Bāṇaliṅga

A Bāṇaliṅga is a smooth, oval or rounded stone found naturally in the Narmadā river. A Śivaliṅga is the sacred form in which Śiva is honoured. The Bāṇaliṅga is thought to be the highest Śivaliṅga because it is svayambhū, “self-formed”: nature shaped it, not human hands.

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa says that every stone in the Narmadā is a natural Śivaliṅga. It calls the Bāṇaliṅga the highest of all liṅga forms, greater even than liṅgas of gold or crystal. It says that pūjā to a single Bāṇaliṅga is equal to pūjā to all twelve Jyotirliṅgas (the twelve great shrines of Śiva as light) at the same time.

Nature and Origin

The name “Bāṇaliṅga” is explained in two ways. “Bāṇa” can mean arrow, because these stones are long and smooth like the shaft of an arrow. Or the name may come from Bāṇāsura, the great king and devotee of Śiva who offered pūjā at the Narmadā. The Narmadā flows between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges in central India. Over time the river rubs the rocks of its bed, made of quartzite and basalt, into smooth oval stones. These stones are honoured as Śivaliṅgas that appeared by themselves.

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa teaches that the Narmadā is supremely holy exactly because every pebble in her bed is a natural liṅga. It says:

One stone from the Narmadā is equal to a thousand śālagrāmas; there is no need to consecrate a Narmadā stone with prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā.

Its Supreme Holiness

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa puts the Bāṇaliṅga at the very top of all liṅgas. It ranks above liṅgas of crystal, gold, silver, copper and clay, and above carved stone liṅgas set up in temples. The teaching is that a Bāṇaliṅga is svayambhū: it came into being naturally from Śiva’s own creative power, with no human part in it. The Śālagrāma, a fossil stone from the Gaṇḍakī river, is the highest self-formed form of Viṣṇu. In the same way, the Bāṇaliṅga is the highest self-formed form of Śiva.

Pūjā to a single Bāṇaliṅga with full devotion and the Pañcākṣarī mantra (the five-syllable mantra of Śiva) is said to bring the same merit as pūjā to all twelve Jyotirliṅgas at once. The great devotees among the asuras and rākṣasas, Rāvaṇa, Bali, Prahlāda and Vibhīṣaṇa, are described as having offered pūjā to the Bāṇaliṅga.

How Pūjā Is Offered

A Bāṇaliṅga does not need prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā, the rite that invites the divine presence into a sacred image, because Śiva’s presence already fills it. The usual pūjā includes:

• Abhiṣeka (sacred bathing) with water, milk, ghee, honey, sugarcane juice and pañcāmṛta (a mix of five sweet, pure substances)
• Offering bilva leaves, the leaf most sacred to Śiva
• Dhūpa (incense), dīpa (lamp) and naivedya (food offering)
• Japa (repetition) of the Pañcākṣarī mantra: “Namaḥ Śivāya”

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 31