Ekamukhalinga, around 1 to 100 CE, Kushana dynasty, sandstone, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India

Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

guidance from the Philadelphia Museum

‘Thought to be one of the oldest lingas in the world, here the god is literally manifesting in the world.’

‘It is both a column symbolizing the world’s axis, and Shiva’s erect phallus representing his potency….’

 

 

guidance from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY in connection with an image of Shiva as Mahesha

‘……Shiva’s worshipers believe that he manifests himself in three stages, which move from the abstract to the concrete—symbolized by the undecorated linga (shaft); the linga with one or more faces emerging from it; and, finally, Mahesha……’