Presumably, the Yoni-lingam motifs were open-air temples in the mountainous region of Sindh

Aziz Kingrani

In Sindh, Rock carvings are more common in the hilly areas of the Khirthar mountain range, especially in the boundaries of Dadu district. The ancient rock carvings on the mountains of Sindh are unique from the rock carvings found in other provinces of Pakistan. Here, in the rock carvings, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Hindu religious symbols are widely carved on the rocks. The symbols of Yoni-Lingam related to Hinduism are engraved on rocks at different rock carving sites as well. Yoni-Lingam symbol is religiously considered as symbol of Shivaism. This symbol is engraved on stones here at large scale. Sindh has remained the center of Hinduism along with other religions through the centuries. Other ancient remains of Hinduism, including the Yoni-Lingam, have been discovered at several archaeological sites in Sindh besides the Khirthar mountain range of Sindh.

Yoni-Lingam inscribed on rock at Kalri Dhoro

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Yoni is a symbolic term. In Shaivism, the yoni symbolizes the goddess Shakti, the feminine generative power and, as a goddess, the consort of Shiva. In Shaivism, the branch of Hinduism devoted to the worship of the god Shiva, the yoni is often associated with the lingam, a symbol of Shiva. The two symbols together represent the eternal process of creation and regeneration, the union of the male and female principles, and the totality of all existence. Saranprem in his book ‘Yoga, Bhoga and Ardhaneshwar’ (2012) writes that “Yoni symbol represents Goddess and Lingam symbol represents Shiva. The lingam is usually embedded in the yoni. This type of ritual represents Shiva and Shakti.”

Srinivasan Doris in her article ‘Shiva from the Indus Civilization‘ JSTOR, 1984 (p. 77, 89) writes that “Mohenjo Daro has evidence of the Yoni-Lingam symbol”. Robert T and Kalveer Wynand M. believe that it may be possible that the worship of the Phallus stone can be traced back to the Vedic period, but that the earliest lingam symbols date back to the 2nd century BCE. Scholar Spring believes that Shaivism as a separate sect probably arose at the same time as Vaishnavism, in the second half of the first millennium BCE. According to a writer Spring the symbolic religious tradition of the Yoni-lingam may have been prevalent in Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies when settlements were established and agriculture developed.

Yoni-Lingam inscribed on rock at Peepal Dhoro

Later, it continued in Hinduism from the Bronze Age onwards. It is believed that the Yoni and Lingam also represent the concept of fertility of the lands. In ancient times, the symbolism of the Yoni and Lingam symbols represented the productivity and fertility of the lands. The symbol of the lingam later evolved into a religious and mythological tradition associated with Shiva. However, Yoni-Lingam is worshiped by the majority of Shiva worshippers. Yoni-Lingam symbols are carved on stones at several places in the mountains of Sindh. In the Khirthar Mountain Rane carvings, the Serpent Yoni-Lingam is also enraved on the rocks of the Karthar Mountain range. Apart from the carving sites on the mountains near `Nighawal` near Naig Sharif in Sehwan Tehsil of Jamshoro District, `Bhura Dada`, `Kalari Dhoro` and `Pahi Dhoro` in the mountains near Wahi Pandhi town in Johi Tehsil of Dadu District. Symbols of Yoni-lingam are etched in stones at mentioned places.

Presumably, the Yoni-lingam motifs were open-air temples in the mountainous region. The depiction of the Serpent Yoni-lingam has been engraved at the `Bhora Dara` site of rock carvings located near gas company road. Due road this site is under threat. Unaware people can damage it. Even all the rock carving sites in Khirthar Mountain Range are facing threat of earthquakes as well as gas companies. There is dire need of protection of the sites.