Eastern India, Bihar, Medieval period, Pala dynasty / 600s–700s
One-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs One-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga) as sculpture (Eastern India, Bihar, Medieval period, Pala dynasty · 600s–700s).
Some lingas have four faces that indicate a more advanced stage of creation.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as chloritic schist.
The museum's collection notes: The innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva is called a womb chamber in which a stylized phallus called a linga is installed. Together, the chamber and linga represent the potentiality of creation. Artists depict the first stage of creation by a face emerging from the phallus, which embodies one aspect of Shiva. This face is of a powerful yogi, with long matted locks adorned with a crescent moon. He has a penetrating gaze with all three of his eyes. This icon would have been accessed primarily by Brahmin priests who would perform rituals honoring Shiva as the ultimate creator of the world.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtOne-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.