#Śiva Liñga

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Mukhaliñga

The traditional aniconic representation of Lord Śiva in form of the Liñga – this representation is unusual in that the octagonal and cuboid bases of the Liñga are depicted over the Yoni patala or base.

Contemporary stonework, Thailand

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Ekamukhaliñga – One-faced Liñga

Chloritic schist, Eastern India, Bihar

Pala Era late 7th or early 8th Century CE

The sanctum sanctorum or garbha-gṛha of a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Śiva Mahādeva would have installed the Śiva-Liñga. The Śiva-Liñga is sometimes encased in a metallic mask that is crafted in the image of Lord Śiva’s face, in early medieval India, the Liñga itself sometimes had a stone face (mukha) sculpted on to it thereby becoming a mukhaliñga. The Liñga could have a single or at times four faces sculpted on to it.

Cleveland Museum of Art

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Mukha Liñga

Mukha-Liñgas, or Śiva-Liñgas with a face representing Lord Śiva; possibly a later variant of Liñgodbhava forms. Often used as decorative encasing for a stone Śiva-liñga on festive occasions.

Silver, probably western India, 19th Century

American Natural History Museum

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Mukhaliñga Mūrtī

Silver aniconic (liñga) representation of Lord Śiva, depicted with a face (mukha), often used for ritual worship on special occasions in Śiva Temples.

Śrī Kuṇakeśwara Temple, Devgaḍ, Mahārāśtra

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Lord Śiva Liñgodbhava Mūrtī

Aniconic image of Lord Śiva depicting the legend of the emergence of the Liñga.

Contemporary stonework, Mamallapuram

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Śrī Kāśi Viṣveśwara

The Śiva-liñga in the garbhagṛh of the Viṣvanātha Temple, probably the holiest shrine in Hinduism.

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Śri Liñgeśwara Temple

A small temple dedicated to Lord Śiva as Liñgeśwara from near the town of Miṭbāv in the coastal region of Maharashtra. The construction is very typical to coastal Maharashtra with a clay-brick structure and maṇḍapa with tiled roofing.

The Śiva-liñga inside the sanctum sanctorum is believed to be naturally self-formed, swayambhū. The yonī-paṭa leading out to the Gaumukha is seen in most Śiva temples in these parts, as is the dīpa – tripura or column for lamps and tulaśī-vṛndāvana facing the temple. The painted clay image of a lion next to the tulaśī-vṛndāvana is unusual – probably hearkening back to a past when the area was covered in monsoonal growth and the Asiatic lion has a much wider range spread across the sub-continent.