Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/17



HE followers of the Saiva religion deem five places in Southern India most holy, and, they are:—Conjeeveram, where Siva is worshipped in the shape of Prithvi-linga or as the representative of the element earth; Tiruvanaikovil, near Trichinopoly, where he is worshipped in the shape of water-linga; Sri Kalahasti, the shrine containing the air-linga; Tiruvannamalai, the seat of the fire-linga; and Chidambaram, the abode of the ether-linga. The several forms of the god Siva in these sacred shrines are considered to be the bodies or casements of the soul whose natural bases are the five elements—-earth, water, fire, air and ether. The apprehension