Yonimudra, Yonimudrā, Yoni-mudra: 5 definitions



In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

[«previous (Y) next»] — Yonimudra in Purana glossary
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Yonimudrā (योनिमुद्रा).—The symbol pertaining to Devī; description of.*

  • * Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa IV. 42. 18; 44. 11.
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General definition (in Hinduism)

[«previous (Y) next»] — Yonimudra in Hinduism glossary
Source: Google Books: Explaining Mantras

Yonimudrā (womb sign); The yonimudrā is specifically prescribed as a cure for the two impurities of birth and death.

What is this mysterious yonimudrā? Yoni denotes the female sexual and reproductive organs, and is best translated as “womb,” as long as this is taken to refer to the external sexual organs and vagina in addition to the womb. Mudrā is difficult to translate, as it has a number of meanings. The primary one is a “seal” or “sign,” which underlies its use to denote a kind of symbolic had gesture. Mudrā is also the term for one of five substances or practices beginning with the letter “m” (pañcamaksāra), in which context it is usually translated as “parched grain.”

The yonimudrā is in part a gesture involving the complete interlacing of fingers in an all-encompassing embrace resembling that of the womb. However, it is also, and more fundamentally, a form of yoga. Yoga is distinguished by a concentration on restraining the breath and raising the kuṇḍalini through various psychic centers (cakra) andchannels (nāḍi) within the body. The kuṇḍalinī is the supreme Śakti, often depicted as a serpent, which, coiled at the base of the spine, through yogic practice is made to straighten and extend to the highest cakra in the cranium.

The yonimudrā and other yogic methods of making matras effective often prescribe a backwards and forwards motion through the cakras and nāḍī. These two directions correspond to the tow subsidiary channels of iḍa and piṅgala, which must be blanced or coordinated in the central cannel, or suṣumna, in which the kuṇḍalini moves. When this coordination occurs, the mantra will be effective:

“Mantras established in the (inferior) creaturely state are mere letters. (But) pronounced with resonance (dhvani) of the suṣumnā, they attain mastery.”

“When the breath has gone to both channels, then all (mantras) awaken; being awakened, they always achieve results for those using them”

Descriptions of the yonimudrā elucidate the connection between the image of the womb and the backward and forward motions of enveloping:

“She, in whose womb (yoni) creation is born, and is again absorbed (pralīyate)...is indeed the highest yonimudrā

The yoni is the womb of creation, the beginning and end of the cosmic evolution and involution. The backward and forward motions of enveloping and the yonimudrā represent, from a microcosmic perspective, the departure from and return to the womb, as well as, from a macrocosmic perspective, the creation and destruction of the universe. These motions also assimilate each form of creation to the act of secual intercourse.

In Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)

Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka Maṇḍala

Yonimudrā (योनिमुद्रा) refers to “womb hand posture”, depicted in both the left and right hand of Heruka: one of the main deities of the Herukamaṇḍala described in the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Heruka is positioned in the Lotus (padma) at the center; He is the origin of all heroes; He has 17 faces (with three eyes on each) and 76 arms [exhibiting, for example, yonimudrā]; He is half black and half green in color; He is dancing on a flaming sun placed on Bhairava and Kālarātrī.

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Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit-English dictionary

[«previous (Y) next»] — Yonimudra in Sanskrit glossary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Yonimudrā (योनिमुद्रा).—a particular position of fingers.

Yonimudrā is a Sanskrit compound consisting of the terms yoni and mudrā (मुद्रा).

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