The word yoni (Sanskrit योिन yoni) is the Sanskrit word for "divine passage", "place of birth", "womb" in the sense of 'source of life' rather than a human organ, or "sacred temple" (cf. lila). The word also has a wider meaning in both profane and spiritual contexts, covering a range of meanings of "place of birth, source, origin, spring, fountain, place of rest, repository, receptacle, seat, abode, home, lair, nest, stable" (Monier-Williams). The yoni is also considered to be symbolic of Shakti or other goddesses of a similar nature.
A stone yoni found in Cát Tiên sanctuary, Lam Dong, Vietnam.
In classical texts such as Kama Sutra, yoni refers to vagina.
Possible Lingam-Yonis have been recovered from the archeological sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, part of the Indus Valley Civilization. There is strong evidence to support cultural continuation from the Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan; Indus-Sarasvati) to Vedic and modern Hindu practises (see: Proto-Vedic_Continuity and refer to the book by famed archaeologist, B.B. Lal entitled, The Sarasvati flows on: The continuity of Indian culture, Aryan Books International (2002), ISBN 8173052026).
Joseph Campbell associates Yoni with Kali, "the dark one" who is the "blood-consuming consort" of Shiva (Campbell, Joseph, Oriental Mythology: The Masks of God, pgs.170-171).
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