Types of shaligrams



Works of Hindu literature such as the Viramitrodaya, Chaturvarga-chintamani, Matsyasukta, Vaishvanara Samhita, Puranasamgraha, and the Pranatoshani Tantra cites the following varieties of shaligrams on the basis of shape, colour, features of the chakra (imprint of the ammonite shell present on the outer surface or inside the stone, resembling Sudarshana Chakra, the discus of Vishnu) and mukha/vadana/dvara (a large aperture resembling an open mouth through which the chakra present within the stone can be seen from outside) and distinct markings like the vanamala (a linear white line running throughout the body of the stone, resembling a garland)

A more detailed classification is provided in the Meru Tantra and in the book Shalagrama Kosha compiled by S. K. Ramachandra Rao from a manuscript named Shalagrama Pariksha written by a Telugu Brahmin named Anupasimha, and unpublished sections of the Sritattvanidhi dealing with shaligrams.