The lingam (also, linga, ling, Shiva linga, Shiv ling, Sanskrit लिङ्गं, , meaning mark, sign, gender, phallus, inference or eternal procreative germ) is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples. Whether the lingam symbolizes the physical body of the god or something purely spiritual is the topic of many a century-old debate within Hinduism.