Elements of Hindu Iconography v4.c25.s3.75

v4.c25.s3.75

We learn from the Liṅga-purāṇa that Śiva is to the universe what clay and the potter are to the pot, namely the upādāna kāraṇa (material cause) and the nimitta kāraṇa (instrumental or generative cause). Such a Being manifests himself in five different forms.