Kandukeśvara Liṅga

A liṅga is the sacred sign of Śiva, honoured in his temples. The Kandukeśvara liṅga, “the liṅga of the Īśvara of the Ball”, is one of the holy liṅgas of Kāśī (Vārāṇasī). It came into being when a ball was turned into this liṅga. It was the ball with which Pārvatī killed the asuras Vidala and Utpala.

The story is told in Chapter 59 of the Śiva Purāṇa, the last chapter of the Yuddha Khaṇḍa of the Rudra Saṃhitā. The liṅga stands near the Jyeṣṭheśvara liṅga in Kāśī. It remembers the playful yet world-protecting act in which Pārvatī, in her Durgā form, killed the two asuras with a ball during her kandukakrīḍā (ball game). This liṅga marks the close of the whole Rudra Saṃhitā.

The Meaning of the Name

The name Kandukeśvara comes from kanduka (ball) and īśvara (the Master): the Īśvara who appeared through a ball. It is one of the most charming and unusual stories of how a liṅga came to be in the Śiva Purāṇa. It does not come from a battle, or from great tapas (spiritual discipline), or from the last wish of a dying asura. It comes from a ball used in divine play, which became the means of protecting the world and was then turned into a lasting sacred presence.

What the Story Teaches

The story carries a teaching typical of the Śiva Purāṇa: the Devī’s play (krīḍā) is itself the running of the universe. Pārvatī plays ball with her companions while Śiva watches. This is not a scene of divine leisure cut off from the care of the world. It is the very way in which Śiva and Pārvatī look after the universe. Before the asuras were killed, Śiva and Pārvatī spoke silently with their eyes (nayanasaṃjñā). This shows how fully their work in the world is one with their close bond with each other.

The Last of Three Liṅgas

The Kandukeśvara liṅga near Jyeṣṭheśvara stands in Kāśī as the final monument of the Rudra Saṃhitā. It is the last of three liṅgas set up in the closing episodes of the Yuddha Khaṇḍa:

Sources

• Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Yuddha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 59