[2] Though Gudimallam is a small village, it is well known because it has a very early linga that is unmistakably phallic in shape, with a full-length standing relief figure of Shiva carved on the front.

[10] The temple is later than the linga; again, estimates of its age vary considerably, but the existing building is usually dated to "the later Chola and Vijayanagara periods", so possibly a thousand years later than the sculpture; it seems to have replaced much earlier structures.

The linga was possibly originally sited in the open air, with the rectangular stone surround that still remains,[11] or inside a wooden structure.

The linga first came to academic attention, by his own account, after being surveyed by the archaeologist T. A. Gopinatha Rao (then working for the local princely state, later with the ASI), "some years" before he published it in 1911.

On the front portion of the linga the god is standing on the shoulders of a figure of Apasmara, a dwarf who represents spiritual ignorance.

[16] His features are described by Rao as Mongoloid,[17] and Blurton describes the figure as not having "the features associated with gods of orthodox Hinduism" but "squat and broadly-built, and with the thick curly hair and the pronounced lips still seen amongst tribal populations in Central India", suggesting the non-Vedic aspects being absorbed into the emerging figure of Shiva.

He describes it as "shaped exactly like the original model, in a state of erection",[21] though one of his illustrations shows the "plan" section of the shaft, with seven straight-line faces, and gives their unequal lengths.

More recent photos and videos, presumably taken after an ASI exploration in 1973–74,[25] show the lingam in a square stone enclosure on the floor, with the whole length of the dwarf (who is kneeling) visible, as well as a circular pediment.

However, Stella Kramrisch cautions against interpreting the Gudimallam lingam as a motif of fertility or sexuality; the ithyphallic representation connotes the very opposite in this context — Urdhva Retas i.e. the ascent of vital energy (controlled by semen) rather than release.

Benerjee in his work Religion in art and archaeology observes: The Lingam in Arghya motif was comparatively late phase.

But originally in comparatively early times, the emblems of the male and the female deities were worshiped separately, as the earliest specimens of the phallus and ring stone testify.

The Gudimallam Shiva Linga or for that matter the Shivalingas of the Pre-Gupta and the early Gupta periods did not show any real base in the shape of the latter characterization of the arghya or pita.

Even in latter representations of the emblem, the projecting section of the Pita really served the very useful purpose of draining off the water profusely poured on the top of the Shiva Linga to some distance from its base.

This statement needs revision, for it is evident from the recent excavations conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India, South eastern Circle of Hyderabad, clearly revealed that Gudimallam Linga was originally provided with a pedestal.