Lingam
File:Shiv lingam Tripundra.jpg|thumb|right|A lingam with tripundra, projected on a yoni base
A lingam, sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. The word lingam is found in the Upanishads and epic literature, where it means a "mark, sign, emblem, characteristic", the "evidence, proof, symptom" of Shiva and Shiva's power.
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. 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.
The lingam is an emblem of generative and destructive power. While rooted in representations of the male sexual organ, the lingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless reality", the symbolization of merging of the "primordial matter" with the "pure consciousness" in the transcendental context. The lingam-yoni iconography symbolizes 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 lingam 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.
Etymology and nomenclature
Lingam, states Monier Monier-Williams, appears in the Upanishads and epic literature, where it means a "mark, sign, emblem, characteristic". Other contextual meanings of the term include "evidence, proof, symptom" of Shiva and Shiva's power.The word lingam is found in Sanskrit texts, such as Shvetashvatara Upanishad, Samkhya, Vaisheshika and others texts with the meaning of "evidence" of God and God's existence, or existence of formless Brahman. The original meaning of lingam as "sign" is used in Shvetashvatara Upanishad, which says "Shiva, the Supreme Lord, has no liūga", liuga meaning he is transcendental, beyond any characteristic and, specifically, the sign of gender.
The term also appears in early Indian texts on logic, where an inference is based on a sign, 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.
In early Sanskrit medical texts, linga means "symptom, signs" and plays a key role in the diagnosis of a sickness, the disease. The author of classical Sanskrit grammar treatise, Panini, states that the verbal root ling 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".
In the Vaisheshika Sutras, it means "proof or evidence", as a conditionally sufficient mark or sign. This Vaisheshika theory is adopted in the early Sanskrit medical literature. Like the Upanishads, where linga means "mark, sign, characteristic", the texts of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy use linga in the same sense. In the Samkhya sutras, and in Gaudapada's commentary on Samkhyakarika, the term linga 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 of Atman and Sarira and its proposed mechanism of rebirth. In the Purva Mimamsa Sutra and the Vedanta 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 " indicative sign", such as the "indicative sign is in a Vedic passage".
The term linga also appears in Buddhist and Jaina literature, where it means "sign, evidence" in one context, or "subtle body" with sexual connotations in another.
Iconography
Various styles
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.Various styles of lingam iconography are found on the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia. The historic lingam iconography has included:
- Lingam-yoni, wherin the lingam is placed 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.
- Mukhalingam, where the lingam has the face of Shiva carved on it. An Ekmukha lingam has just one face, Chaturmukha lingam has four faces in the cardinal directions, while a Panchamukha lingam has a total of five and represents Sadashiva. Among the mukha-lingam varieties, the four face version are more common.
- Ashtottara-sata linga, where 108 miniature lingas are carved on the pujabhaga following certain geometric principles.
- Sahasra linga, where 1001 miniature lingas are carved on the pujabhaga following certain geometric principles.
- Dhara linga, where lingas have five to sixty four fluted facets, with prime numbers and multiples of four particularly favored.
- Lingodbhava, where Shiva is seen as emerging from within a fiery lingam. On top of this icon is sometimes a relief of a swan representing Brahma as Hamsa, and a wild boar at the bottom representing Vishnu as Varaha. This reflects the Shaiva legend describing a competition between Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, as to who has priority and superiority in the Shiva Purana.
Construction
A lingam may be made of clay, metal, precious stone, wood, stone, or a disposable material. The construction method, proportions and design is described in Shaiva Agama texts. The lingam is typically set in the center of a pindika. A pindika may be circular, square, octagonal, hexagonal, duodecagonal, hexadecagonal, elliptical, triangular or another shape. Some lingams are miniaturized and they are carried on one's person, such as by Lingayats in a necklace. These are called chala-lingams. 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. Anthropologist Christopher John Fuller states that although most sculpted images are anthropomorphic or theriomorphic, the aniconic Shiva Linga is an important exception.Meaning
Representation of Shiva
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.The lingam and yoni together 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 lingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless Reality", the symbolization of merging of the 'primordial matter' with the 'pure consciousness' in transcendental context. Sivaya Subramuniyaswami elaborates that the lingam signifies three perfections of Shiva. The upper oval part of the lingam represents Parashiva and the lower part of the lingam, called the pitha, represents Parashakti. 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.
According to Sivananda Saraswati, the lingam speaks unmistakable language of silence: "I am one without a second, I am formless". It is only the outward symbol of formless being, Shiva, 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.
To some Shaivites the lingam symbolizes the axis of the universe.
According to Shaiva 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.
Phallus symbol
Phallic origins
Scholars, such as Wendy Doniger and Rohit Dasgupta, view linga as extrapolations of what was originally a phallic symbol.According to Doniger, there is persuasive evidence in later Sanskrit literature that the early Indians associated the lingam icon with the male sexual organ; the 11th-century CE Kashmir text Narmamala 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 the Skanda Purana in section 1.8 states that all creatures have the signs of Shiva or Shakti through their lingam or pindi. According to Doniger, a part of the literature corpus regards lingam 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 of lingam. 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. To one group, it is a part of Shiva's body and symbolically saguna Shiva. To the other group, it is an abstract symbol of nirguna Shiva. In Tamil Shaiva tradition, for example, the common term for lingam is kuri or "sign, mark" which is asexual. Similarly, in Lingayatism tradition, the lingam is a spiritual symbol and "was never said to have any sexual connotations", according to Doniger.
According to Dasgupta, the lingam symbolizes Shiva in Hinduism, and it is also a phallic symbol.
Some extant ancient lingams, such as the Gudimallam Lingam, unambiguously depict a male sexual organ.