In Sanskrit logic, smoke is the lingam of fire
The lingam at the heart of Shiva temples takes its name from a word that simply means sign. Indian logicians used it for the clue in an inference, like smoke pointing to fire; physicians used it for a symptom. For worshippers, the stone pillar is a visible sign of a god said to be beyond all form.
In Shaivism the lingam is a short, rounded pillar, most often of stone but also of metal, wood, clay, gems or even disposable materials. It usually rests in a flat, lipped base called the yoni, an emblem of the goddess Shakti, shaped to channel away liquid offerings. Together they represent the union of feminine and masculine principles and the ongoing cycle of creation and renewal. The lingam is typically the main devotional image in temples dedicated to Shiva.
The word itself travels widely. In the Upanishads and epics it means a mark or characteristic, the evidence of Shiva's power. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad even declares that Shiva has no linga, meaning he transcends every attribute, including gender. Philosophical schools such as Nyaya and Vaisheshika use it for proof, early medical texts for the signs of disease, and the grammarians Panini and Patanjali for grammatical gender. Buddhist and Jain writings borrowed the term as well.
Artisans developed many forms. Some carry one, four or five carved faces of Shiva, the four-faced type being most common. Others bear 108 or 1001 miniature lingas cut to geometric rules, and fluted versions may have up to sixty-four facets. The Lingodbhava image shows Shiva bursting from a pillar of fire, recalling a legend in which Brahma and Vishnu vie with him for supremacy. Some devotees, such as Lingayats, wear small lingams on a necklace.
Its sexual meaning is debated. Scholars including Wendy Doniger and Rohit Dasgupta see roots in a phallic symbol, and the ancient Gudimallam lingam is plainly anatomical; some texts treat it as Shiva's phallus while others stress his asceticism. Colonial missionaries and Orientalists, steeped in Victorian taboos, denounced the imagery as obscene, a hostility that provoked counter-currents among Bengali nationalists.
Source: Lingam
