Kotilingeshwara quite literally means 1 crore Shiva Lingas, and 1 crore (koti) is generally what we (south Indians) use to denote an infinite number. But according to the the local priest there are about 33 Lakh Lingas established at this place. As I have this vague kind of attraction towards Shiva lingas (because of its simplicity and abstract form) so viewing this countless number of Shiva lingas of various shapes and forms at a single location was a big treat to me.
Shiva linga with ridges – this pattern on a Shiva linga was something unique for this place
Giant Shiva linga and a Basava (Lord Shiva’s carrier animal). There was one peculiarity about the Basava statue which was very apparent to any visitor, the Basava’s head, limbs and hump were in dis-proportionate to its body because of which (and I hate to say) the Basava was looking a little cartoonish!
Large Shiva Linga: This structure has been constructed by sticking granite tiles on a concrete structure.
The most famous and feared ‘Shiva’s Third Eye’. The red vertical leaf like structure in the middle of the three Horizontal white lines symbolically denotes Lord Shiva’s Third eye. Peace be with all!
I am told that the ‘yoni’ (the place through which the water flows out) should always be facing the NORTH. In th 3rd picture (Basava) above, I see all the Shivling facing towards one direction, however the one which is in the RIGHT CORNER is placed other way…. My question is can we place LINGAm is such a way that the ‘YONI’ faces some other direction other than NORTH? If YES, which direction?
Will you please clarify or ask for clarification from the temple priest?
Regards,
Kaustav
Kaustav,
Thanks for commenting but I’m really not the right person to give suggestions in this regard. I’m a hobby photographer who loves taking pictures of Indian architecture and statues. Regarding your question, any priest in a Shiva temple should be able to guide you in the right direction.
Thanks,
Anoop