27

enter image description hereThe Pancha Mahadevatas are Ganapaty,Shiva,Vishnu,Devi(Ambika) & Surya.

There is a Smarta tradition of worshiping them together in the Panchayatana Puja..In this Puja instead of idols or images of Gods are used 5 stones which are regarded as the "Swayambhu" (self manifested, where divine presence is already present without the help of pranapratishta rituals) rupas of the respective deities.

Some use natural Stones instead of Murthis.

For..

Surya Crystal from Vallam Tamil Nadu.

Ganesha Red Sonebhadra from Sone, Bihar.

Vishnu Saligrama from Gandaki, Nepal.

Shiva, Bana Linga from Narmada, M.P.

Ambika Swarnamukhi from Swarna Mukhi from Andhra Pradesh.

Source One of the purposes of this Panchayatana Puja with Swayambhu shilas is to make man realise that God is ultimately without shape(Nirakar). For example, Ganapaty is represented by the Red Sonebhadra stone(found in the Sonebhadra river, Bihar), Shiva by Banalingas ( found in Narmada river, Madhya Pradesh), Vishnu by Salagrama(found in Gandaki river, Nepal), Devi represented by Swarnamukhi sila(found in Swarnamukhi river, Andhra Pradesh) & Surya represented by Sphatika (found in the Vallam river, Tamil Nadu).

enter image description here

Question-Besides these Pancha Devatas which other deities(like Shanmuga, Lakshmi, etc) have similar Swayambhu manifestations & in which parts of India are they found?

Improve this question
26
  • 4
    Knew about Banlinga and Shaligram. But it was good to know Devi,Surya and Ganapati are also worshiped in form of Shila
    – ChintaMoney
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 10:22
  • 3
    @Tezz Counterclockwise-Red one-Sonebhadra sila(Ganapaty),Greenish one-Swarnamukhi sila(Devi),Sphatika representing Surya,then Shaligrama(black one) & the largest egg shaped one is the Banalinga.
    – Rickross
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 12:19
  • 1
    I think Sphatik is worn for increasing effect of Shukra, I mean sphatika is related to Shukra(venus) instead of Surya (Sun god). punditjunction.com/blog/2014/11/… IMO even Shanidev is represented as Shila many temples consecrate these shila like Shani Shingnapur Temple. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shani_Shingnapur
    – Yogi
    Commented Sep 25, 2016 at 18:03
  • 4
    @Yogi Its not about wearing gemstones which are supposed to increase a particular planetary effect.The sphatikas which are found ONLY in the Vallam river bed in TN are swambhyu reprsentations of Surya & NOT any other crystals.Each of these stones are found in one or the other river beds.An IMP point to note.
    – Rickross
    Commented Sep 26, 2016 at 5:28
  • 1
    Very few people know this. Thanks for sharing.
    – The Destroyer ♦
    Commented Sep 26, 2016 at 5:32

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

In Maharashtra all of the Ashtavinayaks are swayambhu. Ganesh temples are located at Ojhar, Morgaon, Theur, Ranjangaon, Siddhatek, Lenyadri, ... and all of them are considered 'Swayambhu' or self-originated. Ganapatipule in Ratnagiri is also swayambhu Ganapati.

Hanuman is also swayambhu in many places.

At Hyderabad -Swayambhu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Kshetram

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .