The Kandarya Mahadeva Temple
Is part of the Khajraho Complex in north central India
The exterior richness of this temple is complemented with over 900 carvings
Depicting demons deities dancing girls and animals
It interior is decorated with intricate figures
Mostly of an erotic nature
The congregation is forbidden to enter the Holy of Holies
Known as the Womb House
Shivas marble lingam is in the inner sanctuary
In the cave complex at Elephanta
The lingam is the central feature
This extensive rock cut cave temple
Is adorned with impressive anthropomorphic representations of Shiva
And scenes from the lives of the gods
Along with beautiful monuments of art
It has a central sanctuary
With an entrance on each of the four sides
Each entranceway guarded by a pair of divine door keepers
The lingam is the main stone image in the Holy of Holies
Which is the innermost cella
In this womb house the lingam serenely stands
Constituting the life center of the world
In the monastery of Jangambari Math in central Benares
An annual feast is dedicated to the marriage of Shiva
A priest bedecks the main lingam with flowers
And anoints it with milk and butter
In Cambodia the lingam is more cylindrical and polygonal
Sometimes it is shaped like a club
but mostly it is emphatically realistic
In Java the lingam is set upon a richly ornamented pedestal
The penis of Shiva is glorious and shimmering
It is a flamboyant pillar with the brilliance of a hundred fires
And the central column of a thousand flames
It was a downward flow of light from above
And from that perfect ray
Light held fast amidst the darkness!
