Liṅga and Mūrti in the Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā

Śiva receives pūjā (worship) in two forms: the liṅga and the mūrti. The liṅga is a simple, rounded form with no face or limbs. The mūrti is an image of Śiva with a body, face and ornaments. The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā of the Śiva Purāṇa draws a clear line between the two.

The liṅga stands for Śiva’s nirākāra (formless) nature, his Brahma-bhāva, his being as the Absolute beyond all qualities. The mūrti stands for his sākāra (with form) nature, his Īśvara-bhāva, his being as the personal Bhagavān Śiva. Both are Śiva himself, and the rules for each kind of pūjā follow from this difference. In any sacred kṣetra (holy place), the liṅga must always come first.

Two Sides of One Śiva

Śiva is at once the formless Absolute (nirguṇa Brahman, Brahman without qualities) and the personal Bhagavān Śiva with qualities (saguṇa Īśvara). These two sides do not contradict each other; they complete each other. They are expressed in two different ways in which he is present in pūjā:

• Liṅga = nirākāra (without form) = Brahma-bhāva (being as Brahman)
• Mūrti = sākāra (with form) = Īśvara-bhāva (being as the personal Bhagavān Śiva)

The liṅga is Śiva as the nameless ground of all existence, without qualities: the reality that comes before any name or quality. The mūrti is Śiva as he appears in a form that can be seen, with a name, qualities, and a personal relationship with his devotees. Both belong to Śiva alone. Neither is more Śiva than the other; they simply speak to different sides of his nature.

The Mantra for Each Form

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā names the right mantra for each form:

• Liṅga-pūjā uses the Oṃkāra (the sacred syllable Oṃ). This is the sūkṣma praṇava (the subtle Praṇava), the syllable that came forth directly from Śiva’s five faces and stands for his formless nature.
• Mūrti-pūjā uses the Pañcākṣarī, Namaḥ Śivāya. This is the sthūla praṇava (the gross or outer Praṇava), Oṃ unfolded into five syllables that call on Śiva in his personal, visible form.

This pairing is not random. Oṃ, as the subtlest and most formless sound-form of Śiva, matches the formless liṅga. The Pañcākṣarī, which calls Śiva by name and whose five syllables match his five faces, matches the personal form of Śiva shown in human-like shape.

The Liṅga Comes First in a Kṣetra

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā lays down an important rule for setting up a Śiva kṣetra (a holy place of Śiva): the liṅga must be the main sacred object. A mūrti alone, without a liṅga, does not make a proper kṣetra.

This rule reflects the priority of Śiva’s formless nature over his forms. A place may have a beautiful mūrti of Śiva, but it becomes a true kṣetra only when a liṅga is present as its ādhāra (foundation). The liṅga roots the pūjā of the mūrti in the understanding that Śiva is endless and beyond form.

Both Are Śiva

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā takes care to explain that this difference does not make one kind of pūjā worth more than the other. It is only a difference in the way of approach. A sincere devotee who honours a beautiful mūrti of Śiva with love and devotion is not doing anything lesser than one who honours a liṅga. Both forms are Śiva himself, fully and completely. The difference is there to help us understand the nature of pūjā and to set sacred spaces in their proper order.

This oneness is shown in the account of the Liṅgodbhava, the appearance of the liṅga. The endless pillar of fire (the liṅga form) and the personal Śaṅkara who came out of it (the mūrti form) are the same Śiva. The pillar showed that he is endless and beyond form. His coming forth in a personal form showed that he is also near and reachable.

The Liṅga as the First Form of Pūjā

The beginning of liṅga-pūjā goes back to the Liṅgodbhava itself. When Brahmā and Viṣṇu honoured the endless pillar, they performed the first liṅga-pūjā. The kṣetra of Aruṇācala, where this pillar appeared, is therefore the first kṣetra of Śiva-pūjā, and Śiva is present there in the form of a liṅga.

Kinds of Liṅga

The Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā describes how liṅgas are grouped.

By whether they can be moved:

• Cara liṅga (movable): made of a single unbroken piece (akhaṇḍa); it can be carried and used in personal pūjā
• Sthāvara liṅga (fixed): made in two pieces (dvikhaṇḍa), the liṅga and the pīṭha (base); installed permanently in a temple or kṣetra

By material and yuga (age):

The Jyotirliṅga

The highest kind of liṅga is the jyotirliṅga, the liṅga of pure light. It is Śiva revealing himself, not an object made sacred by human hands. The endless pillar of fire in the Liṅgodbhava account is the first jyotirliṅga, and the twelve jyotirliṅgas across Bhārata (India) are Śiva’s own self-revelations at those places.

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Vidyeśvara Saṃhitā, Chapter 11