DSC00263 Thungabadra river blogThe creative presence of Shiva can be felt anywhere in nature, not just in the temples and shrines dedicated to him. A rock can inspire to cut a relief of a lingam and yoni as we see in the photo above, complete with worshipping devotees on both sides.
Any smooth natural stone can become a lingam in the eye of the beholder and thus worthy of a small offering or prayer. During walks in the countryside I have often come across small tributes to Shiva in the form of a nice, simple stone.

Lingam and yoni, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 1995
Lingam and yoni, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India 1995

Here one person has taken the effort to place a circle of stones around a central stone and so we have yet another lingam and yoni. Every next person passing by can rejoice about this natural manifestation of Shiva. The old 10 paisa coin in the circle shows that it is quite a while that I came past this spot.

Lingam stones, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India 2009
Lingam stones, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India 2009

And here it was enough to put a few stones delicately upright in order to create a small altar to Shiva.

Lingam in rock, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India 2007
Lingam inside rock, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India 2007

And then this stone, cosily nestled in the niche of a boulder: Shiva and Parvati united in supreme bliss!

Photo of the week: Rock at Thungabadra river, Hampi, Karnataka, India 2014

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