Banalinga
Sign in to savealt=|thumb|A large Banalinga recovered from Saraswati River (Bengal)|Saraswati River at [[Andul in c.1650 AD.]] A Banalinga is a stone of a type found in the riverbed of parts of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh state, India, formed by natural processes of erosion into a shape resembling a lingam, an aniconic form of the Hindu deity Shiva. They are smooth ellipsoid stones that are regarded as manifestations of the deity, based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions among the Hindus, particularly of the Shaivas and Smarta Brahmins.
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5 sectionsContents
- Significance
- Panchayatana
- Thanjavur Temple
- See also
- References
alt=|thumb|A large Banalinga recovered from Saraswati River (Bengal)|Saraswati River at [[Andul in c.1650 AD.]] A Banalinga is a stone of a type found in the riverbed of parts of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh state, India, formed by natural processes of erosion into a shape resembling a lingam, an aniconic form of the Hindu deity Shiva. They are smooth ellipsoid stones that are regarded as manifestations of the deity, based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions among the Hindus, particularly of the Shaivas and Smarta Brahmins.
The banalinga is also called the Svayambhu (self-born) linga as it is natural rather than artificial.