A mantra inscription and symbolic images decorate this vessel used by Hindu worshippers. At the top, water pouring from a lingam—the columnar form that represents Shiva, who creates, protects, and transforms the universe—forms a waterfall connecting the levels of beings below. The stream represents India’s Ganges River. This jar could have been used to carry sacred Ganges water or may have served as a remembrance of a trip to Benares (Varanasi), an important pilgrimage site on the river.