Perhaps the most famous work of the Mỹ Sơn E1 style is a large sandstone pedestal dated from the second half of the 7th century. Originally, the pedestal had a religious function, and was used to support a huge lingam as a symbol for Siva, the primary deity in Cham religion. The pedestal itself is decorated with relief carvings featuring scenes from the lives of ascetics: ascetics playing various musical instrument, an ascetic preaching to animals, an ascetic receiving a massage. To the Cham, the pedestal symbolized Mount Kailasa, the mythological abode of Siva which also accommodated numerous forest- and cave-dwelling ascetics, just as the lingam it supported represented the god himself.