W e have all heard about the conical stone Lingam for Lord Shiva (well hopefully you have), but what about a stone for Shri Vishnu? Is there a stone that represents and symbolizes Narayana? Yes, yes there is! The Shaligram Shila (Shaligram being one of the 108 names of Vishnu , and shila simply means stone ) is a dark rock that can be found lingering along the banks of the Gandaki river in Nepal. Its a holy fossil that has natural imprints of Vishnu's symbols, such as a conch shell or His loyal snake Anatana. Sometimes there are even forms of Narasimha and Varaha (the earlier Divine incarnations of Vishnu) on the shila. These divine black rocks are used to worship Vishnu but the best part is that they are natural and not handcrafted! And according to the puranas they are not only symbols of God, but rather manifestations of God Himself. The Lord resides in many places in which he may be worshipped, but of all the places Salagrama is the best - from the Garu
