Different Shapes of a Black Hole:
Image 14.4.2 – The real image of a supermassive black hole released by Event Horizon Telescope (licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Credit: European Southern Observatory
It is a real picture of a black hole. We can see that it is surrounded by a yellow-red halo. It could mean its back is red as mentioned in the Atharvaveda. The picture is not clear. Therefore, we cannot definitely say whether it is really black or dark-blue in color.
We do not know what exactly the shape of a black hole is, but scientists have tried to figure out its shape.
Image 14.4.3 – Visualization of a Black Hole by Scientists
Credit: J. A. Marck and J. P. Luminet
The above photo is a visualization of a black hole by astrophysicists, J. A. Marck and J. P. Luminet. Some of these pictures resemble the contemporary shape of a Shiva lingam and also a Bana-lingam. If you consider only the uppermost portion in the figures, the shape of a swayambhu lingam also can be explained.
Lord Shiva as the Destroyer – Nataraja:
A few years ago scientists at CERN ("Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire'' or European Council for Nuclear Research) experimented to study subatomic particles and the conditions at the time of the Big Bang using the world’s largest and the most powerful particle accelerator, LHC (Large Hadron Collider). Some people feared that a black hole could be formed during this experiment. The scientists at CERN did not deny the possibility of forming a black hole but stated that if it was formed, it would be very small and would not last long. According to a report by BBC, they indeed created a “mini Big Bang'' by smashing together lead ions instead of protons.
In 2004, a 2-meter statue of Nataraja was unveiled at the CERN facility in Geneva. The reason given by CERN officials for this statue to be there was that it was a gift from India to celebrate its association with CERN, and Nataraja dance is a metaphor that was drawn between the cosmic dance of the Nataraja and the modern study of the ‘cosmic dance’ of subatomic particles. But is it just a metaphor or is there something more in it?
There are mainly two forms of Lord Shiva’s dance, viz. Lasya and Tandava. Lasya is a gentle form of dance and represents creation while Tandava is a vigorous form of dance, which represents destruction.
The statue of Nataraja depicts the Tandava dance. I think that the Tandava pose depicts the moment of destruction.
Image 14.4.4: Lord Shiva in the Tandava Pose
1. The circle of fire around the Nataraja statue represents the Big-Crunch. It is believed that at the end, the black hole will consume all the matter and the universe will end in a circle of fire called Big-Crunch.
2. The dispersed hair represents the untied gravity that is sucking everything.
3. The Ganga, the moon, and the sun in his dispersed hair represent they are being sucked by gravity, and the black hole is consuming all the galaxies.
4. The uncoiled snake represents that he is in an attacking position. The time and space are unwrapped and are about to end.
5. He has trampled Apasmara (the dwarf) with his right leg, which means the ignorant living beings are being crushed, but he is keeping his left leg in the air because he is not killing them permanently.
6. In his left upper hand, he holds a fire that symbolizes destruction. Normally, the damaru is attached to the trident, but in the Nataraja statue, it is in his upper right hand. It symbolizes the universe will be created again. This also indicates that he has taken the process of creation and destruction into his hands.
7. The same thing is represented by the other two hands. The lower left palm is in Gaja-Hasta (elephant trunk) mudra that represents liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth and the upper right palm is in Abhaya Mudra which represents reassurance that the universe will be created again.
Therefore, the scientific meaning of the Shiva lingam is the initial singularity or Hiranyagarbha.