Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.28

v2.c16.28

The earliest references to the phallic worship are, as we have seen above, to be found in the Ṛig-vēda, where the phallus is called śiśnadēva. When we come to the later or the purāṇic period the references are fuller and more explicit. In the Markaṇḍēya-Purāṇa there occurs the following story: Mārkaṇḍēya says that Rudra and Viṣṇu are the creators of the Universe and they form the Ardhanārīśvara aspect of the