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SHALIGRAM THE DIVINE GIFT

Worship Shree Shaligram for six values of life
Righteous living, Wealth, Protection, good health, pleasures and Spiritual
“AKYAS CA IVA DESE CA SALAGRAMA STHALAM MAHAT
SANAM TAD BHAVAM YAT TAT SALAGRAMAM ITI SMRTAM”
The Shaligram is the most sacred stone worshipped by the Vaishnavas and is used to
worship Vishnu in an abstract form i.e., God without form as a ‘Saligrama’. The use of
the Shaligram is similar to the use of ‘Lingam’ as abstract symbol of Lord Shiva. The
stone is not an ‘ammonite fossil’ as written in many websites about the Shaligram. The
Shaligram is found in river Gandaki near Muktinath in Nepal.

GANDAKYAS CAIVA DESE CA SALAGRAMA STHALAM MAHAT

PASANA TAD BHAVAM YAT TAT SALAGRAMAM ITI SMRTAM
(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 5/296 From GAUTAMIYA TANTRA )

As per Gautamiya Tantra, near the kali – Gandaki river, there is a big place
called Shalagram.The stones which appear in that place are called shalagram shila.
According to the Hindu tradition this stone is the shelter for a small insect known as
“Vajra-Keeta” that has a diamond tooth which cuts through the Shaligram stone and
stays inside it. The Saligram stones are hundreds of million years old when the
Himalaya was an ocean floor. The marks on the Shaligram gives it a special
significance, with the pattern often representing that of Sudarshan Chakra, the Discus
of Lord Vishnu. The Shaligrams come in different colours, such as red, blue, yellow,
black, greeen. All the varities are considered very sacred. The yellow and golden colour
Shaligrams are considered most auspicious and bestow immense wealth and prosperity
to the devotee. The Shaligrams of different shapes are often associated with different
incarnations of Lord Vishnu such as Narasimha Avatar, Kurma Avatar and so on.

According to the Vaishnavas the Shaligram is the “dwelling place of Lord Vishnu” and
any one who keeps it, must worship it daily. He must also adhere to the strict rules such
as not touching the Shaligram without bathing, never placing the Shaligram on the
ground, avoiding non-vaishnavaite (or non-satvic) food and not indulging in the bad
practices. The Lord Krishna himself mentions the qualities of Shaligram to ‘Yudhishtra’
in the Mahabharta. Most of the Shaligrams are considered auspicious, some are very
sacred, while others are considered to bring good luck, money, peace, sons and so on.
The temples can use any kind of Shaligrams in their rituals. The place where the
Shaligram stone is found is itself known by that name and is one of the 108 sacred
pilgrimage places for the ” Vaishnavas” outside India. In fact such is the auspiciousness
of this place that the Puranas mention that any stone from this land is equally sacred to
Shaligram.

Among the Shalagram stones, some are from the waters (jalaja) and some are from
the mountainside (sthalaja). This classification is found in Varaha purana (SK page
111)
Among the natural objects held in extraordinary veneration in India, the salagrama-
stones (black stones in which fossil ammonites are embedded) are the most celebrated
universally. The worship of these stones is widespread and dates back to a distant past.
They are worshipped in temples, monasteries and households all over the country, as
visible and natural emblems of Vishnu. The sipping of water in which these stones are
bathed is a daily ritual for the pious Hindu belonging to the old and traditional families.
The presence of these stones is indispensable while performing daily and occasional
ceremonies and festivals of a religious nature. They are also worshipped in quasi-
religious functions like house-warming (grha-pravesa, vastu-puja), pacificatory rites of
different sorts (santi), marriages and funerary rituals. A salagrama is worshipped by
householders as well as by ascetics. The famous image of Vishnu in the Himalayan
Badri-nath is said to be carved out of a salagrama, as also the image of Krishna in
Udupi (in Karnataka). During the image-changing ceremony (nava-kalevara) in Puri-
Jagannatha, the salagrama-stone is the essence (padaratha) that is concealed within the
main wooden icon of Jagannatha. A salagrama-stone officiates as the snapana-
murti (icon for bathing) in the shrine of Natha-dvara.
Like the worship of Siva in the form of a linga, the worship of Vishnu in the shape of a
Salagrama is aniconic in character. However, the linga may be a natural object like the
white quartz (known as bana-linga) found in the river Narmada, or carved in stone by
man. Natural stone forms of Linga are called ‘svayambhu’ lingas, while those made by
man are ‘manusha’. There is also the practice of making temporary lingas out
clay (mrt), cow-dung (go-maya), flowers (pushpa) or grain-flowers (pishta), which are
dispensed with when rituals of worship is completed. The stone-lingas are usually
found only in temples, and white quartz or crystal emblem represents Siva in
household worship.
But Salagramas are always only those which are naturally found in the river Gandaki;
they are never made by man. And Vishnu has iconic images (like the incarnations,
emantory and sportive forms; Rama, Krishna, Narasimha, Varaha, Kesava, Vasudeva,
Hayagriva, Venkatesa, Ranganatha and so on), made by human sculptors.

According to the religious text of Devi Bhagwate (and other scriptures) to kill
demonJalandhar Lord Vishnu have to destroy Sati Brindha’s sati dharma. When he did
that Sati Brindha gave four seeming desecrations to Lord Vishnu to become stone,
grass, tree, plant. To wash away this reaction Lord Vishnu took four
avatars (incarnations). He became stone (Sri Saligram) grass (Kush) tree (Pipal) and
plant (Tulsi). from this time onwardse the Saligrams are considered to be most
auspicious to behold and to worship. As per Skanda Purana there can never be a price
put on any Shaligram as there is not enough gold, jewels or any precious thing exist in
the world to equal even a single Shaligram. We accept a small donation to cover the cost
of the wages, lodging, boarding and potter / transportation charges paid to the poor
villagers who collect and bring them to us. These villagers risk their life in search of rare
Shaligrams under very difficult and trying climatic conditions that exist in and around
Kali Gandaki river at Muktinath (Himalayas Nepal) to bring these auspicious
Shaligrams to all of us.
As per Skanda Purana, Padma Purana and other epics, the worshipper of Shree
Shaligram knows nofear and is blessed to attain all desirable things, worldly comforts,
good wife, good sons, good health, immense wealth, peaceful environment prevails in
his surroundings and he gets immense protection against all evil forces. His all
anxieties, mental tension goes off and all ambitions are fulfilled Even the water that has
just touched the Shaligram Shila becomes “Amrit” and by drinking it “man” is relived
of all diseases. Worshipping of Shaligram helps in meditation and attainment of
spiritual liberation.

The Shaligrams are specifically described as fossil-stones which have taken shape in the
Gandaki-river, and as characterized by the presence of discus marks . The legend,
related at length tells us that Gandaki, the lady-devotee, performed penances for
longyears, and that she got a boon from Vishnu, which made Vishnu reside in her
womb (in her depths) as her own offspring; the Shaligram-stones are thus the forms of
Vishnu. Like the worship of Siva in the form of a lingam, the worship of Vishnu in the
shape of a Shaligram is an iconic in character. Shaligrams are always naturally found in
the river Gandaki. The region where Shaligrams are found is also called Shalgrams. The
Shaligrams region is in Mustang and River Gandaki basin. These also include the
famous Kali-Gandaki river, Muktinath, Damodar Himal, Damodar Kunda, Devghat,
etc.

Besides the accounts found in several puranas (like Brahma-vaivarta, Agni, Padma,
Garuda, Nrsimha, Skanda, Brahma and Brahmanda)there are works like Shalagram-
mahatmya included in Gautamiya-tantra, Shalagram-pariksha in Magh-mahatmya
section of the Padma purana, Puja-prayog, Haribhaktivilas of Gopal Bhatta,
Shalagramarchana-chandrika, Puja-pankaja-bhaskara, Shalagram-mimamsa of
Somanatha-vyasa, Shalagram-lakshana-panjika, Shalagram-parikshaa of Anup-simha,
Shalagram-mula-lakshana-paddhati, Shalagram-sila-parikshana-paddhati and an entire
section in the Vaishnavaidhi chapter of Sri-tattva-nidhi of Maharaj Krishnaraj Wodeyar
III of Mysore.
Most puranas advocates that the worship of Salagramas as capable of producing
material benefits like wealth, progeny, success, long life, cattle, celebrity, health and so
on (“aputro labhate putram salagrama-pujanat”). This makes the worship
a “kamya” ones; optional, or conditional to the desires and expectations one has. One
who has no desires then need not worship.
Skanda-purana tells us that a smooth and shining salagrama is to be worshipped by one
who wishes to accomplish a mantra (mantra-siddhi), a black one by one who wants
celebrity (yasas), a pale coloured stone by one who desires freedom from sins (papa-
hara), a yellow stone by one who desires progeny (santana), and a stone which is blue
in colour by one who aspires for worldly prosperity (abhyudaya).Narasimha-purana
indicates that a stone shaped like an umbrella will, when worshipped, cause
sovereignty, a circular stone will bring great wealth.

The spots where salagrama-stones are found within the Nepal territory. Actually there
are four spots in the river within Nepal jurisdiction, where the sacred stones are picked
up. Until recent times, the spots were leased out to private enterprises, and the palace of
the Maharaja reserved the right to appropriate what it considered as the most precious
and valuable stones; other stones were given over to the lease-holders. While the texts
prohibit the sale of these stones, they were indeed sold for extraordinarily high
amounts, some of the stones costing more than five lakhs of Nepali Rupees.
Because of great demand for these sacred stones, and high prices they fetch, there has
been a steady practice of making fake salagramas. Many monadic mendicants (bairagis
– vairaghis) pick up round black pebbles, which are found in many rivers, but which do
not contain the chakra-emblems, and make them in imitation holes (vadana), and
tracing artificial chakra-marks in slate stone, they paste them up on these pebbles. This
deceit is so skillfully perpetrated that it would be impossible to recognize the fake-
salagrama straight away. Over years, however, the daily washing of these pebbles will
wear away the tracery, when the deceit is detected.The salagrama-stones are classified
into three groups:
i) jalaja (water-born) The stones of this group, owing to their contact with water and
mountain, will be very smooth, and possess lustre. They are regarded as of superior
merit.
ii) Sthalaja (land-born) The stones of this group are in contact with only mountain, and
therefore are rough, and lack lustre. They are of average merit.
iii) Matha (cell-born) These stones are fossilized ammonites which are said to be ‘eaten
out by insects’, (kitaka). These are of inferior value.
They are gain in two subgroups:
a) matha-proper, when the stones are eaten out hastily by insects, and without relish;
these stones said to be devoid of juices. The Salagramas of this type have chakras, which
are very rough.
b) kesara, when stones are eaten out gently and slowly by the insects, which also enjoy
the juices which are present in the stone. The chakras which are produced by the insects
will be distinguished by numerous filaments (kesara).

Some Salagramas resemble in shape a conch; some have linga-marks on them, some
are shaped like tortoise, some like a boar, some like a fish. These are in fact identified as
the forms of Vishnu, based on the characteristic marks which they have. Considered by
the characteristics, the Matsya-salagrama gives long life and prosperity, the Kurma-
salagrama provides progeny and wealth, Varaha-salagrama secures suzerainty,
Vamana-salagrama burns up all sins, and Narasimha-salagrama wards off fears and
anxieties.
There are some curious Salagramas- The Jvala-narasimha-salagrama shows flames,
when held against the light. The Ratna-garbha-salagrama is translucent but assumes
bright blue colour when seen in the sun. it is believed that one can recognize the forms
of the ten incarnatory forms (dasavartar) in this stone, on the respective ‘jayanti’ days.
The Lajavarta-salagrama acquires an ochre colour when held to the sun. the Dakshina-
murti-salagrama has the shape of a conch, but is black in colour. The Hiranya-garbha-
salagrama is round at its rear portion and has two small dots which shine like gold. The
Vasudeva-murti-salagrama in its chakra-dhara variety exudes water-drops constantly;
it has a hollow portion for the opening (vadana), having a pair of chakras on top as well
as the bottom, the two pairs being exact copies of each other.
The Matsya-murti salagrama will have a physical form that will recall the fish; the
Hayagriva-murti-salagrama will be like a horse’s head; the Varaha-murti-salagrama
will have a snout like protuberance; Narasimha-murti-salagrama will have a gaping
mouth with sharp teeth-like structures. The Matsya-murti-salagrama is particularly
recommended when it has a chakra on the tail portion (viz. Rear).
There are numerous popular beliefs concerning salagrama. Salagrama alongside Tulasi
leaves and conch (samkha), placed in one plate is regarded as most meritorious.
Any religious observance, gift, consecration, obsequies, and worship should preferably
be done in association with a salagrama: (Brahma-vaivarta-purana, Prakti-khanda, 19).
Regarding the obsequies or the last rites (sraddha), it is usual to conduct such
ceremonies in front of a salagrama. For that would ensure the departed spirit reaching
Vishnu’s abode directly: and subsequent death ceremonies would become
unnecessary: (Padma-purana, uttara-khanda, 127).
When the dying person is made to sip a little of the water in which the salagrama-stone
is bathed, he will be freed from all sins, and will reach the heavenly abode of Vishnu.
And death itself when it occurs in the presence of a salagrama-stone will pave the way
for Vishnu’s realm, for Vishnu is present in that stone. (Purana-samgraha)
The rites of expiation of sins (prayaschitta) becomes effective more by drinking the
water in which these stones are washed than by gifts or fasting or by observances of
various kinds.
In times of solar or lunar eclipse, whatever ritual is undertaken becomes all the more
effective when done in front of a salagrama-stone so says Hemadri.
It was practice in the olden days to ask the witness to hold a salagrama in hand while
testifying in a court of law; if he uttered utter falsehood, he was believed to suffer
immensely and long as a punishment: (Brahma – vaivarta – purana, op. Cit.)
Merely looking at a salagrama stone would wash away the sins of the beholder, even as
the mere sight of a lion would make the antelopes run for their lives in the forest.
Whoever glances at a salagrama would be purified of his past demerits; what then
would be the benefit of one who is mindful of it, who praises it, meditates on it,
worships it, and prostrates before it?
Whether one has real devotion or not, if he worships a salagrama-stone with prostration
before it, he will surely get emancipated from the cycle of phenomenal existence. The
person who offers a daily service for the salagrama stone will be freed from the fear of
death, and he will cross over the stream of births and deaths. A regular worship of the
salagrama-stone, bathing it in curds, ghee, milk or water will cause untold merit. In the
salagrama-stone abide the three realms, and all the immovable and movable aspects of
creation; and hence Vishnu resides in it.
The gifting of a salagrama-stone is also described as most meritorious. One who with
delight in his mind worships a salagrama-stone placing it in front of him, will instantly
obtain the merit of performing a million sacrifices. When excellent men worship a
salagrama-stone, the area of a yojana(three miles) all around that spot, would become
as holy as all the sacred places of pilgrimage together in one spot.
Even the worst criminal who has committed countless sins will instantaneously get
purified by sipping water in which salagrama stone has been washed. Also Tulasi
leaves, sandal paste, discus, Gomati-sila (stone from Dvaraka), conch, bell,
salagrama (stone from the Gandaki), lamp (sikha, flame of light) a vessel of copper,
uttering the name of Vishnu and sipping the water in which the salagrama has been
bathed – these nine will burn down the mass of sins, so say the learned sages: The
Devotee who worships the salagrama-stone must be of good conduct, free from
arrogance and infatuation, and averse to temptations of sex and wealth; he must
worship with influence and deliberation.
For worshipping sacred salagrama-stones, there is no need for a guru (the preceptor or
master who initiates), a mantra (the hymnal formula given formally by the
preceptor) japa (ceremonial repetition of the mantra), bhavana (visualization of a
deity), stuti (eulogy) or an upachara (Service).