lingam significance

[Guest guest]

pranams to baba,

i am sharing the significance of lingam what i found in the net.

shyam

 

lingam significance

 

The non antrhropomorphic Lingam form of Shiva is what is held in

reverence in temples all over the sub continent. The Lingam is a

symbol. It is a symbol of that which is invisible yet omnipresent. It

is hence a a visible symbol of the Ultimate Reality which is present

in us (and in all objects of creation ).

 

The Shivalingam denotes the primeval energy of the Creator.It is

believed that at the end of all creation, during the great deluge,

all of the different aspects of God find a resting place in the

Lingam; Bhrama is absorbed into the right, Vishnu to the left and

Gayatri into the heart. The Shivalingam is also a representation of

the infinite Cosmic Column of fire, whose origins, Vishnu and Bhrama

were unable to trace

Legend has it that Parvati fashioned a Shivalingam with a fistful of

sand at Kanchipuram and worshipped Shiva; this lingam is known as the

Prithvilingam, denoting the primordial element earth. Shivalingams in

several temples are swayambus, or that which appeared on their own,

or that which is untouched by a chisel. On the other hand, there are

temples where the Shivalingam is carved out of stone and installed.

The highly polished Shivalingams of the Pallava period bear several

stripes, as in the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.

 

The Shivalingam is generally mounted on a circular or quadrangular

receptacle called the Avudaiyar. This pedestal is designed so as to

drain off the water offered during ablution ceremonies. In temples

such as Kanchipuram, abhishekam is offered only to the pedestal and

not to the Shivalingam made of sand. The bottom of the pedestal

represents Bhrama, the octogonal middle represents Vishnu and the

upper circular portion represents Shiva. The upper portion of the

Shivalingam may be of various shapes, cylindrical, elliptical,

umbrella shaped. Images may also be (rarely) carved on a Shivalingam

Shiva is referred to as 'the good one' or the 'auspicious one'.

Shiva - Rudra is considered to be the destroyer of evil and sorrow.

Shiva - Shankara is the doer of good. Shiva is 'tri netra' or three

eyed, and is 'neela kantha' - blue necked (having consumed poison to

save the world from destruction. Shiva - Nataraja is the Divine

Cosmic Dancer. Shiva - Ardhanareeswara is both man and woman.

 

He is both static and dynamic and is both creator and destroyer. He

is the oldest and the youngest, he is the eternal youth as well as

the infant. He is the source of fertility in all living beings. He

has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva is the greatest of

renouncers as well as the ideal lover. He destroyes evil and protects

good. He bestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. He

is omnipresent and resides in everyone as pure consciousness.

 

Shiva is inseparable from Shakti - Parvati the daughter of Himavaan -

Haimavati. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without

Shiva, the two are one - or the absolute state of being -

consciousness and bliss.

 

The five mantras that constitute Shiva's body are Sadyojaata,

Vaamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha and Eesaana. Eesaana is Shiva not

visible to the human eye, Sadyojaata is Shiva realized in his basic

reality (as in the element earth, in the sense of smell, in the power

of procreation and in the mind). The Vishnudharmottara Purana of the

6th century CE assigns a face and an element to each of the above

mantras. (Sadyojaata - earth, Vaamadeva - water, Aghora - fire,

Tatpurusha - air and Eesaana - space).

 

The names of the deified faces with their elements are Mahadeva

(earth), Bhairava (fire), Nandi (air), Uma (water) and Sadasiva

(space). Panchamukha lingams have been seen from the 2nd century

onwards. The Trimurthi Sadasiva image of Shiva in the Elephanta Caves

near Mumbai is a portrayal in stone, of the five faces of Shiva. The

fourth and the fifth heads are not seen in this image here.

 

The works of sages Vyasa, Vasishta, Patanjali, the poet Kalidasa, the

tamil saint poets Nayanmars - Appar, Sundarar, Sambandar, the poet

Manikkavachakar, the mystic tamil siddhas, tantric philosophers, the

spiritual leader Adi Sankaracharya and others such as Basavanna and

Appayya Deekshitar speak of the attributes of Shiva.