Hear now, with reverence, the sacred instructions for the making and worship of the liṅga and its pedestal, as revealed in the Agni Purāṇa. Among the foremost liṅgas, there is one liṅga each; at the feet, three are placed for each. The wise are to arrange liṅgas in groups of six and also in sets of one hundred and eight. These liṅgas are of fixed, extended, and measurable form, possessing the qualities of a door, a womb, and a hand. They embody both a portion of the Lord and the Lord Himself, and so are considered equal to the deity to be worshipped. The liṅga is to be marked in four forms by its diameter; and when endowed with proper length, it should be fashioned in threefold form. The liṅga is to have four, eight, and again eight circles, reflecting the qualities of the three tattvas, and its desired length is measured in finger units. To determine the proper measure, one should use the standards set by the gods, beings, or even peacocks, beginning with the mark of the banner. The remaining fingers, after this measure, are to be noted as auspicious or inauspicious. Of these measures, those beginning with the banner, the banner itself, the lion, and the bull are most auspicious; among the donkeys, the ṣaḍja, gāndhāra, and pañcama measures are givers of good fortune. Among the elements, the earth (Bhū) is auspicious, and among fires, the āhavanīya is so. The half portion of the raised measure is divided successively by the nāga parts. With the portions of rasa and elements, and with arrows exceeding by sixty-three parts, among the wealthy, the inferior, the worshipped, and those equal to the sun, the four-sided form is found. The fifth form is called “increasing,” due to its growth in diameter and by the day; the twofold divisions and many others are explained according to Viśvakarman. For the wealthy and others, the threefold thickness is established—this threefoldness applies equally to the hand and heel, and so on. There are twenty-five liṅgas in the first group as worshipped by the gods; by fives, sevens, and by ones, they are made by the devoted. There are fourteen thousand and fourteen hundred liṅgas, with a width of eight fingers and a womb of nine single hands. Of these, with half and quarter corners, one should consider the corners with threads; making the width in the middle, one should also place three in the middle. When divided, above is eight-sided, and twice eight-sided is the portion of Śiva. From the foot to the end is Brahmā, and within the navel is Viṣṇu. The lord of beings, who is above darkness, is present in both the manifest and the unmanifest; in the arrangement of the five marks, the head is said to be round. The head of the liṅga may resemble an umbrella, a rooster, or have the form of a crescent moon; each of these, having four variations, yields results according to their desired distinctions. The expanse of the head of the liṅga should be made with due portions; the foremost part is divided into four, according to breadth and height. There, four threads are to be used, proportioned by their respective parts; by one part is the lotus, by omission the wide one is named. By three parts is the Śrīvatsa, by omission of the enemy’s part is the split; among all, the head equal on every side is best, and the rooster-shaped is called divine. In the liṅga of four parts, by omitting two, the head is said to be of tin; for the beginningless one, the head is called half-moon. From a portion at the end, with pairs of portions, in one day is the immortal mark; the full-moon, crescent, and lotus arise in order by the loss of two or three parts. Now, hear about the auspicious liṅga with four, three, or one face; the portion for worship should be made as prescribed for mortals, for fire, and for the feet. Having set aside the sun-like form as before, one should fashion six positions; the elevation of the head should be made, then the forehead and nose. The face, chin, and neck are to be formed with portions for the arms and eyes; with the hands shaped like buds, all according to the measure of the image. The face should be made equal, at one-eighth of the breadth. The four-faced form has been described; now hear about the three-faced. For the three-faced liṅga, the ears and feet are more prominent; the forehead and other features should be indicated, and the two arms made with four parts, omitting the fifth. The emergence of the faces is by one-eighth of the breadth; likewise, the single face should be made, with gentle eyes in the eastern direction. The forehead, nose, mouth, and neck should be fashioned; and the arms, by a fifth part, should be made—or omitted if without arms. The emergence of the faces is proper by one-sixth of the breadth; for all liṅgas with faces, the tin or rooster form is prescribed. The Blessed Lord then spoke: Now I shall explain the making of the pedestal for these images. Its length should be equal to the image, and its breadth half of that. Its height should be half its length, or, if very broad, a third; the girdle should be by a third part. The hollow should be measured accordingly, slightly inclined to the north; the outlet for the channel should be by a fourth of the breadth. O Agni, the breadth at the base should be made equal, its extension half of that; the water channel should be constructed as one third of the extension. The projection should be made as before, using sixteen as the measure; the lower part should be six units, the neck two parts, and the throat three parts. The remaining parts should each be made individually, as well as the base and the exit. This band and pedestal are common to all images. The door of the image is to be made according to the measurement of the temple door; the radiance (prabhā) of the image should be adorned with elephants and vyālas. The pedestal too should always be made as is fitting for Hari; for all the gods, the measurement declared by Viṣṇu is to be used; for all the goddesses, the measurement declared by Lakṣmī is to be used. The Blessed Lord continued: I shall now explain the fivefold establishment. The image itself is the person; the pedestal is nature; Lakṣmī is the foundation; and yoga is the connection of the two. Therefore, installation is performed by those who desire the fruits of their wishes. The teacher should draw out the garbha-sūtra in front of the temple. From eight, sixteen, up to twenty, the pavilion and its lower parts are to be made—for bathing, for the water pot, and for half the ritual materials. The altar should be made beautiful, using three parts and a half part as measure; it should be adorned with water pots, small jars, canopies, and the like. After sprinkling everything with pañcagavya, all the materials should be arranged. The adorned teacher, meditating on Viṣṇu, should worship his own self, thus completing the sacred establishment of the image and its pedestal, as prescribed by the ancient wisdom.