Śivasaṃhitā 5.85

The yoni at the center of the mūlādhāra does not refer exclusively to feminine anatomy but to the cosmic generative principle: the womb of all creation. Kuṇḍalinī rests coiled in this primordial source, sleeping until awakened by practice. Its sthitā presence (established, motionless) describes pure potentiality before activation.

The term yoni (yoni = womb, source, origin) designates in tantric cosmology the receptive aspect of reality, śakti in its unmanifested state. Kuṇḍalinī literally means «she who has the form of a coil» (kuṇḍala = coil, spiral), an image reflecting both its energetic nature and its residence at the densest point of the subtle body.

This verse presents the great paradox of tantra: the highest power (the śakti that ascends to Śiva’s pure consciousness) resides at the body’s lowest point, at the crossroads of material energy. The Nātha tradition, which directly influenced the Śiva-saṃhitā, developed specific bandha and prāṇāyāma techniques to awaken this coiled energy and guide it toward the sahasrāra.