Chenkal, a small village in the Southern District of Kerala, has got the distinction of having the tallest Sivalinga in India. Standing at 111.2 feet at the Maheshwaram Sri Shiva Parvathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram district was opened to the public last week.
The Shivalinga has eight floors of which six floors represent chakras or energy centres of Human Body. Each floor has a hall where one can meditate by concentrating on the different chakras. The Shivalinga or the Mahalingam is constructed as per the Shadadhara concept in yoga.
Around the cylindrical path way to the top, statues and murals decorate the walls. Apart from this, 108 Shivalingas form part of the pathway. On top of the Mahalinga, Kailasam (a replica of the Himalayas) can be seen. Idols of Shiva and Parvathi, whose abode is kaliasam, are also seen here. Apart from this, a lotus with 1000 petals representing the Sahasrara chakra also decorates this floor.
The Mahalingam has become the only temple where one can worship 12 Jyotirlingams and 32 forms of Ganesha at a single place.
Elements of soil, ayurvedic medicines and water from holy places such as Kashi, Badarinath, Gangotri, Rameshwaram, Dhanushkodi, Gaimukh, Gangotri and Kailsa have been made part of the Mahalingam.
The work of this Shivalinga was started in 2012. Earlier the Shivalinga at Kotinlinga temple in Kolar district in Karnataka was the tallest Shivalinga with 108 feet, in the country.
