History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c37.37

v3.c37.37

The materials out of which images are to be made are precious stones, gold, silver, copper, brass, iron, stone, wood or clay. One made of precious stones was the best and the most inferior was that made of clay. The Bhāgavata-purāṇa (XI. 27. 12) says that images are eight-fold viz. made of stone, wood, iron, sandal-wood or similar paste, drawn (as a picture), made of sand, of precious stones and lastly mental¹⁷⁰⁸. The Matsyapurāṇa (258. 20-21) adds 'lead and bronze' to the above eight of the Skanda. *Vide* also Vṛddha-Hārīta VIII. 120. Among stones the Śālagrāma stone (a black stone containing fossil ammonite found in the Gaṇḍakī river near a village called Śālagrāma) and the stone from Dvārakā marked with a cakra (discus) are highly prized in the worship of Viṣṇu. Vṛddha-Hārīta (VIII. 183-189) highly extols Śālagrāma-pūjā. It is stated by Vṛddha-Hārīta that only *dvijas* can worship Śālagrāma and not śūdras. According to several purāṇa passages quoted in the Pūjāprakāśa (pp. 20-21) even women and śūdras can perform the worship of Śālagrāma¹⁷⁰⁹, but they should not touch it. Similarly they are not to worship *liṅgas* established in the past by sages &c. This worship of Śālagrāma is comparatively ancient. Śaṁkarācārya in his commentary on the Vedāntasūtra speaks in several places of Śālagrāma¹⁷¹⁰ being worshipped as a symbol of Hari. Five kinds of stones were used in worship, viz. Bāṇa-liṅgas from Narmadā in Śiva worship, Śālagrāma in Viṣṇu worship, metallic stone in Durgā worship, crystal for sun-worship and red stone in Gaṇeśa worship. The Rājatarangiṇī (II. 131 and VII. 185) refers to the establishment of Bāṇaliṅgas¹⁷¹¹ of Śiva in Kashmir taken from the Narmadā. About the images to be worshipped in the house it is stated in the Matsyapurāṇa (258. 22) that they should be in size as big as a part of the thumb up to 12 aṅgulas and not more; but an image to be established in a temple should be up to sixteen aṅgulas and not more or its proper height should be arrived at as follows: divide the height of the door into eight parts; taking seven parts divide them into one-third and two-thirds; the pedestal of the image should be one-third and the image should be two-thirds of the seven parts (i. e. ⅔ of seven-eighths of the height of the door). Vide Matsyapurāṇa 258. 23-25.