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Re: ARTICLE : Swami Vivekanand on origins of Shiva Lingam
In article <5077uu$rer@news.ececs.uc.edu>, S. Desai <vsraj@ibm.COM> wrote:
>however is unfounded. Here are Swami Vivekanand's thoughts on the origin
>of Shiva Lingam. If these posters or Reuters claim to know more about
>Hinduism than him, then I have no argument.
[...]
With all due respect, that's just one explanation and I don't think
it's the commonly accepted one. I'm aware of the story where Shiva is
cursed by Bhrigu Muni, I believe. Someone else can do the full
retelling, but it basically ends up with the Muni cursing Shiva to be
worshipped in lingam form only because Shiva did not properly receive
his guest and was instead engaged in lovemaking. I've also mentioned
the Indus Valley seals and the ithyphallic entity depicted on those in
another post.
So, there are at least 3 possible origins, and the author doesn't have
to claim to know more than Vivekananda to report on either of the
others, which incidentally both support the original description.
The "infinite column" theory is curious to me, because the lingam
seems like a poor representation of it. Recall that in that story,
neither Vishnu nor Brahma could find the ends of the column. However,
if you go to any temple where a Shivalingam is worshipped, then you'll
see offerings poured on top of the lingam, or you'll see a
water-decanter dripping water on top of the lingam. This column isn't
supposed to have a top.
Speaking from a practical viewpoint, if one wanted to show an infinite
column in a temple, it would be a simple matter to make a column where
the column is higher than the door of the inner sanctum. Then, all
visitors could see column, but not the top or bottom. Given that there
are so many tall columns in Indian temples, it seems odd that the
lingam, if it was supposed to be a representation of an infinite
column, would have the dimensions it does.
-Vivek
