An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c17.s10.4

v1.c17.s10.4

One of the earliest archaeological evidences of the use of the procreative organ in association with the dead can perhaps be seen in the inscribed BHITA column or *linga* with five human busts, assigned to the 1st century B.C.; it has a deeply incised phallic emblem on the shaft. The practice of installing *lingas* to commemorate dead teachers was prevalent among the Pāśupata Śaivas, the archaeological evidence of which is seen in an inscribed stone pillar of Mathura of A.D. 381 depicting an ithyphallic Lakulīśa. Commemorative *lingas* were installed at Bhubaneswar from the 7th century.