Talk:Mukhaliṅga

By Swami Harshananda

mukhaliṅga (‘liṅga with face’)

Siva is worshipped in the form of a liṅga. (See ŚIVALINGA for details.)

A liṅga may be aniconic (without any image form) or partially iconic. The mukhaliṅga belongs to this latter group.

In a mukhaliṅga, the Śiva-part is one unit more than the Brahmā-part and the Viṣṇu-part.

If the Śiva-part is divided into three equal portions, the mukha or face of Śiva should occupy one and a half portion.

There may be one, two, three or four faces on the round shaft of the liriga.

Whereas liṅgas with one face and four faces can be installed in villages and towns

(i.e., human settlements), the two-faced ones are generally used in black-magical rites and are established in forests or on mountains.

The one-faced liṅga must have the face turned towards the entrance of the sanctum.

If it is three faced, the main face should be turned towards the door of the sanctum.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore