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Linga (or plural, Lingam) in the Sanskrit language means phallus, but also sign or emblem. The Shiva-Lingam is a symbol of the Hindu deity Shiva as generative force of the universe.
The typical Shiva-lingam is an elongated, elliptical stone, usually paired with the yoni, a stone receptacle in representative of the female genitals.
On the surface, the Shiva linga is a phallic emblem, but theologically, it is much more complex. Symbolically, it represents a singularity; when paired with the yoni, it represents a conjunction of opposites, or life coming-into-being: the formlessness of Shiva in union with material manifestation, the Shakti. The two together can also be viewed as the axis mundi penetrating the earth.
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