Linga

“ May you ever preserve in you the Siva Linga. If you do so, you will have plenty of milk and food, and you will prosper for one thousand years in name and fame, kine and coin.’ If more than one have to receive the linga on the same day, each of them has to undergo this ceremony. After the ceremony is over, the priest returns to his village with the rice, etc., and fees. Every house, in which a boy has received the linga, has to give a grand feast on that day. Even the poorest Badaga must feed at least five other Badagas. ”

“ The linga is often represented in conjunction with the yoni, the female organ and the symbol of Devi, wife of Siva.
It should be said at once that these objects are treated symbolically, not realistically. The linga is a simple cone, the yoni a triangular prism. This abstract treatment is said by some to be the outcome of a protest against idolatry, in proof of which they point to the fact that Vishnu and Lasmî his wife are represented respectively by a fossil-shell, the Calagrama, and a plant of the sweet-basil species, the Tulosi. ”

“ When it is about a year old, and weaned, the linga is taken off the mother's neck, and replaced by a silver locket. The linga is tied on the neck of the child. At the beginning of the twelfth year in the case of boys, and just before the marriage of girls, this linga is taken off, and a fresh one suspended round the neck by a guru.
The Sīlavantalu are divided into exogamous septs, or intipērulu. The custom of mēnarikam, whereby a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is the rule. But, if the maternal uncle has no daughter, he must find a suitable bride for his nephew. ”

“ The worship of the creative energy of God, interpreted by the sense-perception of man and represented by the symbols yōni and linga in union, has apparently been as old as man himself. Whatever may be the origin of linga-worship, there is no doubt that it has come to be recognized like the Vaishnavite Sāligrāma described above, a perfect symbol of the formless, all-pervading Divine Being, unlimited by time and space. The Skānda-Purāna says:—"The sky is the shaft and the earth its pedestal; all gods dwell in the linga ”

“ The Hindoos of every caste and of both sexes, make images of the linga with the clay of the river Ganges, every morning, after bathing, and worship it, making bows, presenting offerings, and repeating incantations before it. This is most frequently done by the side of the river.
Besides the linga, there is another form in which Siva is worshipped, called Muhakalu. This is the image of a smoke-coloured boy, with three eyes, his hair standing erect, clothed in red garments, his teeth very large; he wears a necklace of human skulls, and a large juta ”

“ Lingga, name of an island on the East coast of Sumatra between Bangka and Singapore. It has a tall peak on it high 3604 Ehineland feet, which may have been fancifully taken for the Lingga, or Linga, C. 607, the penis, the phallus of Siwa under that emblem; according to the Hindu philosophy the Androgynal symbol of the creative power Brahma, to whom, as not being the living god but an agent or emanation of the supreme being, no temples are erected or dedicated. ”

“ Being the most intimately connected with the reproduction of life on earth, the Linga became the symbol under which the Sun, invoked with a thousand names, has been worshiped throughout the world as the restorer of the powers of nature after the long sleep or death of Winter. In the brazen Serpent of the Pentateuch, the two emblems of the Cross and Serpent, the quiescent and energizing Phallos, are united. ”

“ Breaches of the peace are also described as not infrequent, resulting from the interference of one Linga Balija Chetti with matters relating to the district of another. Their authority has long since disappeared, and is only a matter of tradition. Every Linga Balija wears a Siva lingam, usually encased in a silver casket (or gold casket set with precious stones) , and suspended from the neck, but the very poor place theirs in a cloth, and sometimes tie it to their arm. ”

“ Opinions were divided as to the fitness of receiving such an applicant, but it was finally decided that, if a man repented, he was a fit person to be received into the Lingāyat fold, as the linga recognises no caste. The linga was accordingly tied on his neck. From that time Chikayya became a new man and a true Jangam, and went from place to place visiting sacred shrines. ”

“ In a note on the Linga Balijas of the North Arcot district, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes35 that “Linga Balija appears rather to be the name of the followers of a religious faith than of a distinct caste, for the Linga Balijas state that their caste contains eleven sub-divisions, each with a separate occupation, viz., Jangam (priests) , Reddi (cultivators) , Gāndla (oil-mongers) , and the like. Almost all the Linga Balijas of North Arcot are traders, who speak Canarese and are immigrants from Mysore, in which their gurus (religious preceptors) live, and whither they still refer their caste disputes. ”

“ India, beyond all other countries on the face of the earth, is pre-eminently the home of the worship of the Phallus—the Linga puja; it has been so for ages and remains so still. This adoration is said to be one of the chief, if not the leading dogma of the Hindu religion, and there is scarcely a temple throughout the land which has not its Lingam, in many instances this symbol being the only form under which the deity of the sanctuary is worshipped. ”

“ This worship of Siva, under the type of the Linga, is also, perhaps, the most ancient object of homage adopted in India, subsequently to the ritual of the Vedas, which was chiefly, if not wholly, addressed to the elements, and particularly to Fire. ”

“ Unlike most Hindus, Linga Balijas shave off the whole of the hair of their heads, without leaving the usual lock at the back. They deny metempsychosis, and believe that after death the soul is united with the divine spirit. ”

“ They are engaged in the manufacture of fine cloths for males and females. The religious observances which secured them their name, meaning those who practice or possess particular religious customs, have been thus described. In the seventh month of pregnancy, at the time of quickening, a small stone linga is enclosed in black lac, wrapped in a piece of silk cloth, and tied to the thread of the linga which is on the woman's neck. The child is thus invested with the linga while still in utero. ”

“ Firstly, the Buddhist veneration of stûpas, especially miniature stûpas, must have made familiar the idea that a cone or column is a religious emblem, [350] and secondly the linga may be compared to [144] the carved pillars or stone standards erected in honour of Vishṇu. Some lingas are carved and bear one or four faces, thus entirely losing any phallic appearance. The wide extension of this cult, though its origin seems late, is remarkable. Something similar may be seen in the worship of Gaṇeśa: the first records of it are even later, but it is now universal in India. ”

“ They freely eat in the houses of all Linga Balijas, but the latter will not eat with them. They entirely disregard the spiritual authority of the Brāhmans, recognising priests among the Linga Balijas, Jangams, or Pandārams. In the exercise of their trade, they are distinguished from the Kaikōlans in that they sometimes weave in silk, which the Kaikōlans never do. ”

“ As might be expected, the members of this sect are staunch Saivites. They wear both the Brāhminical sacred thread, and the linga suspended from another thread. They revere in particular Ganapathi. The lingam which they wear they usually call the prāna lingam, or life lingam. The moment a child, male or female, is born, it is invested with the lingam; oherwise it is not considered to have prānam or life. The popular belief is that, if by some accident the lingam is lost, a man must either fast until he recovers it, or not survive so dire a calamity. ”

“ These temples of the linga are to be seen in great numbers on both sides of the Ganges, especially in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. The merit of building them near the river is greater than in the interior of the country, and if in a place of the river peculiarly sacred, the merit becomes the greater. ”

“ Before the temple of Aphrodite at Hierapolis (q.v.) were two huge phalli (180 ft. high) , and other similar objects existed in all parts of the ancient world both in statuary and in painting. Among the Hindus (see Hinduism) the phallus is called linga or lingam, with the female counterpart called yoni; the linga symbolizes the generative power of Siva, and is a charm against sterility. ”

“ In the epic, all the strength of Çiva lies in the Linga. [76] Both Bhava and Rudra, as Çarva, the archer—his local eastern name—are represented as hurling the lightning, and it is simply from identity of attributes that they have become identified in person (AV. x. i. 23) . Rudra's title of Paçupati, or 'lord of cattle' [77] goes back to the Vedic age: "Be kind to the kine of him who believes in the gods" is a prayer of the Atharva Veda (xi. 2. 28) . Agni and Rudra, in the Rig-Veda, are both called 'cattle-guarding,' but not for the same reason. ”

“ Such practices prevail chiefly among the Śâktas in Bengal and Assam but similar licence is permitted (though the theoretical justification and theological setting are different) in some Vishnuite sects. Both are reprobated by the majority of respectable Hindus, but both find educated and able apologists. And though it may be admitted that worship of the linga may exist without bad effects, moral or intellectual, yet I think that these effects make themselves felt so soon as a sect becomes distinctly erotic. ”

“ They carry on the person a stone linga (phallus) in a silver casket. The founder of the sect is said to have been Basava, a Brahman prime minister of a Jain king in the 12th century. The Lingayats are specially numerous in the Kanarese country, and to them the Kanarese language owes its cultivation as literature. ”

“ Siva has at all times been the favourite god of the Brahmans, [5] and his worship is accordingly more widely extended than that of his rival, especially in southern India. Indeed there is hardly a village in India which cannot boast of a shrine dedicated to Siva, and containing the emblem of his reproductive power; for almost the only form in which the “Great God” is adored is the Linga, consisting usually of an upright cylindrical block of marble or other stone, mostly resting on a circular perforated slab. ”

“ He is a guardian deity and is enshrined in almost every Siva temple of importance in Southern India. He is par excellence the god of youth, of energy and virility.
↑ E.g. Tirumala and Kadalmallai. ↑ In Sivarahasya, a chapter of Saura-samhitā, it is stated that the linga has a fivefold significance and denotes the primeval energy of the Creator. At the end of the creation all gods find their resting place in the linga, -Brahmā being absorbed into the right, Janārdana (Vishnu) into the left and Gāyatri into the heart. ↑ Ideals of Indian Art, p. ”

“ In the courts adjacent to the Linga were other shrines dedicated to various deities, and in a kind of cloister or gallery which encircled the temple, were thousands of stone Lingas crowded together carelessly, and apparently only intended as votive offerings. I noticed the coil of a serpent carved around one or two of the most conspicuous symbols of male generative energy, and the combination appeared to be very significant and instructive.” [81]
In another work Mr. ”

“ That was the fact placing old Lingard so much above the common crowd of sea-going adventurers who traded with Hudig in the daytime and drank champagne, gambled, sang noisy songs, and made love to half-caste girls under the broad verandah of the Sunda Hotel at night. Into that river, whose entrances himself only knew, Lingard used to take his assorted cargo of Manchester goods, brass gongs, rifles and gunpowder. ”

“ The generative organs themselves being revered as sacred, and symbolised in the mysterious Lingam which is enshrined in all the Hindu temples, and the object of special devotion.
The god Siva and Parvati his spouse form the principal subject among the sculptures of the Kylas. A striking design rather Egyptian in feeling was to be seen in a large carved panel of Parvati represented as seated on the water, or rather on a mass of lotus leaves and flowers—the flower of life—with attendant elephants symmetrically arranged on each side, showering water upon the goddess from their trunks. ”

“ Amongst all the rudest tribes of India, and even throughout Rajpootana, and with the strict Jain sects who abhor Lingam worship, these still shew their parent root by devoting some fifteen days annually, after the harvests are gathered in, to the most gross form of Lingam worship, in which a complete naked image of a man, called ‘Elajee,’ is built of clay and decorated with wreaths of flowers, &c., and placed in prominent situations. ”

“ The legend relates that in ancient times some Parihar Rajputs used to live in these jangals, feeding on roots and fruit. One of them, Vasu Patr, in digging for roots, came upon a lingam, and continuing his excavations, found an entire lingam and argha; these he cleaned and went home; there he dreamt that he was ordered to worship it; he wanted to know where he could get water for libations, when he was told that in a copse, to the north of the lingam, he would find water in a hollow. ”