Tag: Art
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Lingam novelty
Can an old dismantled water pump and the drainage space around it be regarded as a lingam and yoni? A certain resemblance cannot be denied. The person who has placed the tiny flower in the middle of the pump plate has nicely made his point. For the last 8 weeks I have taken you on a…
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In all shapes and sizes
The 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…
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Lingam cult
The lingam and yoni is worshipped in thousands of temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva all over India. Devotees come, present flowers and other offerings, do puja, pray and go. Sometimes they bath the lingam in milk, rub it with ashes and other ingredients, pour water over it, load it with flowers and leaves, while…
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Showing off
This priest can boast of looking after the biggest lingam and – matching – yoni in Hampi, once the capital of the old Vijayanagar Empire. It looks as if he is suffering under the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. At the Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh (see earlier post) I once let myself be talked into…
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Lingam and yoni
or Shiva and Parvati The blissful union of Shiva and Parvati finds its ultimate expression in the combination of their sexes. In an earlier post you can read a short citation from the Brhaddharma Purana explaining the essence of the lingam and yoni idea. It is the form in which life, creation, the universe, is venerated by hindus…
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Shiva and Parvati
In last few weeks’ posts we have identified the creative aspect of Shiva in his ithyphallic representation. But without his female half, Shiva is incomplete and deprived of his creative powers. In the image above, Shiva’s consort Parvati is seated next to him. Together they are the two complementary poles of one whole, and it…
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Ithyphallic Shiva Nataraj
In last week’s post we saw the ancient sculpture of an ithyphallic dancing Shiva inside Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh. Here we have one on a 9th century temple in Bhubaneshvar, Orissa. It is better preserved, with the erect phallus clearly visible. This may be due to its high placement on the temple wall, out…
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Kalinjar Fort
Kalinjar means ‘the destroyer of time’ and thus refers to Shiva, who next to Brahma, the creator, and Vishnu, the preserver, takes care of this part in the eternal cycle of creation, preservation and destruction. However, apart from being the destroyer, Shiva is at the same time very much regarded as creator, which explains his prominent…
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Desert Art
The painters mentioned in last week’s post, as the painters of the works you see here, are all part of the Papunya Tula group of artists that live in the Western Desert region of Australia. Their collectively owned company, with a studio in the Western Desert and a gallery in Alice Springs, dates back to…
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Modern art
It is interesting to see Aboriginal art exhibited in a context of old and contemporary art from other parts of the world, as is the case in the Art Gallery of New South Wales. When I visited this museum in Sydney I was impressed to see how well the Aboriginal art collection holds between the rest.…
καιρός remembered 