Banalinga

Banalinga, a stone found in nature, in the bed of the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh state, India, is an iconic symbol of worship, based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions among the Hindus, particularly of the Shaivaites and Smartha Brahmins. Stones are ancient and connote divinity. It is a smooth ellipsoid stone.

Banalinga is also called the Svayambhu Linga: (Sanskrit) "Self-existent mark or sign of God", as it is discovered in nature and not carved or crafted by human hands.

The forms of Linga can vary in detail from a simple roller shape roughly cylindrical Banalinga to the stone carved with a thousand facets (Sahasralinga) or of light relief in several human figures (Mukhalinga). The Linga in the shrine of a temple is in stone.

The Narmada River (also called the Rewa, from its leaping motion (from the root rev through its rocky bed) where the Banalinga stones are found, has been mentioned by Ptolemy and the author of the Periplus. The Ramayana, the Mahabharata and Puranas refer to it frequently. The Rewa Khand of Vayu Purana and the Rewa Khand of Skanda Purana are entirely devoted to the story of the birth and the importance of the Narmada River. It is said to have sprung from the body of Lord Shiva. It was created in the form of a lovely damsel who enamoured gods and hence named by the Lord as Narmada – delight giving. It is, therefore, often called Shankari (Parvati), i.e., daughter of Lord Shankar (Shiva).

All the pebbles rolling on its bed are said to take the shape of His emblem with the saying Narmada Ke Kanker utte Sanka (which is a popular saying in the Hindi belt of India) which means that ‘pebble stones of Narmada gets a personified form of Shiva’. Thus, these lingam shaped stones, called Banalinga are sought after for daily worship by the Hindus.

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