Talk:Kharkhorin Rock

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080604140629/http://www.legendtour.ru/eng/mongolia/regions/kharakhorum.shtml to http://www.legendtour.ru/eng/mongolia/regions/kharakhorum.shtml

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"Legend states..."
Under the heading "Legend", it says "Legend states that a monk who had vowed to be celibate had turned out to be a womanizer. As punishment he was castrated to remind him of his vows of celibacy. As a warning to the other inmate monks of the monastery, a rock in the shape of a penis was prominently engraved as a stone phallus called 'Kharkhorin Rock' within walking distance from the monastery, to remind them that they should not be indulging in any sexual activity with the local women." No valid sources are provided to support this interpretation, and it flies in the face of both logic and the use of phallic stones elsewhere in the world. As for logic: why would depicting an erect penis supposedly discourage men from having erect penises?! Even within the internal logic of sympathetic magic, it is nonsensical, since "like corresponds to like". In other words, if one wanted to promote say, virility, depicting an erect penis would be the primary correspondence. What this interpretation proposes is the opposite of that. It would be like having a carving in the shape of a nude woman (say, the apsaras of Hinduism and Buddhism), and then asserting that they are meant to inspire chastity, rather than the fecundity that is well-attested in those religions! As for phallic stones elsewhere in Asia -- so far as I know, none of them are meant to inspire chastity. The use of phallic lingam stones in Hinduism is meant to represent the generative masculine potential, and they are often paired with their corresponding yoni, representing the generative female potential. In the Kushan Empire, which stretched as far north as modern-day Xinjiang, carved phallic standing stones were used to represent Shiva -- a correspondence that is attested to in the Mahabharata. In Bhutan, erect phalli have commonly been depicted for many centuries, as symbols of fertility and good luck, integrated into Buddhism. So in the absence of actual sources provided to support the interpretation of the phallic Kharkhorin Rock as a supposed reminder of chastity, I suggest that the claim be either removed or couched in language that makes it clear that it is a speculative interpretation, rather than a documented one. Bricology (talk) 22:44, 6 July 2021 (UTC)

Newer Statue Information
The intro section makes many unsourced claims regarding the validity of reporting on a newer statue which was apparently removed. While I am able to find many photos attributing the newer statue to the area (potentially citogenesis?), I am unable to find anything on its removal. Could this be sourced anywhere?  Sam Walczak  Talk / Edits   14:33, 30 September 2022 (UTC)