Liṅga Māhātmya in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa

Liṅga Māhātmya means “the greatness of the liṅga”. In the Kedāra Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa, it is the body of teaching on the holiness, deeper nature and pūjā (worship) of the Śivaliṅga. The liṅga is described as a pillar of awareness and fire, and as the truest form of Śiva.

The text teaches that the liṅga is the eternal sign of Parameśvara (the Supreme Ruler, Śiva) that existed before creation. It explains the meaning of the word liṅga, ranks the kinds of liṅga by the material they are made from, teaches the full vidhi (method) of liṅga-pūjā, and tells stories of beings who reached Kailāsa, Śiva’s abode, even through liṅga-pūjā done by accident.

The Eternal Liṅga

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa begins its teaching on the liṅga with the well-known account of the endless pillar. After the death of Satī, Śiva wandered in the Dāruvana forest. There, because of a curse from the ṛshis, his liṅga fell, and it grew into an endless column of fire and awareness that filled all the worlds. Brahmā flew upward for vast ages looking for its top. Vishṇu went downward in the form of a boar looking for its base. Neither could find an end. This revelation showed that the liṅga is the highest form of Parameśvara: the Absolute, with no beginning and no end.

The text clearly gives the meaning of the word:

Since the entire universe lays into (laya) and emerges from (udbhava) it, it is called liṅga.

So the liṅga is not only a symbol. It is the very ground from which everything appears and into which everything dissolves.

The Twelve Jyotirliṅgas

After this revelation, the devas set up the twelve Jyotirliṅgas (“liṅgas of light”) as lasting sacred forms of the Śiva-liṅga across the universe. They are like the endless pillar made solid at particular places on the earth. They are the holiest of liṅgas, and each has its own māhātmya (account of its greatness) and its own story.

Kinds of Liṅga by Material

In Chapter 31 of the Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Kārttikeya teaches Nandī the order of materials for liṅgas, from the most sacred to the least:

  1. Bāṇaliṅga: oval stones formed by nature in the Narmadā river. These are the highest liṅgas. They are self-revealed (svayambhū) and need no consecration. The Narmadā is declared purer than all other rivers, because every pebble in it is a natural Śivaliṅga. Honouring even one Bāṇaliṅga with devotion is declared equal to honouring all twelve Jyotirliṅgas at once.
  2. Crystal (sphaṭika) liṅgas: clear, pure, and receiving all light equally.
  3. Gold liṅgas: the highest among metals.
  4. Silver liṅgas.
  5. Copper liṅgas.
  6. Pārthiva (earth or clay) liṅgas: made fresh for each pūjā and placed in water afterwards. These are thought especially meritorious for daily pūjā.
  7. Stone liṅgas installed in temples: permanent, and needing full abhisheka (sacred bathing) and prāṇa-pratishṭhā (the rite that brings the divine presence into the form).

Honoured by the Greatest Devotees

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa teaches that the greatest beings of every kind, devas, asuras and humans alike, honour Śiva in the form of the liṅga. Rāvaṇa, Bali, Prahlāda and Vibhīshaṇa, who belong to the asura side, are named as devotees of the Śivaliṅga. This shows that the liṅga is beyond the division between devas and asuras.

Grace Through Pūjā Done by Accident

The best-known teaching of the Liṅga Māhātmya is that on Śivarātri, the great night of Śiva (and to a lesser degree at any time), even actions done by accident near a Śivaliṅga bring full spiritual merit:

  • A thief who happened to rest on a Śivaliṅga while hiding was carried to Kailāsa.
  • A hunter who, sitting in a tree all night on Śivarātri, happened to drop bilva leaves onto a liṅga below was also carried to Kailāsa.

The text says:

Whoever performs even a single act of Śivaliṅga worship, intentionally or unintentionally, in love or in anger, is liberated.

Śiva and Vishṇu United in the Liṅga

The Kedāra Khaṇḍa makes a special point: the pīṭhikā (the base or pedestal) of the Śivaliṅga is the form of Vishṇu, while the liṅga itself is the body of Mahādeva. They are one supreme tattva (reality) appearing in two forms.

To honour the liṅga while ignoring the pīṭhikā is incomplete pūjā. Bhṛṅgī did this, and so did Rāvaṇa when he approached only Śiva and brushed Nandī aside. Complete pūjā of the Śivaliṅga always honours the whole form, Śiva and Śakti, Śiva and Vishṇu, as inseparable.

Sources

  • Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 6
  • Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 7
  • Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8
  • Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 31
  • Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 33