Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, probably
Deopatan region
Twelfth century CE
Schist; 78.7 x 24.6 x 24.2 cm
(31 x 9-15/16 x 9-11/16 in.
Gift of Clara T. and Gilbert J. Yager in honor of Dr. Sherman Lee, our advisor, 95.4.2
Provenance: Acquired 28 June 1995 from Spink & Son, Ltd., London.

The linga is the most ubiquitous mark of Shaivism and the primary cult object worshipped in Shiva temples. This abstract form, when understood as a phallic emblem, connotes Shiva’s great ascetic powers, whereby the deity transformed his sexual energy into spiritual bliss. In its simplest form, the linga is a plain columnar object with either a rounded or flattened top (Fig. 4). The face-linga (mukhalinga) may incorporate up to four heads (chaturmukhalinga) with an invisible fifth one, which further differentiates Shiva’s pacific and fierce aspects (Figs. 3, 5).1

The shaft of the Ackland’s five-faced Shiva Linga (panchamukhalinga), similar to others from Nepal, is comprised of square, octagonal, and round segments. The shaft represents the cosmic axis, and it is the origin of Shiva’s creative energy directed upward. Emerging from the shaft, and oriented toward the four cardinal directions, four faces convey Shiva’s roles as loving husband and father, as the controller of natural forces, and as the catalyst that brings forth death and destruction.

The Pashupatas, a highly powerful Shaiva sect in Nepal from the time of the Lichchhavi dynasty (ca. 400–880 CE), interpret the faces as the five elements. The four faces indicate the deity Mahadeva to the East (earth), Tamreshvara to the North (water), Bhairava to the South (fire), and Nandin to the West (wind). The fifth invisible face, believed to orient upward, represents Shiva as the eternal Sadashiva (sky).2

On the north face, Ardhanarishvara depicts Shiva’s androgynous and creative nature, incorporating his consort Uma. In Nepal, the right half of the face is usually male and the other female.3 The conjoined representation of Uma and Shiva, according to Hindu narratives, probes into the origin of things and reflects the non-duality of divine nature.4 Uma wears a floral earring, while Shiva displays a coiled serpent. Situated above Shiva is a crescent moon. Displayed in the form of a raised half aureole on his forehead is his vertical third eye from which his wrath emanates. Unlike the rest of the busts adorned with a single strand of pearls, Ardhanarishvara wears a double strand necklace with a central floral motif.

On the south face, Bhairava is shown with his characteristic asymmetrical earrings: the one to the left is a large flattened floral motif, while the other is composed of three cascading forms. Although iconographic texts describe Bhairava as a terrifying form, the faces depicted on Nepali linga are typically all benign.5 Facing east is Mahadeva, the Great God, shown without earrings. His hair is pulled tightly into an elaborate coiffure above, with long ringlets falling onto his shoulders. On the west is Nandin, identified by his two floral earrings. In the center of his tiara may have sat a lion, but the piece is too damaged to securely identify its presence.6

A pair of hands, raised in the gesture of blessing (abhayamudra), accompanies each face. They hold a seed rosary (rudrakshamala), denoting the passage of time, and a flowering kamandalu, the waterpot symbolizing Shiva’s ascetic aspect. Below, a creeper motif wraps around the base.

The flatness of the shaft’s apex suggests a post-tenth-century date, prior to which the shafts were typically rounded.7 The absence of shoulders and arms, leaving only the heads and hands visible, further indicates a later date. Archaeological evidence suggests that from the ninth century onward, mukhalinga gained popularity in Nepal over the aniconic form. Several panchamukhalinga have been found in the Kathmandu Valley, with a concentration in Deopatan, the area near the sixth-century Pashupatinath Temple patronized by the Pashupata sect. The proportions of the Ackland’s heads are harmonious, the faces full and round. Similarities in facial features, hair, jewelry, and other iconographic attributes with the linga in situ at the Bhuvaneshvari Temple in Deopatan suggest that the Ackland’s Shiva Linga can be assigned to the twelfth century. AMB

1 However, no chronological development from the more abstract to anthropomorphic linga can be discerned. Among the earliest linga were, in fact, naturalistic erect phalluses with heads or full figures while later ones appear more simplified and columnar.
2 Pratapaditya Pal, Art of Nepal: A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: LACMA in association with University of California Press, 1985), 109, Fig. 29.
3 Mary Shepherd Slusser, Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1982), 223–24.
4 Doris M. Srinivasan, “Pre-Kusana Saivite Iconography,” in Discourses on Siva: Proceedings of a Symposium on the Nature of Religious Imagery, ed. Michael W. Meister (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981), 25.
5 Pratapadita Pal, “Three Dated Nepali Bronzes and Their Stylistic Significance,” Archives of Asian Art 25 (1971–72): 63.
6 Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art From the Samuel Eilenburg Collection (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harry Abrams, Inc., 1991), 139.
7 According to Lerner and Kossak, 139, no panchamukhalingam found in the Kathmandu Valley appears to date earlier than the ninth century CE. See also Krishna Deva, “Saivite Images and Iconography in Nepal,” in Discourses, ed. Meister, 82-83.