Chaturmukha lingam – “Four-faced lingam”
See it in the Museum
India and Nepal
Orientation 5
Plinth 2
ABS 321
Code: ABS 321
Country: India (north-east)
Style: Late Pala Style
Date: 800 - 900
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 35 x 44 x 35
Materials: Basalt
Chaturmukha lingam – The “Four-faced lingam”
Shiva is one of the three main deities in Hindu religions. Alongside Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver, he stands for destruction and transformation. In Shaiva mythology, however, Shiva alone is responsible for creation, preservation and destruction/transformation of the world.
Depicted and worshipped under many aspects, Shiva appears here in the shape of a lingam, a symbolic phallic representation, ultimate symbol of creative energy. An ancient representation endowed with a rich and complex signification, the lingam always appear associated with a yoni, a symbolic vulva representing the female energy.
This sculpture corresponds to the top of the lingam decorated with four faces standing for four manifestations of the god as well as the four elements plus a fifth formless top face. The traditional lingam rituals in Shiva temples include offerings of flowers, grass, dried rice, fruits, leaves, water and milk baths. Devotees circumambulate the sanctum in a clockwise direction.
Shiva is one of the three main deities in Hindu religions. Alongside Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver, he stands for destruction and transformation. In Shaiva mythology, however, Shiva alone is responsible for creation, preservation and destruction/transformation of the world.
Depicted and worshipped under many aspects, Shiva appears here in the shape of a lingam, a symbolic phallic representation, ultimate symbol of creative energy. An ancient representation endowed with a rich and complex signification, the lingam always appear associated with a yoni, a symbolic vulva representing the female energy.
This sculpture corresponds to the top of the lingam decorated with four faces standing for four manifestations of the god as well as the four elements plus a fifth formless top face. The traditional lingam rituals in Shiva temples include offerings of flowers, grass, dried rice, fruits, leaves, water and milk baths. Devotees circumambulate the sanctum in a clockwise direction.