Pancamukhalinga Buff Sandstone Central India

A linga with a square base and round top, carved with four distinct faces one for each of the cardinal directions and indicating four different characteristics of Shiva. One of the faces is immediately identifiable as Bhairava, whose direction is south and who is the fierce of aspect Shiva, with its terrifying expression of bulging eyes, fangs and a skull in its headdress. The three other faces are Uma (North), Mahadeva (West) and Ishana (East).

David Sylvester, London.

The linga is the sign of Shiva, a column connecting heaven and earth representing creative power. This form is thought to indicate a five-faced linga (pancamukhalinga) but the fifth face is invisible as it cannot be comprehended by mortals, so lingas of this type always show just four faces. The linga is the main object of worship in the Hindu temple and this example can be compared to Kramrisch, S.; Manifestations of Shiva, Philadelphia, 1981, p. 7, fig. 6.