Showing posts with label Isana tatpurusha vamadeva aghora rudra shiva vishnu brahma panchamukha linga ekamukha linga sadashiva eklingji udaipur bana linga narmada panchayatana puja elephanta trimurthy mewar adbhutanath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isana tatpurusha vamadeva aghora rudra shiva vishnu brahma panchamukha linga ekamukha linga sadashiva eklingji udaipur bana linga narmada panchayatana puja elephanta trimurthy mewar adbhutanath. Show all posts

7.22.2008

Significance of the Panchamukha Linga

When I am dormant
The energy lies within me
Atma lingaaya Nama Om

The flame of this energy
Rises into divine vision
Into Rudra, the divine self
The red glow, the hue
Shines forth with all divinity.

The raw form of Rudra, in his fiery matted hair has been depicted beautifully in the Ekamukha linga of Lord Shiva at Udayagiri in the 4th cen A.D. by the Guptas. The self, raw, alone, composed with wisdom is described here. Within a sacred rocky chamber that echoes his presence I come alive within the Eka Mukha linga.



The Prana rises within me
I grow, I am present
I reside everywhere
I engulf the universe
I cover all the directions
I am panchamukha linga
I am Sadashiva



Panchamukha, the rising Shiva grows in all directions. As I evolve He rises too within me. The self, Atma lingam is at the core - Isana*. Isana is the root of the self, the core that holds all the energy within. The power of Isana is to reveal the energy of the self, this is the power of enlightenment, this is space, this is consciousness, this is Shiva within me.

To its east rises Tatpurusha, that which I am, "Tat Tvam Asi". My being rises, awakens to the world, awakens to consciousness. This is the expression of the supreme soul, of Atman that rises and is the life within us, the very presence of Iswara, He is Surya the rays of life. He is the prana I breathe, He is light, He is air.

To the south rises Aghora, the fire, the flames of life, the raw heat and beauty of Rudra in his fiery presence. He signifies life, he signifies dissolution or re-absorption, he signifies the end. He signifies the equilibrium that lies beyond birth and death, he signifies eternal bliss in the living fire of Shiva Rudra*.

To the west rises Sadyojata, the power to create. This is the power to multiply beyond the self. This is the universal power of creation where the miracle of life is visible to us. I am alive, I am the self, I can create, I am represented by Sadayojata, I am the earth that flourishes with life, I am Brahma* the creator.

To the north rises Vamadeva. Vamadeva is the beauty of the self, the poetry and the aesthetics that makes us. Vamadeva is the epitome of all the grace that we have, the presence of our beautiful nature for the world to behold. Vamadeva is the personification of love, representing the feminine form of Shiva, warmth that makes us want to take care of what we create. Vamadeva represents the Vishnu* aspect of preservation within us. It represents sustenance with life giving waters.

Panchamukha Shiva Linga is a powerful symbolism, a reflection of a great reality that encompasses all supreme deities. This form represents the Universe and all its creation, its life and itself as a whole in all directions.

The beauty of the panchamukha linga explains apparently disconnected concepts -
1) why the other heads of the panchamukha linga at Eklingji temple near Udaipur alone are named differently,
2) the placement of other deities around the Bana linga in the Panchayatana puja
3) the connection with Trimurthy at Elephanta and Adbhutanath Shiva*
4) the meaning of panchamukha which is a supreme thought, much more than just the mere naming of 5 heads.

* Elephanta Trimurthy has the 3 heads named as Vishnu, Brahma and Rudra Shiva
* Adbhutanath Shiva has the 3 heads named as Vamadeva, Isana Shiva and Aghora Rudra

Related topics:

Eklingji town, Shiva temples near Udaipur, Rajasthan

Bana Lingas from the depths of the Narmada River
Adbhutanath Shiva and the miracle of living!
Mahasadashiva - Vishwaroopa darshanam

Photo courtesy: Unknown, flickr.com