One-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga)

600s–700s

Eastern India, Bihar, Medieval period, Pala dynasty

Medium

chloritic schist

Measurements

Overall: 83.8 cm (33 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1973.73

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

244 Indian and Southeast Asian

Did You Know?

Some lingas have four faces that indicate a more advanced stage of creation.

Description

The innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva is called a womb chamber in which a stylized phallus called a linga is installed. Together, the chamber and linga represent the potentiality of creation. Artists depict the first stage of creation by a face emerging from the phallus, which embodies one aspect of Shiva. This face is of a powerful yogi, with long matted locks adorned with a crescent moon. He has a penetrating gaze with all three of his eyes. This icon would have been accessed primarily by Brahmin priests who would perform rituals honoring Shiva as the ultimate creator of the world.