 The famous "man-size" lingam in the Parashurameshwar Temple in Gudimallam , Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh known as the Gudimallam Lingam, is about in height, carved in polished black granite . It is one of the existing lingams from the pre-Buddhist period. The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by an anthropomorphic form of Parashurama carved in high relief .Rao, T. A. Gopinatha, Elements Of Hindu Iconography, Vol II Part 1, 1916, Law Printing House, Madras (Chennai), Internet Archive (fully online), p. 65 on; thenewsminute.com The earliest depictions of Shiva as a figure in human form are ithyphallic, as for example in coins of the Kushan Empire. Some figures up to about the 11th century AD have erect phalluses, although they become increasingly rare.
Shiva, the most widely worshipped male deity in Hinduism pantheon, is worshipped much more commonly in the form of the lingam. Evidence of the lingam in India dates back to prehistoric times. Stone Lingams with several varieties are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad, which are often more clearly phallic than later stylized lingams. The famous "man-size" Gudimallam Lingam in Andhra Pradesh is about in height, carved in polished black granite , and clearly represents an erect phallus, with a figure of the deity in relief superimposed down the shaft .Rao, T. A. Gopinatha, Elements Of Hindu Iconography, Vol II Part 1, 1916, Law Printing House, Madras (Chennai), Internet Archive (fully online), p. 65 on; thenewsminute.com Many of the earliest depictions of Shiva as a figure in human form are ithyphallic, as for example in coins of the Kushan Empire. Some figures up to about the 11th century AD have erect phalluses, although they become increasingly rare.
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Shiva, the most widely worshipped male deity in Hinduism pantheon, is worshipped much more commonly in the form of the lingam. Evidence of the lingam in India dates back to prehistoric times. Stone Lingams with several varieties are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad, which are often more clearly phallic than later stylized lingams.
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lingam in the Parashurameshwar Temple in Gudimallam , Chitoor District of Andhra Pradesh known as the Gudimallam Lingam,
Gudimallam Lingam in Andhra Pradesh
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. It is one of the existing lingams from the pre-Buddhist period. The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by an anthropomorphic form of Parashurama carved in high relief
, and clearly represents an erect phallus, with a figure of the deity in relief superimposed down the shaft
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Many of the