Linga

A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional image in Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, also found in smaller shrines, or as self-manifested natural objects. It is often represented within a disc-shaped platform, the ''yoni'' – its feminine counterpart, consisting of a flat element, horizontal compared to the vertical lingam, and designed to allow liquid offerings to drain away for collection. Together, they symbolize the merging of microcosmos and macrocosmos, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence.

The original meaning of ''lingam'' as "sign" is used in Shvetashvatara Upanishad, which says "Shiva, the Supreme Lord, has no liūga", liuga ( sa, लि‌ऊग ) meaning he is transcendental, beyond any characteristic and, specifically, the sign of gender. Lingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless Reality", the symbolization of merging of the 'primordial matter' (''Prakṛti'') with the 'pure consciousness' ('' Purusha'') in transcendental context.

The metaphorical creative principle of lingam-yoni, the union of the feminine and the masculine, the eternal cosmological process of creation is also depicted in Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, where etymologically and semantically ''Yin'' represents the feminine, half-unity of consciousness and ''Yang'' denotes the masculine, the other half, together symbolizing the entirety or unity-consciousness in the creation. The ''lingam'' is conceptualized both as an emblem of generative and destructive power, particularly in the esoteric Kaula and Tantra practices, as well as the Shaivism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism.

"Lingam" is found in Sanskrit texts, such as Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Samkhya, Vaisheshika and others texts with the meaning of "evidence, proof" of God and God's existence, or existence of formless Brahman. Lingam iconography found at archaeological sites of the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia includes simple cylinders set inside a ''yoni''; mukhalinga rounded pillars with carvings such as of one or more ''mukha'' (faces); and anatomically realistic representations of a phallus such as on the Gudimallam Lingam. In the Shaiva traditions, the lingam is regarded as a form of spiritual iconography.

Nomenclature and significance

Lingam, states Monier Monier-Williams, appears in the Upanishads and epic literature, where it means a "mark, sign, emblem, characteristic".Linga
Monier Monier-Williams, Harvard University Archives, pp. 90
902
/ref> Other contextual meanings of the term include "evidence, proof, symptom" of God and God's power. 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. It is a religious symbol in Hinduism representing Shiva as the generative power, all of existence, all creativity and fertility at every cosmic level.

The lingam of the Shaivism tradition is a short cylindrical pillar-like symbol of Shiva, made of stone, metal, gem, wood, clay or precious stones. According to ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the lingam is a votary aniconic object found in the sanctum of Shiva temples and private shrines that symbolizes Shiva and is "revered as an emblem of generative power". It often is found within a lipped, disked structure that is an emblem of goddess Shakti and this is called the ''yoni''. Together they symbolize the union of the feminine and the masculine principles, and "the totality of all existence", states ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.

According to Alex Wayman, given the Shaiva philosophical texts and spiritual interpretations, various works on Shaivism by some Indian authors "deny that the linga is a phallus"., 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." 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. For example, according to Swami Sivananda, the corelation of the linga and phallus is wrong; the Lingam is only the external symbol of Lord Shiva's formless being. He further states that it is the light or power of consciousness, manifesting from Sadashiva.

According to Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the lingam signifies three perfections of Shiva. The upper oval part of the Shivalingam represents Parashiva and lower part of the Shivalingam, called the pitha, represents Parashakti. In Parashiva perfection, Shiva is the absolute reality, the timeless, formless and spaceless. In Parashakti perfection, Shiva is all-pervasive, pure consciousness, power and primal substance of all that exists and it has form unlike Parashiva which is formless.
According to Rohit Dasgupta, the lingam symbolizes Shiva in Hinduism, and it is also a phallic symbol. Since the 19th century, 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.

According to Sivananda Saraswati, Siva Lingam speaks unmistakable language of silence: "I am one without a second, I am formless". Siva Lingam is only the outward symbol of formless being, Lord Siva, who is eternal, ever-pure, immortal essence of this vast universe, who is your innermost Self or Atman, and who is identical with the Supreme Brahman, states Sivananda Saraswati.

Scholars, such as Wendy Doniger and Rohit Dasgupta, view ''linga'' as extrapolations of what was originally a phallic symbol. This interpretation is criticized by Stella Kramrisch and Moriz Winternitz who opines that the ''linga'' 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.

History

Archeological finds from Indus Valley civilisation

According to Chakrabarti, "some of the stones found in Mohenjodaro are unmistakably phallic stones". These are dated to some time before 2300 BCE. Similarly, states Chakrabarti, the Kalibangan site of Harappa has a small terracotta representation that "would undoubtedly be considered the replica of a modern Shivlinga tubular stone" 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. According to Srinivasan, in the Harappan sites, objects that resemble "lingam" have been found. That includes "a seated trident-headed ithyphallic figure", which was found on Indus seals, "has been compared to Shiva as meditating ascetic", states Srinivasan.

The colonial-era archaeologists John Marshall and Ernest Mackay proposed that certain artifacts found at Harappan sites may be evidence of yoni-linga worship in Indus Valley Civilization. Scholars such as Arthur Llewellyn Basham dispute whether such artifacts discovered at the archaeological sites of Indus Valley sites are yoni. For example, Jones and Ryan state that lingam/yoni shapes have been recovered from the archaeological sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, part of the Indus Valley civilisation. In contrast, Indologist Wendy Doniger 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 Indus stamp seal often called the Pashupati 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.

According to the Indologist Asko 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". 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". 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. 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.

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

Shvetashvatara Upanishad states one of the three significations, the primary one, of ''Lingam'' as " the imperishable Purusha", the absolute reality, where says the ''linga'' as "sign", a mark that provides the existence of Brahman, or symbol of formless Brahman. Furthermore, it mentioned that Shiva is transcendent, beyond any characteristic or ''liūga'', specifically, the sign of gender. Linga, "sign", not only signifies the existence of perceptible "things" but also denotes the imperceptible essence of "a thing" or pieces of Brahman called Atma even before the thing in its concrete shape has come to exist. The imperceptible essence of "a thing", in its potentiality, is the ''liūga'' of the thing. The insight of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad conveyed through the word ''liūga'' is formulated explicitly in Samkhya and schools of Yoga or ways of looking at things, that is, looking at their appearance and at Ultimate Reality. ''Liriga'' here denotes the Subtle body (liṇga śarīra) underlying and ontological preceding anything perceptible. The perceptible state, in this context, is the gross body (sthūla śarīra), or concrete reality as it appears to the sense organs. In between the Ultimate and concrete reality is Prakṛti, also called Pradhana which is the imperceptible substratum of the manifest world or prematter. Out of this imperceptible cosmic substance, all things have come out, and to which they will return ultimately.

The three Gunas are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. The function as tendencies through the principles and powers of cosmic substance cohere are Buddhi, "cosmic intelligence or revelation"; Ahamkara, "individuation"; and Manas, "Mind". From these evolve the power ( Indriya) of cognition that enables hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting, and smelling and their corresponding subtle elements to exist. From these supersensible (Tanmatras), the sense particulars ( Mahābhūta) come into being. They are Ether or space (Akasha), air ( Vayu), fire (Agni), water ( Ap), and earth ( Bhumi), the Pancha Bhootas. They are the vehicles of the Tanmatras, and constitute the gross body of concrete, perceptible, and particularized reality. The Subtle body (liṇga śarīra) is the subtle prototype of the gross body, the imperceptible stuff of energy by which all phenomena are projected into concrete reality, like fire from its latency. The subtle body, itself changeless, accompanies the life-of-the-individual (Jiva) through the cycles of birth and deaths and is finally reabsorbed into the principles and powers of which it was composed of.

Linga Purana

The Linga Purana states, "Shiva is signless, without color, taste, smell, that is beyond word or touch, without quality, motionless and changeless". The source of the universe is the signless, and all of the universe is the manifested Linga, a union of ''unchanging principle'' and the ''ever changing'' nature. The ''Linga Purana'' and Siva Gita texts builds on this foundation. Linga, states Alain Daniélou, means sign. It is an important concept in Hindu texts, wherein Linga is a manifested sign and nature of someone or something. It accompanies the concept of Brahman, which as invisible signless and existent Principle, is formless or linga-less.

Vedic literature

The word ''lingam'' is not found in the ''Rigveda'', or the other Vedas. However, Rudra (proto-Shiva) is found in the Vedic literature. Worship of the lingam was not a part of the Vedic religion. The worship of the lingam originated from the famous hymn in the Atharva Veda Samhita sung in praise of the ''Yupa-Stambha'', the sacrificial post. In that hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endless '' Stambha'' or ''Skambha'', and it is shown that the said ''Skambha'' is put in place of the eternal Brahman. Just as the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, the ''Soma'' plant, and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic 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, the ''Yupa-Skambha'' gave place in time to the ''Shiva-Linga''. In the text ''Linga 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.

There is a hymn in the Atharvaveda that praises a pillar ('' stambha''), and this is one possible origin of linga worship. According to Swami Vivekananda, the Shiva-linga had origins in the idea of ''Yupa-Stambha'' or Skambha of the Vedic rituals, where the term meant the sacrificial post which was then idealized as the eternal Brahman. The ''Yupa-Skambha'' gave place in time to the ''Shiva-Linga'', quite possibly with influence from Buddhism's stupa shaped like the top of a stone linga, according to Vivekananda.

Early iconography and temples

The Gudimallam Lingam, one of the oldest examples of a lingam, is still in worship in the Parashurameshwara temple, Gudimallam, in a hilly forest about east of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. It has been dated to the 3rd-century BCE, or to the 2ndcentury BCE, and is mostly accepted to be from the 3rd- to 1st-century BCE, though some later dates have been proposed. The stone lingam is clearly a representation of an anatomically accurate phallus, with a figure of Lakulisha, the ascetic manifestation of Shiva, carved on the front, holding an antelope and axe in his hands. He stands on top of a Apasmara

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases