Description

Various forms of Shiva are described in the Puranas and are depicted in sculpture. Shiva is today most popularly worshipped in temples in his linga (phallic) form which represents male procreative energy and power. The origins of phallic worship in the Indian subcontinent seem to go back to Harappan times. The Puranas give the story of the origin of the linga (lingodbhava). Sculptural representations of stone Shiva lingas appear in the 2 century BCE.