One
of my friends recently sent me a message asking whether I knew that the Shiv
Ling is made as per scientific principles. I asked him to explain the
scientific principles. He replied saying he was told emphatically by his guru
that it is written in the shastras that Ling is the ultimate expression of
divinity and therefore it is the most scientific physical representation. I
asked him to find out which ‘shastras’ and ‘what is scientific’. He replied
that he felt offended by such agnostic questions coming from me.
I
was taken back, though it was nice to see someone so devoted to his guru. While
I expressed my sincere apologies to him for offending his sensibilities, I
thought I must also share what little bit that I do know.
There
are two periods of Indian history when India can be said to have reached the
pinnacles of intellectual acumen. First was from 2500 to 500 AD and the next is
from 400 to 1500 BC. In the first period came the Vedas and Upanishads as the
result of a peaceful pastoral Indian community searching for the purpose of
life. The second period saw the birth of Vedanga (the six sciences),
mathematics, astronomy, astrology and a host of other sciences. One of the
Vedangas is the science of constructing divine images called SHILPA SHASTRA. In
fact experts believe though Panini and Patanjali of 500 BC were familiar with images
of gods, no evidence exists of constructing ‘pratima’ for worship. The art and
science of constructing images for worship grew thereafter and in 1500 AD, the
SHILPA SHASTRA was written.
There
are very few experts who can be said to know the Shilpa Sashtra now. In the
early 1930s, Dr AN Tagore, Dr A Coomaraswami, Mr OC Ganguly, etc were
considered to be expert art-critics with deep insights into Shilpa Shastra.
It
is Shilpa Shastra that defines what measurements are to be taken in
constructing images of gods. Measurements in Shilpa Shastra are in ‘angula’. An
‘angula’ is 1/4th of a ‘musti’, meaning closed fist. Sukra Niti,
Maya Sastra and Matsya Puran further give various measurements and criteria for
constructing the images of gods with stone, metal or even painting them.
The
measurements are for three purposes – to give aesthetic beauty, to mark the
purpose of that particular image and to physically symbolize the god as
described in Purans. For example, gods with the thumb of the open palm of
either hand touching the chest symbolize ‘protection’. That means the bhakt
will seek to be protected by the deity. The image with the palm touching the
abdomen symbolizes ‘vardhan’, that means the bhakt will seek boons. There may
be deities with one palm near the chest and another near the abdomen. This
deity is worshipped for both protection and boons.
Now
let us see the construction of Shiv Ling. In the Shiv and other Purans, Shiv is
the only god described as TRIMURTHI. Brahma, as we know is just Brahma. In so
far as Visnu is concerned, we say ‘Sivaya Visnu rupaya, Siva Rupaya Visnave’ –
meaning both are same. So, TRIMURTI is a god who has to be represented as the
one carrying out all three functions in equal measure. Also, he cannot be
represented in human form as the description of Brahma, Visnu and Siva is quite
distinct from each other. Therefore, Trimurti is represented as an oval (all
encompassing, the whole), mounted on a circular platform with a base. Each of these
segments is to be of equal height to symbolize that He carries on the three
acts of creation, protection and destruction equally.
This
is the science behind Shiv Ling. Have a great day.
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