South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c9.s2.1

c9.s2.1

Siva-linga. Siva is generally worshipped in the form of the phallus (*linga*) fixed on a pedestal. The phallic cult has been traced to very ancient times, its origin, however, being still involved in mystery. The worship of the creative energy of God, interpreted by the sense-perception of man and represented by the symbols *yōni* and *linga* in union, has apparently been as old as man himself. Whatever may be the origin of linga-worship, there is no doubt that it has come to be recognized like the Vaishnavite *Sāligrāma* described above, a perfect symbol of the formless, all-pervading Divine Being, unlimited by time and space. The *Skānda-Purāna* says:—"The sky is the shaft and the earth its pedestal; all gods dwell in the *linga*;