Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.42

v2.c16.42

The earliest known Liṅgas, so far as we know at present, are two; one comes from Bhiṭa and is, now preserved in the Lucknow Museum. It has been described in a brief account contributed by Mr. R. D. Banerji to the Annual of the Director General of Archæology for 1909—1910. About this liṅga of Bhiṭa Mr. Banerji writes, “The top of it is shaped as the bust of a male holding a vase in his left hand, while the right is raised in the abhaya mudrā posture. Below this bust, where the waist of the figure should have been, are four human heads, one at each corner. From the mode of dressing the hair and the large rings worn in the lobes of the ears, it appears that these are the busts of females. They are more or less defaced, but still retain sufficient detail to admit of identification. The upper part of the head of the male is broken, only the portion below the nose being extant. The male figure wears a cloth which is thrown over the left shoulder, the folds being shown by a double line running over the breast. The vase held in the left hand resembles to some extent, the ointment vessel found in the figures of Bōdhisatvas of the Gāndhāra school. The left ear of the male figure bears the circular pendants, which may be earrings. In front, immediately below the heads of two females, the phallus is marked by deeply drawn lines. To the proper left of this is the inscription to which I have already referred. The lower part of the stone has been shaped as a tenon to be fitted in a mortice.