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Can you worship a statue (idol) of Lord Shiva? Not just the Shiva linga.

Say No To Censorship
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    See http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/101/why-is-only-shiva-worshiped-in-a-linga-form?rq=1. It may help you to get the answer. – Maitry Shah Aug 27 '15 at 09:54
  • I don't think his worshiping a s idol is prohibited. – Ankit Sharma Aug 27 '15 at 12:57
  • You can do it but there was a story behind why he was worshipped in Linga form. It was a curse put by a sage. – NoobDude Aug 27 '15 at 09:06
  • please tell more about that curse ............ – Garg Aug 27 '15 at 15:28
  • This excerpt from the Uttara Kanda of the Padma Purana recounts the story of how Shiva worship came to be restricted to the linga. A group of sages were conducting a yagna (ritual) on the banks of the Saraswati river, when they started to wonder which god to dedicate the ritual to. So they sent Bhrigu (famous for his short temper) to test which god out of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva was most worthy. When he went to Mount Kailash to test Shiva, Nandi prevented Bhrigu from meeting Shiva, because Shiva and Parvati were engaged in amorous pursuits at the time. Therefore he cursed him in this way. – NoobDude Aug 27 '15 at 17:08
  • @SaiParthiv I've moved your answer to comments section because it lacked sufficient details and references. Edit your answer and flag for undelete. – Mr. Alien Aug 28 '15 at 08:51
  • Aswatthama worshipped the idol whereas Arjuna etc. worshipped the linga. This was the reason Aswatthama was defeated in battle by the pandavas, as stated in the mahabharata. Linga worship is superior to idol worship of Shiva. –  Sep 16 '15 at 18:27
  • @moonstar2001 Where in the Mahabharata is there a discussion of Arjuna worshipping a Linga and Ashwatthama worshipping an idol of Shiva? – Keshav Srinivasan Sep 16 '15 at 21:01
  • @moonstar2001 Your faith is more important than these not so important details. To worship Shiva, you don't have to find a Linga. If a person don't have any faith in him, then worshiping all Jyotirlingas is also of no use. Hanuman didn't need any idol of Rama, for him the name of Rama was enough. – Pinakin Nov 01 '15 at 14:48
  • @ChinmaySarupria Speaking of the Jyotirlingas, you can see pictures of all 12 of them here: http://www.walkthroughindia.com/festivals/the-12-jyotirlingas-of-the-great-god-of-gods-lord-shiva/ – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 01 '15 at 15:04
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Thanks for the link. Much Appreciated. – Pinakin Nov 01 '15 at 15:11
  • @ChinmaySarupria that theory applies only to nishkamya worship and to enlightened souls. –  Nov 02 '15 at 05:04
  • @moonstar2001 That theory applies to each and every being present in this universe. – Pinakin Nov 02 '15 at 07:37
  • Namaste God including Lord Shiva, can be worshipped in any form the devotee likes. There is no barrier or restrictions whatsoever in the scriptures. – Annonymous Sep 02 '15 at 12:20
  • In Sai Nata Village Puttaparti there is a Shiva Temple where the beautiful marble image of Sri Shiv is worshipped and adored by the ladies in the village after 6pm with flowers and Agarbatti, true puja and nobody has ever complained. So I do not even understand why people are worried to worship Shiva in any form. – user3583 Aug 30 '15 at 12:08
  • Of course we can worship an idol of Lord Shiva. I live in Kolkata and here is a Shiva temple named ''Bhoothnath Mandir'' and the there I have saw a Shiva idol. So,we can worship a Lingam and a Shiva idol. – Goltu Nov 08 '15 at 17:31

1 Answers1

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Yes, one can worship an Image of Siva. This is discussed in Shiva Purana, Vidyesvarasamhita, Chapter 5. The answer is that the Saivites use the linga form to signify nameless and formless aspects of the deity and use the Image to signify Sakala Siva (Siva with name and form).

I am posting the quote:

Sages said:- 8. Everywhere the deities are worshipped only in their image. How is that Siva is worshipped both in the image and the linga?

Suta said:- 9. O sages, this question is holy and wondrous. Here the speaker is Siva Himself and not any ordinary person. 10. I shall tell you what Siva Himself had said and what I heard from my own preceptor. Siva alone is Niskala (nameless and formless) since He is identical with supreme Brahman. 11. He is also Sakala as He has an embodied form. He is both Sakala and Niskala. It is his Niskala aspect that the Linga is appropriate. 12-13. In the Sakala aspect the worship of His embodied form is appropriate. Since He has the Sakala and Niskala aspects He is worshipped both in the linga and in the embodied form by the people and is called the highest Brahman. Other deities, not being Brahman, have no Niskala aspect anywhere. 14. Hence the deities are not worshipped in the formless linga symbol. The other deities are both non-Brahman and individual souls. 15. In view of their being embodied alone they are worshipped solely in the bodily form. Sankara has Brahmatatva and the others Jivatva. 16. This has been explained in the meaning of the Pranava (Om), the essence of Vedanta, by Nandikesvara when asked by Sanatkumara, the intelligent son of Brahma, at the mountain Mandara.

Pradip Gangopadhyay
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