Story of origin of Shiva Linga

In the thick forest of Darukavan, rishis, munis & yogis were engaged in Tapasya. Their wives were assisting them. To test devotion of these rishis, Lord Shiva appeared there as a semi-lunatic. He appeared very handsome but half naked, laughing sometimes and crying sometimes. Due to his handsome appearance the women folks got attracted towards him to such an extent that they started neglecting their duties. At the same time the men folks found his presence a distraction and a nuisance. Seeing a pitiable condition of their wives, the rishis got annoyed and they confronted the semi-lunatic and ordered him to leave the place. When he did not obey their order they cursed him so that his linga will fall. At this juncture Lord Bramha appeared and admonished the sages for their miss-conduct towards their guest who was none other than Lord Shiva. Bramha apologized to Lord Shiva for the miss-conduct of the sages. The rishis realized their mistake and apologized to Lord Shiva for their attitude and behavior. Lord Shiva explained to them that the Srishti occurred due to this Stri & Pulingas and one should not hurry to a wrong conclusion without ascertaining the truth.

Lord Shiva explained how not to get confused between Maya for Satya and Illusion for Reality. He suggested that Karma-kanda is definitely a foundation for path of self-realization or a means of salvation, but it’s not the end. Thus Linga formation represents, Lord Mahadeva and worship of Linga is the worship of Mahadeva.