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Swayambhu ( sa, स्वयंभू) is a 
Inside the high Amarnath Cave, the stalagmite is formed due to the freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave onto the floor and grows up vertically from the cave floor. It is considered to be a Shiva Linga by Hindus. The Cave waxes from May to August, as the snow melts in the Himalayas above the cave, and the resultant water seeps into the rocks that form the cave and gradually wanes thereafter. As per the religious beliefs, it has been claimed that the lingam grows and shrinks with the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word that means "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that is created by its own accord".
Often, the word swayambhu is used to describe a self-manifested image of a deity, which was not made by human hands, but instead is naturally arisen, or generated by nature.
According to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Vishnu is called swayambhu.
The word etymology of swayambhu is 'Svayam' (स्वयं) which means 'self' or 'on its own' and 'bhū' (भू) which means 'to take birth' or 'arising'. This is applicable to the physical and tangible idols of Gods that we see or to the intangible yet existing God whom we cannot see. For example, the jyotirlingas are considered swayambhu- the idol of Venkateshwara
Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Etymology
Venkatesw ...
at Tirumala
Tirumala is a spiritual town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the suburbs of the Tirupati urban agglomeration. The town is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority and located in Tirupati (rura ...
and some other ones are considered Swayambu- which means they are not installed by any person but they exist on their own. The word Swayambhu is also applicable to Gods- for example- Vishnu is described as swayambhu in Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
and Matsya purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the h ...
.
As per the Vedas, Shiva is considered swayambhu.
The Ice Lingam at Amarnath Cave
Inside the high Amarnath Cave, the stalagmite is formed due to the freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave onto the floor and grows up vertically from the cave floor. It is considered to be a Shiva Linga by Hindus. The Cave waxes from May to August, as the snow melts in the Himalayas above the cave, and the resultant water seeps into the rocks that form the cave and gradually wanes thereafter. As per the religious beliefs, it has been claimed that the lingam grows and shrinks with the phases of the moon
Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...
, reaching its height during the summer festival.
Shiva Temples
*Keesaragutta Temple
Keesaragutta Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and his consort Parvati at Keesaragutta , Keesara Village in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, Telangana, India. It is about 30 km from Hyderabad and 12 km from ECIL. It is located on ...
, Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
* Lord Navanepattayya Swamy Temple. Aspari, Andhra Pradesh.
*Shanaleshwara Swayambhu Temple
Shanaleshwara Swayambhu Temple ( sa, श्री शानालेश्वर स्वयंभू मन्दिर) dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva. "Shanaleshwara" means, the sign that is worshiped as Lord Shiva. It is situated ...
, Nalas, Rajpura
Rajpura () is a city in Patiala district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, situated along the border of the Indian state of Haryana. It is located 26 KM Patiala city, towards East from District Head Quarter. It is Tehsil Head Quarter. Rajp ...
, Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
.
* Thiruvairoor Sree Mahadeva Temple, Chunakkara
Chunakkara is a village in Mavelikara Tahsil of Alappuzha district, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the Kollam Theni Highway spanning in around in length along the highway. It is divided into 5 areas and 15 wards. It is locate ...
, Alappuzha district, Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
* Gyanvapi shivling, Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
.
Ganesha Temples
*Swayambhu Sri Abhista Gnana Ganapathi Temple
Swayambhu Sri Abhista Gnana Ganapathi Temple is a Swayambhu (Self Manifested) Ganapathi temple in Kurnool, known as SSAGG temple
located in Kurnool district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Swayambhu Sri Abhista Gnana Ganapathi Deity ...
* Hattiangadi Siddi Vinayaka Temple
See also
*Acheiropoieta
''Acheiropoieta'' (Medieval Greek: , "made without hand"; singular ''acheiropoieton'') — also called icons made without hands (and variants) — are Christian icons which are said to have come into existence miraculously; not created by a huma ...
in the Christian tradition, literally, "works made without human hands"
* Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena
* Swayambhunath
Swayambhu (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; new, स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious complex atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the ...
* Soyombo symbol
The ''Soyombo'' symbol (; mn, Соёмбо, ; from sa, svayambhu) is a special character in the Soyombo alphabet invented by Zanabazar in 1686. The name "Soyombo" is derived from Sanskrit ''svayambhu'' "self-created". It serves as a national ...
References
Hindu philosophical concepts Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena Salakapurusa {{Hindu-philo-stub