South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c9.s2.8

c9.s2.8

It is a common adage that Siva is as fond of bathing as Vishnu is fond of decoration and the surface of the pedestal which receives the linga is so fashioned as to drain off the large quantity of water⁵ poured over the god every day from a copper vessel with a hole at its bottom, hung directly over the shaft. In a linga considered as a symbol of Brahman, the quadrangular bottom of the shaft is believed to represent Brahmā, the octagonal middle Vishnu and the circular upper portion Siva.¹ Sometimes a single linga is known by the name Sahasra ("the thousand")-linga (fig. 46). It is divided into twenty-five facets, each of these latter having miniature representations of forty lingas and making up thus the number one thousand.