Yoni

Yoni (Sanskrit: योनि, IAST: yoni), sometimes referred to as pindika, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is typically depicted with linga, its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging of the microcosm and the macrocosm, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that brings forth all of existence. The yoni is seen as nature's gateway for all births, particularly in esoteric Kaula and Tantra practices and in the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism.

Etymology and significance

Yoni appears in the Rigveda and other Vedic literature, representing feminine life-creating, regenerative, and reproductive organs. It also signifies concepts such as "source, origin, fountain, place of birth, womb, nest, abode, and fire pit of incubation." Other meanings of the term include "race, caste, family, fertility symbol, and grain or seed." It serves as a spiritual metaphor and icon in Hinduism for the origin and feminine regenerative powers inherent in existence. The Brahma Sutras metaphorically refer to the metaphysical concept of Brahman as the "yoni of the universe," which Adi Shankara explains in his commentaries to mean the material cause and "source of the universe."

According to Indologists Constance Jones and James D. Ryan, the yoni symbolizes the female principle in all life forms and represents the "earth's seasonal and vegetative cycles." Thus, it serves as an emblem of cosmological significance. The yoni acts as a metaphor for nature's gateway to all births, particularly within the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism, as well as the esoteric Kaula and Tantra sects. Together with the lingam, the yoni symbolizes prakriti, embodying its cyclical creation and dissolution. Corinne Dempsey, a professor of Religious Studies, states that the yoni represents an "aniconic form of the goddess" in Hinduism, embodying the feminine principle Shakti.

The yoni is occasionally referred to as pindika. The base on which the linga-yoni rests is called the pitha; however, in specific texts, such as the Nisvasa Tattva Samhita and Mohacudottara, the term pitha typically denotes both the base and the yoni.

History

Jones and Ryan argue that reverence for the yoni is likely pre-Vedic. Figurines discovered in the Zhob Valley, dating back to the 4th millennium BCE, display prominent breasts and yonis, possibly serving as fertility symbols in prehistoric times that eventually transformed into spiritual symbols. David Lemming notes that the tradition of yoni worship traces back to the pre-Vedic era, spanning from 4000 to 1000 BCE.

The yoni has served as a divine symbol since ancient times and may be the oldest spiritual icon not only in India but also in many other ancient cultures. According to Indologist Laura Amazzone, some in orthodox Western cultures have regarded feminine sexual organs and sexuality as taboo subjects. In contrast, in Indic religions and various ancient cultures, the yoni has long been recognized as a profound cosmological and philosophical truth, representing feminine potential and power, mysteriously interconnected with the natural cycles of the moon, earth, and existence.

The yoni is viewed as an abstract representation of Shakti and Devi, the creative force that flows through the entire universe. In tantra, the yoni represents the origin of life.

Archaeology

The colonial-era archaeologists John Marshall and Ernest Mackay proposed that specific polished stones with holes found at Harappan sites may provide evidence of yoni-linga worship in the Indus Valley civilization. Scholars such as Arthur Llewellyn Basham dispute whether these artifacts uncovered at the archaeological sites of the Indus Valley are yonis. For instance, Jones and Ryan assert that lingam/yoni shapes have been recovered from the archaeological sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, part of the Indus Valley civilization. In contrast, Jane McIntosh notes that truncated ring stones with holes were once considered possible yonis. Later discoveries at the Dholavira site and additional studies have proven that these were pillar components, as the "truncated ring stones with holes" are essential architectural elements of the pillars. However, McIntosh states that using these structures in architecture does not eliminate their simultaneous religious significance as yonis.

According to Indologist Asko Parpola, "it is true that Marshall's and Mackay's hypotheses regarding linga and yoni worship by the Harappans rest on rather slender grounds, and that, for instance, the interpretation of the so-called ring-stones as yonis seems untenable." He cites Dales' 1984 paper, which states, "with the single exception of the unidentified photograph of a realistic phallic object in Marshall's report, there is no archaeological evidence to support claims of special sexually-oriented aspects of Harappan religion." However, Parpola adds that a re-examination of Indus Valley sites suggests that Mackay's hypothesis cannot be ruled out because erotic and sexual scenes, such as ithyphallic males, naked females, a human couple engaged in intercourse, and trefoil imprints, have now been identified at the Harappan sites. The "finely polished circular stand" found by Mackay may represent a yoni, although it was discovered without the linga. The absence of the linga, states Parpola, may be due to it being made of wood, which did not survive.

Sanskrit literature

The term yoni and its derivatives appear in ancient medical and surgical Sanskrit texts such as the Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita. In this context, yoni broadly refers to "female sexual and reproductive organs." According to Indologists Rahul Das and Gerrit Meulenbeld, known for their translations and reviews of ancient Sanskrit medical literature, yoni "usually denotes the vagina or the vulva; in a technical sense, it also includes the uterus along with these. Moreover, yoni- can at times mean simply 'womb' or 'uterus,' though it [Cakrapanidata's commentary on Sushruta Samhita] does so relatively seldom." According to Amit Rupapara et al., yoni-roga means "gynecological disorders" and yoni-varti means "vaginal suppository." The Charaka Samhita dedicates its 30th chapter in Chikitsa Sthana to yoni-vyapath or "gynecological disorders."

In sexuality-related Sanskrit literature and Tantric texts, yoni carries multiple layers of meaning. Its literal interpretation is "female genitalia," but it also includes other connotations such as "womb, origin, and source." In some Indic literature, yoni refers to the vagina, along with other organs considered the "divine symbol of sexual pleasure, the matrix of generation, and the visible form of Shakti."

Orientalist literature

The colonial-era Orientalists and Christian missionaries, raised in a Victorian culture where sex and sexual imagery were taboo, were shocked by and hostile to the yoni iconography and reverence they encountered. The colonial and missionary literature from the 19th and early 20th centuries depicted yoni, lingam-yoni, and related theology as obscene, corrupt, licentious, hyper-sexualized, puerile, impure, demonic, and as a culture that had become excessively feminine and dissolute. For Hindus, particularly the Shaivites, these icons and concepts represented the abstract, symbolizing the entirety of creation and spirituality. The colonial disdain partially ignited a counter-response from Bengali nationalists, who more openly embraced the feminine. Swami Vivekananda called for the revival of the Mother Goddess as a feminine force, urging his fellow countrymen to "proclaim her to all the world with the voice of peace and benediction."

According to Wendy Doniger, the terms lingam and yoni became distinctly associated with human sexual organs in the Western imagination following the widely popular first translation of the Kama Sutra by Sir Richard Burton in 1883. In his translation, although the original Sanskrit text does not use the words lingam or yoni to refer to sexual organs, Burton cleverly avoided being perceived as obscene in the Victorian context by consistently employing these terms instead of words like penis, vulva, and vagina when discussing sex, sexual relationships, and human sexual positions. This deliberate and incorrect word substitution, according to Doniger, served as an Orientalist method to "anthropologize sex, distance it, and make it safe for English readers by assuring them, or feigning to assure them, that the text was not about real sexual organs—those of the readers—but merely about the appendages of strange, distant people." Similar Orientalist literature from the Christian missionaries and the British era, notes Doniger, stripped away all spiritual meanings and insisted solely on the Victorian vulgar interpretation, which had "a negative effect on the self-perception that Hindus had of their own bodies," causing them to feel "ashamed of the more sensual aspects of their own religious literature." Some contemporary Hindus, Doniger observes, in their eagerness to spiritualize Hinduism and promote their Hindutva campaign, have attempted to sanitize the historical earthly sexual meanings and emphasize only the abstract spiritual meanings.

Iconography and temples

In Shaivism, the sect devoted to the god Shiva, Shakti is his consort, and both have aniconic representations: the lingam for Shiva and the yoni for Shakti. The yoni iconography typically depicts a horizontally positioned round or square base with a lipped edge and a central opening, usually accommodating a cylindrical lingam. One side of this base often extends laterally, and this extension is referred to as the yoni-mukha. An alternative symbol for yoni commonly found in Indic arts is the lotus, an icon frequently seen in temples.

The yoni is one of the sacred symbols of the Hindu Shaktism tradition, with historical art and temples dedicated to it. Significant artworks related to the yoni include the Lajja Gauri, found in many parts of India, and the Kamakhya Temple in Assam. Both of these have been dated to the late 1st millennium CE, with the major expansion of the Kamakhya Temple—including the addition of a new sanctum above the natural rock yoni attached to an older temple—dated to the 16th-century Koch dynasty period.

External links

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Yoni ]

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