[[File:Shiv lingam Tripundra.jpg|thumb|A lingam with [[tripundra]], projected on a [[yoni]] base|upright=1.5]]
A '''lingam''' ({{lang-sa|लिङ्ग}} {{IAST3|liṅga}}, lit. "sign, symbol or markpenis"), sometimes referred to as '''linga''' or '''Shiva linga''', is an abstract or [[Aniconism|aniconic]] representation of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Hindu deities|god]] [[Shiva]] in [[Shaivism]].<ref name="Britannica"/> It is typically the primary ''[[murti]]'' or [[Cult image#Hinduism|devotional image]] in [[Hindu temple]]s dedicated to Shiva, also found in smaller shrines, or as [[Svayambhu|self-manifested]] natural objects.<ref name=doh>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=W.J.|title=A dictionary of Hinduism|date=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780191726705|edition=1st|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-1458|access-date=5 January 2016|url-access=subscription|archive-date=18 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318040054/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-1458|url-status=live}}{{ODNBsub}}</ref><ref name="Fowler">{{cite book|last1=Fowler|first1=Jeaneane|title=Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices|date=1997|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|location=Brighton|isbn=978-1-898723-60-8|pages=42–43|url=https://archive.org/details/hinduismbeliefsp0000fowl/mode/2up}}</ref> It is often represented within a disc-shaped platform,<ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="sivaya subramuniyaswami 2001" /> the ''[[yoni]]'' – its feminine counterpart,<ref name=dasgupta107/><ref name="Beltzp204">{{cite journal | last=Beltz | first=Johannes | title=The Dancing Shiva: South Indian Processional Bronze, Museum Artwork, and Universal Icon | journal=Journal of Religion in Europe | publisher=Brill Academic Publishers | volume=4 | issue=1 | date=2011-03-01 | doi=10.1163/187489210x553566 | pages=204–222 | s2cid=143631560 }}</ref> consisting of a flat element, horizontal compared to the vertical lingam, and designed to allow liquid offerings to drain away for collection. Together, they symbolize the merging of [[Microcosm–macrocosm analogy|microcosmos and macrocosmos]],<ref name="Beltzp204"/> the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Doniger |author1-first=Wendy |author1-link=Wendy Doniger |author2-last=Stefon |author2-first=Matt |title=Lingam (Hinduism) |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/lingam |date=24 December 2014 |origyear=20 July 1998 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=22 May 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011224444/https://www.britannica.com/topic/lingam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=lochtefeld784>{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6FsB3psOTIC&pg=PA784|year=2001|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|page=784|access-date=22 May 2021|archive-date=19 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019091517/https://books.google.com/books?id=g6FsB3psOTIC&pg=PA784|url-status=live}}</ref>
The original meaning of ''lingam'' as "sign" is used in [[Shvetashvatara Upanishad]], which says "Shiva, the Supreme Lord, has no liūga", '''liuga''' ({{lang-sa|लिऊग}} {{IAST3|liūga}}) meaning he is transcendental, beyond any characteristic and, specifically, the sign of gender.{{sfn|Kramrisch|1994|p=221}}{{sfn|Constance|James|2006|p=410}} Lingam is regarded as the "outward symbol" of the "formless Reality", the symbolization of merging of the 'primordial matter' (''[[Prakṛti]]'') with the 'pure consciousness' (''[[Purusha]]'') in [[Transcendence (religion)#Hinduism|transcendental context]].{{sfn|Grimes|1996|p=175-176}}
