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It may be fuppofcd that Siva, being, among his other attri- 

 butes, a pcrfonitication of lire, as the molt dcllruclive of 

 elements, was typified by a cone willi its apex upwards, tiie 

 form naturally aftunicd by flame ; and that to this form cn- 

 thufiafts have, in the wildnefs of their ina^nnalion, fancied 

 alluiions, and diredcd analogies, that, in the progrefs of 

 time, have more and more bewildered them ; until at length 

 fiich an inextricable mafs of myllicifm luith been accumu- 

 lated rcferrmg to this fymbol, as to wear an appearance al- 

 moft of ridicule. The Linga being tiie fymbol of Siva, his 

 votaries are reminded of it, and of its archetype by any 

 thing conical or cred ; a hill, a tree, any pyramidal objeft, 

 a mafl or pole, &c. Lingas are feen of enormous fize ; in 

 the cavern of Elephanta for inllance, marking unequivocally 

 that the fvmbol in quelUon is at any rate as ancient as that 

 temple, as they are of the fame rock as the temple itfelf ; 

 both, as well as tlie iloor, roof, pillars, pilallres, and its 

 numerous fculptured figures, having been once one undillin- 

 cruifhed mafs of granite, which excavated, ehiifelled, and 

 poli(hed, produced the fire cavern, and forms that are ihll 

 contemplated with fo much furprizc and admiration. The 

 magnitude of the cones, too, farther preclude the idea of 

 f-.ib'.'equcnt introduction, and together with gigantic ftatues 

 of Siva and his confort, more frequent and more cololTal 

 than thofe of any other deity, ncccflarily, as before noticed, 

 coeval with the excavation, indicate his paramount adoration, 

 and the antiquity of his feci. (See Ei.F.rnASTA and Kakly.) 

 Lin'^as are fecn alfo of diminutive fize for domellic adora- 

 tion, or for perfonal ufe ; fome individuals always carrying 

 one about with them, and in fome Brahman families one is 

 daily conftrufted in clay, placed, after due fanditication by 

 appropriate ceremonies and prayers, in the domeftic fhrine, 

 or under a tree or fhrub facred to Siva, the Bilva (Cra- 

 tsva marmelos) more efpecially, and honoured by the ado- 

 ration of the females of the houlhold. This ceremony is 

 called Linga-puja, /. e. the worfnip of the Linga, a beau- 

 tiful plate of wltieh, with a particular defcription, is given in 

 Moor's Hindu Pantheon, where" apious female is reprefented 

 in plate 22, propitiating Mahadeva (another name of Siva) 

 in his generative character, indicated by the Linga, inftrtcd 

 in its appropriate receptacle the Argha, or Yoni, myftcrious 

 tvpes of nature, particularly dilcuiTed in future pages. The 

 devout female may be imagined as invoking the deities, 

 tvpified by their fymbols, for the blefling of fruilfulnefs, 

 its r'evei-fe being deprecated by both fexes, as the moll af- 

 fliclino- vilitation of divine difpleafure. It is explained 

 hereafter, how certain ceremonies called Sradha, to be per- 

 formed by tlie offspring of defunct parents, are effential to 

 the repofe of a departed foul." P. 68. See Sradha, Yoni, 

 and Meru. 



A fctt of Hindoos worfhip almoft: exclufively the Linga, 

 as the fymbol of their deity : this feft is called Lin^aja, 

 LirfancitLi, and Liiigi. Another fe61, exclufive worfhippers 

 of the Ton!, or the female power, are called Y''onija ; the 

 former being apparently the fame as the Phalhc emblem 

 of the Greeks, the mrmbrum virik ; and the latter pudendum 

 m-dlebre, rarely, however, feen in India in an indecent form. 

 •' The myllery in which the real hiftory of ihcfe emblems 

 is veiled, renders it extremely difficult to give a clear ac- 

 count of the origin or tendency of the rites by whicli we 

 fee their votaries honour them. That they had their origin 

 in nature and innocence we may admit, without admitting 

 likewife the propriety of their continuance to a period when 

 nature and innocence are no longer feen unfophiilicated : 

 k.nowing, however, fo little of the genuine hiitory of tliefe 

 rites and fymbols, it is but'a rcafonable extenfion of charity 

 :o (uppofe that their origin was philofophical though myl- 



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terious, and that their obfervance, though ofTenfive to delicacy, 

 is not criminal. 



" It is fome comparative and negative praife to the Hin- 

 doos, that the emblems under which tin y exhibit tlic dements 

 and operations of nature, are not extcrnnllv indecorous. 

 Unlike the abominable realities of Egypt and Greece, we 

 fee the Phallic emblem in the Hindoo exhibitions without 

 oflence ; and know not, until the information be extorted, 

 that we are contemplating a lymbol, whofe prototype is ob- 

 fcene. The plates of this work may be turned and exa- 

 mined over and over, and the uninformed oblerver will not 

 be aware that in fevcral of them he has viewed the typical 

 reprelentation of the generative organs or powers of hu- 

 manity. The external decency of the fymbols, and the dif- 

 ficulty with which their recondite alluiions are difcovered, 

 both offer evidence favourable to the moral delicacy of the 

 Hindoo charadter. I am not, however, prepared to deny 

 the appearance, in many inftanccj, of ilrong evidence to the 

 contrary; the difgulling failhfulnels of natural delineations, 

 and the combinations fo degrading to human nature, ob- 

 fervable on fome of the temples and facred equipages of 

 the Hindoos, are deeply offenfive to common delicacy and 

 decency ; and I continue of opinion that fuch objects of 

 depravity, publicly offered to juvenile contemplation, cannot 

 fail of exciting in fuch untutored, efpecially temale, minds,, 

 ideas obnoxious to the innocence that we love to think an 

 inmate there." (Hin.- Pan. p. 382.) Something on this 

 topic, and an inftance of the adoration of the Linga in a 

 magnificent temple, occur under the articles Idolatuy and 

 Jejlry. See alfo Phali.vs. The fimilarity of Phallic 

 and of Linga wordiip, and other Grecian, Egyptian, and 

 Hindoo coincidences, are learnedly difcuffed by major Wil- 

 ford in the third, fourth, fixtii, and eighth volumes of 

 the Aiiatie Refearches. See Gentoos and Lotos, in this 

 work. 



LINGAJA, a feft of Hindoos, who adore, it is faid, 

 exclufively, the Linga, a fymbol of Siva. See LiXGA, 

 and Sects of Hindoos. 



LINGAN, in Geography, a river of Ireland, which runs 

 into the Suir ; 1 miles below Carrick-upon-Suir. 



LINGANCITA, a feft of Hindoos, the fame wuh 

 Lingaja, who exclufively worfhip Siva under the fymbol of 

 a Liiija or Phallus. See Linha, and Sects of Hindoos. 



LINGAPOUR, in Geography, a town of Hindoollan, in 

 Dowlatabad ; i^ miles S.ot Nei.rmul. 



LINGA Y, one of the fmaller weftern iflands of Scot- 

 land, near the S.W. coail of Harris. N. lat. '^•j' 40V 

 W.loiig. f. 



LING-CHAN, a town of Corea ; 76 miles E.N.E. of 

 Han-tcheoij. 



LINGEN, a city of Weftphalia, and capital of a county 

 of the fame name ; formerly fortified, but now barely 

 furrounded with a ditch, and fmall. It is the feat of the re- 

 gency of the united counties of Lingen and Tetklenburg, 

 and of the deputations of the war and domain chamber of 

 Min'den, and has a Calviniff, a Lutheran, and a Roman Ca- 

 tholic church. The academical gymnafium of this place 

 was founded in 1697 by William III., prince of Orange. 

 About a quarter of a mile dillance from the town, N. of 

 it, is the paffage over the Embs, called the " Lingen Eerry." 

 — Alfo, a county of Wedphalia, bounded on the N. by the 

 bilhopric of Munfter, on the E. by the bifliopric of Ofna- 

 bruck, on the S. by the county of Tecklenbuig, and on the 

 W. by Bentheim. At the peace of Tilfit it was ceded by 

 Pruffia to Wellphalia. It has mines of coal and quarries of 

 (lone. The chief town of the upper divifion of the county 

 is Lingen, and tlut of the lavvcr Ibbenbuhren. — Alfo, an 



iHand 



