A Gupta era one-faced mukhalinga, BhumaraA four-faced mukhalinga, 10th century, Asian Art Museum
A mukhalinga or mukhalingam (Sanskrit: मुखलिङ्गम्, romanized: mukhaliṅga; literally "lingam with a face") is a lingam represented with one or more human faces in Hindu iconography.[1] A lingam is an aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva. Mukhalingas may be of stone or can be made of a metal sheath, which covers the normal lingam.
A mukhalinga generally has one, four, or five faces. Mukhalingas having four faces are also regarded to have an invisible fifth face on top of the linga. The four- and five-faced mukhalingas represent the five aspects of Shiva,[2] which also relate to the classical elements, and the cardinal directions.
While the formless aspect of Shiva is classified as nishkala (non-material), mukhalingas are classified as sakala nishkala (material-non-material).[3]
^Stutley, Margaret and James (2019-04-09). A Dictionary of Hinduism: Its Mythology, Folklore and Development 1500 B.C.-A.D. 1500. Routledge. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-429-62754-5.
^Rao, T. A. Gopinatha (1985). Elements of Hindu Iconography. Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. p. 97. ISBN 978-81-208-0878-2.
^ALAYAM : The Hindu Temple;An Epitome of Hindu Culture; G.Venkataramana Reddy; Published by Adhyaksha; Sri Ramakrishna Math; ISBN 978-81-7823-542-4; Page 46
A mukhalinga or mukhalingam (Sanskrit: मुखलिङ्गम्, romanized: mukhaliṅga; literally "lingam with a face") is a lingam represented with one or more human...
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space.[citation needed] The sacro sanctum, or the main idol, is a stone Mukhalinga with a silver yoni base bound with a silver serpent. It is one metre high...
and heavy style, but often with a powerful impact; Harle describes the mukhalinga in Cave 4 as "pulsating with psychic power". The most famous is the 7...
thousand facets (sahasralinga) or of light relief in several human figures (mukhalinga). Banalinga stones are quite strong and the hardness is a 7 on the Mohs...
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The primary religious image in the temple is a mukhalinga of the 16th or 17th century. A mukhalinga is a linga with a human face. In general, the linga...
as 'man with four faces') is dedicated to Shiva and has a four-faced mukhalinga in its sanctum. It stands in front of the 'Parvati Temple', but its sanctum...
Pashupatinath Temple at Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh A 10th-century four-face Mukhalinga, Nepal 64 lingams (Nepal) An 11th-century linga-yoni plaque with a worshipper...
the Buddha, a 0.6-m-tall sculpture of the goddess Ganga on her mount, a mukhalinga depicting Shiva, a figure of an elephant with a man and woman riding on...
the Elephanta Caves Painting of Padmapani Cave 1 at Ajanta The Shiva mukhalinga (faced-lingam) from the Bhumara Temple Nalrajar Garh fortification wall...
goddesses, and intricately carved sculptures. The temple's Ekamukha Linga, a mukhalinga or faced lingam, with a detailed head of Shiva, is a much studied example...
Lady Po Nagar. The main symbols of Cham Shaivism were the lingam, the mukhalinga, the jaṭāliṅgam, the segmented liṅgam, and the kośa. A liṅga (or liṅgam)...
existing temple. Other steles indicate that the temple had contained a mukhalinga decorated with jewelry and resembling an angel's head. Foreign robbers...
13th centuries. The well crafted and molded bronze sculptures are of Mukhalinga, Avalokitesvara, Tara, and Vishnu. The terracotta exhibits are from the...
into creative faculty, is artistically seen as tantric realization in Mukhalinga or "face-linga", the two overlapping components forming a visual unity...
Ganesha and Kartikeya. The cave has two Shiva lingas, of which one is a mukhalinga (linga with face). This cave had a Sahastralinga (main linga with many...
kingdom got united and reclaimed its glory. They ruled the region from Mukhalinga and Dantapura of Northern Andhra. After the Gupta withdrawal, it was ruled...
excavations have unearthed a mukhalinga (Shiva linga with face) made from soapstone in the late Gupta-style. The mukhalinga is now in the front of the nearby...
representation of Shiva with multiple or five faces is referred to as Sadasiva or Mukhalinga and is central to the Sarvamnaya tradition. The textual basis for the...
cutting the nose of Surpanakha (Ramayana) Sculptures Vishnu Mother Goddess Mukhalinga of Shiva, 5th century CE The sculptures from the medieval period are divided...
of some lingas is engraved the face of Siva. Such lingas are called mukhalingas. Some lingas are segmented into three parts: a square base symbolic of...
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