In the Skambha Suktam of Atharva Veda, Shiva tells Parvati: “I am the sea and you the wave. You are Prakṛiti, and I, Purusha!”
This note is the result of a flight of imagination I had today. During this flight, I could view the Shivalingam/Yoni from the top, and saw the Purusha & Prakriti as the image given above.
In this image, Shiva is the Purusha, the Cosmic Potential, stable, till called upon to act at the end. He is the axle, around which the creative, kinetic, energetic Prakriti eddies, and spews forth giving birth to the Universe.
This image is beautiful and very apt. However, the conventional image of Shivalingam/Yoni is one of the most misunderstood images in our faith. This is misunderstood, not only by non-followers of the Sanatana Dharma, but also by many Hindus.
This is because the Shivalingam/Yoni image is overtly sexual in nature. However, there is no need to feel diffident about this, or to try to find excuses or alternative explanations for this image because this imagery is beautifully unifying and soothing rather than lustful. It symbolises a union of two procreative elements. It is this union of the male and female principles, the epitome of unity, that results in creation of the Universe.
Those with unprepared or immature minds will, of course, stoop to the lowest, lascivious thought. This says more about their own base mindset than about this image. In order to truly understand the marvellous symbolism of this ancient iconography we need to rise above our baser instincts and try to think like our seers intend us to.
If you wish to read more on the real symbolism behind this image, please see my note titled Shivalingam/Yoni – the Alpha & Omega of the Universe, at the following link,
https://sanitybalance.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/shivalingam-yoni-alpha-and-omega-of-the-universe/
Kishore Asthana
13.06.2026