stone.
05. A lingam (a word derived from Sanskrit) also Shiva linga) is an abstract or an-iconic representation of Lord Shiva and is often depicted as resting on a circular platform called a yoni or pitha (or Peetam).
06. It is a symbol of the form and formless God – Paramatma – Atma Linga.
07. The important revelation worthy of mention is the concept of Linga that helps us believe that the god does not have any definite form. Neither has he a beginning nor an end, yet he is all-pervading and powerful.
08. The Lingam embodies the creative and destructive powers ever operating on the universe. Geologically speaking, the earth's crust is being created on one side and destroyed on the other side in the subduction zones across the globe, thus maintaining a perfect equilibrium between creation (aggradation) and destruction (denudation).
09. A lingam represents the space in which the universe creates and destroys itself symbolically maintaining a right balance between creation and destruction as mentioned above.
10. It is quite pertinent to point out that it brings out the transient nature of life and the things around us.
11. Skanda Purana mentions: "The endless sky (that great void which contains the entire universe) is the Linga, the Earth acting as its base. Toward the end of time, the whole universe and all the Gods and Demi gods finally merge into the' Linga' - the last form before total destruction. Ironically it was the same lingam (cosmic space) the first one arising during the process of creation.
12. It is quite interesting that Yogic tradition views Lingam is as a perfect ellipsoid - the first form of creation. Obviously, the final form before total dissolution is also a Lingam. Modern cosmologists are of the opinion that the core of every galaxy is in the form of ellipsoid. Yoga always maintains that the first and final form is a Lingam. It is to be noted that if a person meditates (on something), his/her energies will naturally take the form of Lingam. So the first and final form before dissolution is also a Lingam. Hence Shiva Linga assumes much importance among the Hindus.
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| Prakaram, Ekambereswarar temple, Kanchipuram, TN flickr.com |
connotation with male genital organ. That Lingam represents a phallus is absolutely non-sense and fallacious.and it shows their ignorance of the the Hindu scriptures. How come they attach obscenity with divinity? It is an irresponsible interpretation and quite baseless. German Orientalist, Gusta Oppert traced it to phallicism. Swami Vivekananda and others refuted his misconception by quoting Rig Veda and said it represents the ''beginingless and endless'' nature of the divine God Shiva.
14. The word Linga associated with Shiva has come from two words that is Leen and Gati. Leen means dissolve and Gati means grow. It means man should dissolve (Leen) in Shiva and grow (Gati). Being symbolic of formless God, he is soulful and above all.
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| Chidambaram Nataraj temple gold-lated roof, En. wikipedia. org |
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| Arunachaleswarare, Thiruvannamalai, TN walkthroughindia.com |
17. According to Shaiva Siddhanta (a major school of Shaivism)
(Shaivism is one of 4 major sampradaya of Hinduism), Lord Shiva has 3 perfections: Parashiva, Parashakti and Parameshwara.The upper oval part of the Shivalingam represent Parashiva and lower pedestal part of Shivalingam or pitha represent Parashakti. In the former, Lord Shiva is absolute reality which is beyond human comprehension and is beyond all attributes. In this aspect Lord Shiva is timeless, formless and spaceless. In the latter (Parashakti perfection) Lord Shiva is all-pervasive, pure consciousness, power and primal substance of all that exists and it has form unlike Parashiva which is formless.
18. A Shiva Lingam has three main parts. The four-sided four-sided bottom is below the ground; the 8 sided middle part is on a pedestal. The visible elliptical or rounded part which is worshipped is at top. The tradition is the height of the elliptical part is roughly equal to one-third of its circumference. The three parts are quite symbolical and represent the Trinity Gods - Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. The bottom part represents Brahma. middle part Vishnu and the top Shiva.
19. Abishekam or anointing is an integral part of Shivalinga worship and the pedestal has a provision to drain out the water, etc poured on the round part during puja. The abisheka water is collected in a small stone tank out side the temple.
20. As to the origin of Shiva worship, it goes way back to 3500 BCE to 2300 BCE as confirmed by small statues (Terracotta Shiva Linga figurines) found in excavations at Indus Valley Civilization site of Kalibangan and other sites.
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| Thanjavur, TN Big Temple, rows of Shiva lingas. Flicker. com |
22. In one of the hymns, there is a description of the the Stambha as being beginning-less and endless Stambha. Later it assumed importance taking the place the eternal Brahman. The Yupa-Skambha over a period of time became the Shiva-Linga. Linga Purana the same hymn extols the glory of all pervading, eternal Stambha which is fathomless. The revelation of the supreme nature of Mahâdeva (the Great God, Shiva).
23. Shiva Purana, a great Hindu Scripture, describes the beginning-less and endless cosmic pillar (Stambha) as the the cosmic pillar of fire, the cause of all causes. Lord Shiva is depicted as emerging from 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.
24. The Pillar of fire also represents the Trinity Gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara while the Disc or Peedam represents Sakthi. The Disc is shown with three ridges, encarved at its periphery.
25. People belonging to the Lingayat community in Karnataka State compulsorily wear a lingam, called Ishtalinga.I believe they got a sub-religious status under the Indian constitution.
26. The Linga being egg-like represents the Brahmanda (cosmic egg). The universe is like Linga.
27. Shiva represents Pancha Boothas - five elements of nature that are essential for survival - fire, water, earth, sky and air (ether).
28. Pancha Bhoota Stalam refers to five temples dedicated to Shiva, each representing a manifestation of the five prime elements of nature: land, water, air, sky, and fire.Pancha means "five," Bhoota means "elements," and Stala means "place." The temples are located in South India, four in Tamil Nadu and one in Andhra Pradesh. The five elements are believed to be enshrined in the five lingams of the temples, with each lingam named based on the element represented.
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| Panchabootha lingas /sthalas. maalaimalar.com |
Bottom- L to R : Jambukeswarar, Kalhastheeswarar. ...............
Earth (Prithivi Lingam),Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu
Water (Appu Lingam/Jambu Lingam), Jambukeshwarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval, near Trichy, Tamil Nadu.
Fire (Agni Lingam /Jyothi Lingam), Arunachaleswara Temple,Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
Air (Vayu Lingam), Kalahasti temple, Kalahasthi, Andhra Pradesh
Space (Aagaya Lingam/Akasha Lingam),Thillai Natarajar Temple, Chidambaram,Tamil Nadu.
29. A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Supreme God Shiva. Jyoti means 'radiance' and lingam the 'Image of Shiva; In these places Shiva is believed to have appeared as a tall column of blazing fire; both the crown and the bottom are unreachable. The other trinity Gods Brahma and Vishnu made unsuccessful attempt to reach them.
30. There are twelve traditional Jyotirlinga shrines in India.The twelve jyothirlinga are:
Somnath in Gir Somnath, Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh,Mahakaleswarin Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Omkareshwar in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh Kedarnath in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar in Pune, Maharashtra, Vishwanath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Trimbakeshwar in Nashik, Maharashtra, Baidyanath in Deogarh,JharkhandNageshwara in Dwaraka, Gujarat, Ramanathaswamy in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, Grishneshwar in Aurangabad, Maharashtra
https://www.templepurohit.com/what-is-the-significance-and-meaning-of-shiva-lingam/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linga
https://dp999.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/misconception-about-shiv-linga/
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