Linga Purification

Purification of the very purifying agents or materials is the first step. The materials used for purifiying sivalinga include sands from various sources such as sand from elephant's horn, sand from bull's horn, sand from river,sand from agnihotra vedi, sand from theerthasthana (pilgrim centre) sand from a junction,sand from mountain and sand from anthills. These sands are sanctified with soshanakriya before using it for linga suddhi.soshanaadi kriya is done by breathing 34 times into the material using 5 darbha grass blades, with syllables Yam to ham denoting Prithwi thathwa-Earth element to Akasha Thathwa or Ether element.

purification of praasaada

Praasaada sudhi or purification of shrine is the second ritual connected with installation of Sivalinga. Shrine need not be a temple. Any structure in which Sivalinga is worshipped is considered as praasaada. There is specified measurements for this structure also.

At Madhuvanam a wooden pedestal was made for the Maha Rudra Yajna similar to the one used at Prasanthi Nilayam and Chennai. But the pedestal was made on specific measurements. The accepted yoni was DHWAJA YONI. So this pedestal was considered as praasaada and rituals were done on it before mounting the SIvalinga or peetha.

Different forms of Sivalinga

Swayambhhoo :Naturally occurring lingams

A 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.

There is a great connection in marking the forces of nature to be worshipped. The following description has various forms of nature being worshipped as Linga.

The Vedas speak of the Ashta Murthys’ (forms) of Lord Shiva. Sarva, Bhava, Rudra, Ugra, Bheema, Pasupathi, Mahadeva, Eashana are the eight Murthys of Shiva. Puranas explain the Adhistanas for these eight forms, which are Sarva for earth, Bhava for water, Rudra for fire, Ugra for wind, Bheema for space, Pasupathi for yajamana, Mahadeva for moon and Eashana for Sun. Shiva is also called Pasupathi i.e. Lord Shiva with his enormous grace on the Jeeva means pasu, cuts the Pasa or the string and makes it move free to join him with devotion. In this way, his name Pasupathi is more meaningful. Each of the following Kshethras (places) in India & Nepal connected to the Lord ’s eight forms, so that the devotee can know clearly how the ancient puranas took care to locate these places both geographically and spiritually. Shiva, Brahma puranas are the main sources .

The following forms or forces of nature are worshipped in their primal form only without any special idols representing them.

Sarva :- Bhoomi Linga, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. It is in Shiva Kanchi Kshetra, where the Lord is in the form of Kshiti Linga in the Ekamra tree ( Aamra ( Mango in Sankrit) tree, which yield only one fruit per year). Parvathi worshipped this form first. There is no Abhisheka done with water at this shrine, jasmine oil is used instead. The Devi’s name here is Kamakshi. All the desires of the devotees are fulfilled with her gracious eyes.

Bhava :- Jala Linga, Tiruvanaikoil, (Jambukeswaram), Tamil Nadu. This temple is located on the outskirts of Trichy, where Lord Jambukeswara is seated and showers all his blessings to his devotees. This Kshethra is called Jambhukeswara Kshetra, also known as Jala Linga. The devotees can see from the outside of Garbha Gruha the water bubbles coming out from Panipetham. There is a Jambu tree, which is very old and very big. The legends say Lord Shiva wanted to stay here along with the Jambu tree. So the devotees treat this tree as sacred as the Lord.

Rudra:- Agni or Thejo (Divine Light) Linga, Tiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu – Arunachaleswara. In Tiruvannamalai, Lord Shiva is seated in the form of Thejolinga. The whole mountain appears to be a Linga. As a result of Parvathi’s great penance, a sharp spark of fire came from Arunachala and took shape as Arunalinga.

Ugra:- Vayu Linga, Sri Kalahasti, Andhra Pradesh. The Sri Kalahasteeswara temple is situated on the banks of Swarna Mukhi River in Sri Kalahasti. Spiritually elevated souls only can see that there is a strong wind blowing around the Linga. Bhakta Kannappa story is connected to this temple. Even animals got salvation by worshipping this Lord. Three animals – Cobweb (Sree), Kala (snake), Hasthi (elephant) prayed to God with utmost faith and devotion and attained Moksha. One can see the symbols there on the Shiva Linga even today

Bheema:- Akasha Linga, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. This Kshetra is on the banks of Cauvery. We don’t see any Murthy in the temple Garbha Gruha. The puranas speak of this Kshetra very highly. No one can see the Lord’s Murthy, except the highest spiritual souls. There is a space in the Garbha Gruha and many Abharanas are decorated and the devotees assume the God is seated there. A very beautiful Nataraja murthy is in outer Garbha Gruha for worship and for the satisfaction of the devotees.

Pasupathi:- Yajamana(Lord) Linga, Kathmandu, Nepal. In Nepal, Pasupathinadha Kshetra is famous and the Lord here is in human form. The devotee can see the God up to his waist only. The Murthy is decorated with Gold Kavacha always. Nobody can enter into the Garbha Gruha except the Archaka (not even the King of Nepal). Many devotees from all over the globe pray to this Lord with highest devotion and get their wishes fulfilled.

Mahadeva:- Chandra Linga, West Bengal. Chandra natha Linga is situated in West Bengal 34 miles away from Chatagav City. Many sacred thirthas surround this Kshetra. Devi purana lauded this Kshethra greatly.

Eashana:- Surya Linga, Konark Temple, Orissa. This Kshetra is in Orissa state near Puri Jagannath Kshetra. Konark is now in ruins and the temple is in fragments and now, devotees can’t see any God or Goddess here. The legend says that Sri Krishna’s son Samba suffered once from leprosy and was cured by worshipping the Sun God and the Linga here and since then this Kshetra became a remedy center for all diseases. Even in these days the worship is going on with same faith and devotion.The Bijileshwar Mahadev[14](incidence of Vasishta in Rigveda) absorbs lightening and breaks into pieces, is then restored by butter every 12 years.

Shivling (6543m) is also a mountain in Uttarakhand (the Garwhal region of Himalayas). It arises as a sheer pyramid above the snout of the Gangotri Glacier. The mountain resembles a shivling when viewed from certain angles, especially when travelling or trekking from Gangotri to Gomukh as a part of a traditional Hindu pilgrimage.

What is Siva Linga

Posted from an answer given by Sri Krishnan Kartha to a question.

The Lingam (also, Linga, Shiva linga Sanskrit लिङ्गं , meaning “mark,” or “sign,”) is a symbol for the worship of the Hindu god Shiva. While its origins are debated, the use of this symbol for worship is an ancient tradition in India extending back to the early Indus Valley civilization.

The Sanskrit term लिङ्गं , transliterated as linga has many meanings, generally as a mark, sign, or characteristic.It has a number of specific uses in Sanskrit that are derived from this general meaning. Vaman Shivram Apte’s dictionary gives seventeen definitions of the term, including these examples:

• The image of a god
• A symptom or mark of disease
• A spot or stain
• A means of proof,
• a proof, evidence
• The effect or product which evolves from a primary cause
• The concept of grammatical gender
• The phallus

An example of the use of the word linga in general Sanskrit usage to represent the concept of “sign” occurs in this passage from the Bhagavad Gita:

kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho 14.21

This is translated by Swami Gambhirananda as “O Lord, by what signs is one (known) who has gone beyond these three qualities?” and by Winthrop Sargeant as “By what marks is he recognized, Who has transcended these three qualities, O Lord?”.[4] In this quotation the word lingais is the instrumental plural form of linga, meaning “by what marks” or “by what signs”.

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba defines Linga as 'leeyam gamyathe ithi linga" meaning one which gets dissolved is linga. The preimeival form is that of an egg like the premieval sound is Aum. This egg is called Hiranyagarbha. This is depicted as golden in Upanishads. While widespread sivalinga worship in India has been in the shape of phallus, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba used to materialise sivalingas in the shape of parabolic eggs. This has to be identified as the true form of sivalinga,it seems. I find that linga got connected with SIva worship later on, since it must have been started as the premieval form. A simlar stone (Hajar al-Aswad) is kept in Kaaba in Mecca.This is said to be given to Abraham by Gabriels. There was many stones as such there, but Prophet Mohamed Nabi removed all other stones. The orthodox muslims believe that the stone is not worshipped in any way but it is doubtlessly respected. The prostrations to the Kaaba is similar to namaskaarams to rudra.

When does it get dissolved? The end of the cosmos is termed as Pra Laya.Laya means dissolution. The cosmos is dissolved by earthern element entering into water, water into fire, fire into Vayu and Vayu into space. Hence, Lingam is leeyam Gamyathe.

However different versions on Sivalinga are detailed hereunder.

An example of use of the word linga as a technical term in philosophy is given in this passage from the Sāṃkhya-Kārikā which describes the role of attributes in recognition of objects perceived by the senses:
Perception is the ascertainment of objects [which are in contact with sense-organs]; inference, which follows on the knowledge of the characteristic mark (linga) [i.e., the middle term] and that which bears the mark….”
The term lingam is sometimes used synonymously for shivalingam, a specific type of icon or altar representing the god Shiva

A. L. Basham says that linga have been found in the Harappan remains, and provides these comments relating to the antiquity of the symbol: “… Śiva was and still is chiefly worshipped in the form of the linga, usually a short cylindrical pillar with rounded top, which is the survival of a cult older than Indian civilization itself…. The cult of the linga, at all times followed by some of the non-Āryan peoples, was incorporated into Hinduism around the beginning of the Christian era, though at first it was not very important.”

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami explains in the lexicon section of his book, Dancing with Siva, that “Sivalinga is the most prevalent icon of Siva, found in virtually all Siva temples. It is a rounded, elliptical, aniconic image, usually set on a circular base, or peetham. The Sivalinga is the simplest and most ancient symbol of Siva, especially of Parasiva, God beyond all forms and qualities. The Peetham represents Parashakti, the manifesting power of God. Lingas are usually of stone (either carved or naturally existing, swayambhu, such as shaped by a swift-flowing river), but may also be of metal, precious gems, crystal, wood, earth or transitory materials such as ice. According to the Karana Agama , a transitory Sivalinga may be made of 12 different materials: sand, rice, cooked food, river clay, cow dung, butter, rudraksha beads, ashes, sandalwood, darbha grass, a flower garland, or molasses.”

Furthermore, there are instances in Hindu lore where a rock or pile of sand has been used by heroic personages as a Lingam or symbol of Shiva. For example, Arjuna fashioned a lingam of clay when worshipping Shiva. Thus, it is argued, too much should not be made of the usual shape of the Lingam. This view is also consonant with philosophies that hold that God may be conceptualized and worshipped in any convenient form; the form itself is irrelevant, the divine power that it represents is all that matters.

Hindu interpreters often use the underlying meaning of “sign” or “mark” for the Sanskrit word linga as the basis for their commentaries. For example: The name Lingam appears as a name of Shiva in the Shiva Sahasranama where it is translated by Ram Karan Sharma as “(Identifiable as) a symbol of the origin of the Universe.Bansi Pandit, in his book, Hindu Dharma said, that “Shivalinga means “Shiva symbol.”Swami Sivananda, said that “Linga means a mark, in Sanskrit. It is a symbol which points to an inference. When you see a big flood in a river, you infer that there had been heavy rains the previous day. When you see smoke, you infer that there is fire. This vast world of countless forms is a Linga of the omnipotent Lord. The Siva-Linga is a symbol of Lord Siva. When you look at the Linga, your mind is at once elevated and you begin to think of the Lord.”

Western interpreters often use the concept of “male generative organ” as the basis for their interpretations. For example:Monier-Williams provides one defition for lingam as: “The male organ… esp. that of Siva worshipped in the form of a stone or marble column…”.Gavin Flood’s An Introduction to Hindusim refers to the worship of Shiva “in his form as the Śiva liṅga or ‘icon’ found in most Hindu temples. The linga represents a phallus…”

However I must say here that generation is the principle behind Linga since the premieval form is hiranyagarbha that of a golden egg. It may be noticed that all eggs in biosphere is in similar shape. This must have been the reason for the lingam to get connected with phallus later on.

Various interpretations on the origin and symbolism of the Shiva lingam obtain. While the Tantras deem the Shiva lingam a symbol representing the regenerative aspect of the material universe, the Agamas and Shastras do not elaborate on this interpretation, and the Vedas fail altogether to mention the Lingam. But acccording to Vivekananda, the worship of Shivalinga originated from the famous Lingam in the Atharva Veda Sanhita sung in praise of Yupasthambha, the sacrificial post.[citation needed]

In Hindu Dharma, Bansi Pandit explains that “Shivalinga consists of three parts. The bottom part which is four-sided remains under ground, the middle part which is eight-sided remains on a pedestal and the top part which is actually worshipped is round. The height of the round part is one-third of its circumference. The three parts symbolize Brahma at the bottom, Vishnu in the middle and Shiva on the top. The pedestal is provided with a passage for draining away the water that is poured on top by devotees. The linga symbolizes both the creative and destructive power of the Lord and great sanctity is attached to it by the devotees.”

In Veerashaivism, Siva divides from His Absolute state into Linga (Supreme Lord) and anga, individual soul, the two eventually reuniting in undifferentiated oneness. There are three aspects of Sivalinga. Ishtalinga, personal form of Siva, in which He fulfills desires and removes afflictions — God as bliss or joy; Bhavalinga, Siva beyond space and time, the highest divine principle, knowable through intuition; Pranalinga, the reality of God which can be apprehended by the mind. The soul(anga) merges with Siva(Linga) by a progressive, six-stage path called shatsthala and this is called Shunyasampadane- earning eternal nothingness.

According to Swami Dharmananda who is a master of Yoga there is a mysterious power in the Linga, its shape has been designed to induce concentration of the mind. Just as the mind is focused easily in crystal-gazing, so also the mind attains one-pointedness, when it looks at the Linga. That is the reason why the ancient Rishis and the seers of India have prescribed Linga for being installed in the temples of Lord Shiva.

The great warrior Arjuna in epic Mahabharatha worshipped Linga for acquiring Pashupatasthra, great vedic scholar Ravana in epic Ramayana worshipped Shiva to present his mother Atmalinga, legendary rishi Markandeya and numerous rishis spread across timezones have worshipped the simplest looking Linga. Rishis used to leave all materialism to attain spirituality and a lump of soil in forest was what was required to worship and meditate. Scientifically from Lingayatism or Veerashaivism it helps one relate to cosmic energy through meditation of Istalinga worshipped by keeping it on palm.

There are different types of Lingas.I shall make another posting on that.

Sathya Sai Madhuvaneswara Lingam : Source and substance

The lingam to be used for Maharudra Yajnam and for further worship at Madhuvanam has been chiselled at Trayambakeswar in Maharashtra State, India where one of the 12 jyotirlingams in India is installed. An Ekadasa rudra japa (eleven times chanting of Rudra Prasna of Yajurveda) was conducted before the chistelling of the linga for Madhuvanam.

A view of Thrayambakeswar Temple, Maharashtra

The size of the linga is calculated according to the ancient text "Tantra Samuchayam" (Silpa Bhagam). The total length of the linga is equal to the diameter in the centre of the linga.The linga is ideally in parabolic shape. The length and diameter at the centre (nabhi) is eighteen inches. Out of this seven inches have gone submerssed in the peetha.This measurement makes the Satya Sai Madhuvaneswara linga unique since the visible part above the peetha (pedestal) is eleven inches representing the eleven (ekadasa) rudras.

While the linga is made of marble stone, the base is made out of NAPUMSAKA SILA , form of granite which is neither male nor female as per the Tantra Samuchaya tenets. The peetha (base holding the linga) was made from granite at Mayiladi village near Sucheendram Temple in Kanyakumari district Tamilnadu. The diameter shall be three times of the centre diameter of the linga. There are proportions for each carved cornices and bends in the peetha.They are Kumudam, Padi, Vala etc. All such measurements are determined by the factors such as the purpose of the idol, expanse of the space where linga is being installed, and the people who worhip it, etc etc.

Views of the peetham supporting Sathya Sai Madhuvanseswara lingam

What is Sivalinga
Different forms of Siva linga