Saligrama

The Saligrama or Shaligrama is the most sacred stone worshipped by Vaishnavas and is worshipped as a form of Lord Vishnu. Use of the shaligrama is similar to the use of lingam, a form of Shiva.

The stone resembles an ammonite fossil, and is found only in the river Gandaki (near Muktinath) in Nepal. According to Hindu tradition this stone is the shelter for a small insect known as vajra-keeta that cuts through the shaligrama stone and stays inside it.

There are many different types of saligrama sila, each differentiated as a different form of Vishnu by its special markings, or chakras.

Shaligramas come in different colors, such as red, blue, yellow, black and green. The yellow and blue varieties are considered more sacred, while the black ones are more common. Shaligramas of different shapes are often associated with different incarnations of Lord Vishnu (such as Narasimha, Kurma and so on).

According to Vaishnavas, the shaligrama is the dwelling place of Lord Vishnu, and anyone who keeps it must worship it daily. The keeper must also adhere to strict rules, such as not touching the shaligrama without bathing, never placing the shaligrama on the ground, avoiding non-vaishnavaite (or non-satvic) food, and not indulging in bad practices.

Lord Krishna himself mentions the qualities of the shaligrama to Yudhishtra in Mahabharata.

Temples use shaligramas in their rituals; worship of these is the same as worship of the deity. However, it must be noted that the shaligramas are self-manifest, and are revered as special as they are forms of the deity that are not man-made.

Shaligrama is also the name of the place where the stones are found; it is one of 108 sacred pilgrimage places for the Vaishnavas outside India. The place is considered so auspicious that the puranas mention that any stone from there is as sacred as a shaligrama.