VIETNAM, November 24, 2013 (Thanhnien News): A Hindu lingam with Shiva’s face carved into it was placed on display at the My Son Champa ruins in central Vietnam Saturday, becoming the first intact mukhalinga to be exhibited in Southeast Asia.
The statue is estimated to date back to the 7th or 8th centuries. It was uncovered in November of last year as rains eroded the ground, around 33 feet from the temple of My Son, which is a complex of Cham temple ruins in Quang Nam Province, not far from Hoi An.
Mukhalingas, lingams with the faces of humans and Gods, began appearing in northern India during the 1st to 3rd centuries. The item on display made from a block of brownish gold sandstone stands 5 feet high, with the Shiva bust on the round head.