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EKAMULINGA
High 16" (41cm), with base 19" (48cm)
Width 8" 1/4 (21cm)
Depth 5"(13cm)
Beige sandstone
Northern India
8th /9th c CE
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Linga or Lingam means sign in Sanskrit and it is the aniconic representation of the Hindu god Siva, worshipped as an emblem of generative power
Siva means auspiciousness and Linga means a sign or a symbol. Hence the Sivalinga is regarded as a "symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspiciousness”. Siva also means one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution, Linga also means the same thing—a place where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Sivalinga, represents symbolically God Himself.
If they are usually non figurative, some of the Sivalinga, as this one, were carved with a face of the god, and are called Ekamulinga, Linga with a face. Here, the powerful aspects of the god emanate from his features. Shiva smiles, but in the same time, his eyes are wildly open and he stares at something invisible for the devotees. In the middle of his forehead, his third eye is shown as a real human eye, vertical and open, and concentrates his powers. In his matted hair, a crescent of Moon stands on the left side, and a flower shaped ornament hangs on the right side.
Unfortunately, the entire Linga has not been preserved from the time, and only the portion with the sculpture came to us. Nevertheless, this powerful piece illustrates perfectly the ambiguous and boundless dimension of the god.
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