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Ardhanarishvara in Art and Philosophy

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Ardhanarishvara in Art and Philosophy

Article of the Month - June 2005

Ardhanarishvara is one of the most prevalent forms of

the Divine in Indian art since around the beginning of the
Christian era or a little before. The earliest
Ardhanarishvara images are reported from the period of
Kushanas (circa 35-60 AD). A few scholars discover an
Ardhanarishvara type figure on the obverse of a largely
defaced Kushana coin from this period, which they think
could be the ever first reported Ardhanarishvara image.
The coin seems to have the Shiva icon but as
Ardhanarishvara it has little approval. It is instead a mid-
first century Kushana stele, now with the Government
Museum, Mathura, which as the earliest reported
example of the Ardhanarishvara form in art has greater
unanimity.

In the Rigveda and the subsequent body of Indian

thought, there is a lot suggestive of the unity of male and
female elements, which instruments creation. However,
besides such symbolic dimensions, the Vedic literature
makes no direct allusion to the Ardhanarishvara form or
One of the early images from Mathura to a term suggestive of such androgynous form. Hence,
there are scholars who claim that the Ardhanarishvara
form is an art perception, a product of man's queer imagination, a quaint anatomy seeking to
reconcile the ever conflicting male and female elements into one Divine form.

The Biological Union of the Outward Duality

It is true that the Ardhanarishvara-

related canonical literature and
iconographic prescriptions appeared
much after the Ardhanarishvara image
was discovered in art, but the concept
of the two elements- the male and the
female, merging into each other for
effecting creation was an ancient one.
This apparent visual fallacy of arts has,
thus, not only a deeper meaning and
cosmic significance but also its roots in
the ancient texts and creation-related
metaphysics. More significantly, the
Ardhanarishvara form represents the Hiranyagarbha
biological unity of the outward duality,
which the Indian mind has always perceived in all things and in the entire creative process. The
Vedas have perceived this biological unity in several dually existing things- Agni and Soma, Stri
and Punam, Kumara and Kumari, Pita and Mata, Linga and Yoni, Mahagna and Mahagni, Prana
and Aprana, Nara and Nari, Heaven and Earth and so on. The Rigvedic perception of 'Prana' and
'Bhuta'- the life and the matter, which the Rigveda calls Hiranyagarbha, is, however, more
explicit and better defined. In the Hiranyagarbha analogy, 'hiranya' or gold is the 'Prana', the life
and 'garbha' the 'Bhuta', the matter. The Rigveda observes that it (the cosmos? or existence?) was
the single egg but split into two- the 'Prana' and 'Bhuta'. The Rigveda does not elaborate the point
any farther but its symbolism moves into two apparent directions. Egg contains both, the life and
the matter. When it splits, both fall apart. Besides the lifeless matter, the Egg also yields the
matter with life. The Rigveda calls them as 'aprana' and 'saprana'. The matter with life has life
but is just the single Egg, the inherent aspect of the female, as by itself it is unable to farther the
creative process and it is thus only the inactive 'Bhuta'. It is only after the male energy fertilizes
it that it becomes the Golden Egg- the life-bearing one, the Hiranyagarbha of the Rigveda. And,
now the Hiranyagarbha- the 'Bhuta' combined with 'Prana', the matter energized by spirit, takes
to its own form and defines creation. The Ardhanarishvara form is, thus, the Golden Egg- the
visual perception of the Rigvedic analogy of the Hiranyagarbha.

Ardhanarishvara: The Cosmic Seed

The Ardhanarishvara is, thus, the Cosmic Seed, which is both, the pistil and the anther, the Pita
and the Mata, the Prana and the Aprana, the Nara and the Nari, the Bhuta and the Prana, the
matter and the spirit, the Prakriti and the Purusha and so on, that is, the ultimate perception of the
biological union of the outward duality. It is the assertion of the fact that the creation is
instrumented only when duality merges into absolute oneness. The single one, even when he is
the mighty Shiva, or even two- the male and the female, unless they merge into inseparable
oneness, can not instrument creation. For effecting creation, the one is required to split into two
and the two to merge into one. The Ardhanarishvara form is constant, which affirms the
continuity and the recurrence of the creative process, as the fusion of pistil and anther creates
Seed- the Golden Egg and the Seed splits into the pistil and anther and thus the procreative
process goes on endlessly.

For effecting the creation, the fusion has to be absolute, that is,
not only the male and female elements have to merge into
oneness but also their act, which the scriptures have identified
as copulation, in which all distinctions, even the femaleness and
the maleness of the agents, vanish. Copulation has been, hence,
considered as the absolute union and the proven instrument of
procreation. The bride and her groom also perform one act- the
marriage, but in the process their femaleness and maleness do
not melt as they do in the act of copulation. Hence, marriage
only partially creates. It creates at the most a bond. Copulation
creates the seed, which is both, the male and the female, and
puts the wheel of creation on move. The act of copulation thus
represents not only the androgynous state of mind but, if
reduced to a form, also the hermaphroditism of the
Ardhanarishvara form. The Matsya Purana, and with a little
deviation the Linga Purana, perceive Ardhanarishvara as the
composite form of Linga and Yoni. The Ardhanarishvara in such
Shiva Shakti form is suggestive of the same procreative act of copulation,
which creates Seed. Otherwise also, Shiva and Parvati- his
consort, are perceived as the timeless Linga and Yoni and as symbolizing the unending act of
procreation. Thus, the Ardhanarishvara form is not only the Cosmic Seed but it also represents
the unending procreative act- the Cosmic Copulation.

Ardhanarishvara: a Combination of Two or the Extension of One?

The term 'Ardhanarishvara' is a combination of three

words- 'ardha', 'nari' and 'ishvara', meaning respectively,
'half', 'woman' and 'Lord' or 'God', that is,
Ardhanarishvara is the Lord whose half is woman, or
who is half woman. Some scholars interpret the term as
meaning 'the half male' who is Shiva and 'the half
female' who is Parvati. Such interpretations are
suggestive of 'dveta', the duality of existence, and thus
contradict the Vedic stand in the matter. Such
contentions also contradict the Shaiva philosophy of
'adveta', which is very emphatic in its assertion that He
alone is the cause of the entire existence, as it is by His
will and out of Him that the cosmos came into being. In
the Shaivite hymn- Ekohum bahusyami (Shiva Purana),
that is, I am One, but wishes to be many, there echoes
the Rigvedic perception of the single egg splitting into
'Bhuta' and 'Prana'. Otherwise also, the Vedas widely
favor the principle of monogenic existence. Besides its Ardhanarishvara
emphasis on the unity of the outward duality, the
Rigveda acclaims, 'He, who is described as male, is as much the female and the penetrating eye
does not fail to see it'. The Rigvedic assertion is explicitly defined. The male is only so much
male as much he is female and vice versa the female is only as much female as much she is male.
The maleness and femaleness are the attributes contained in one frame.

This Vedic symbolism reverberates also in

several Puranas. The related myth in the Skand
Purana presents it quite characteristically.
Brahma asks Rudra to divide himself; and
thereupon Rudra, the Shiva, divides himself into
two halves, one male and the other female. At
another place, the Skand Purana mentions
Parvati as asking Shiva, 'Let me reside in you all
the while embracing you limb by limb', that is,
Parvati merges into Shiva, limb to limb, and the
duality is eliminated. The Shiva Purana puts it
somewhat differently. Brahma, in the process of
creation, creates first a number of males, the
Prajapatis, and commands them to create other
beings. Prajapatis, however, fail in doing so. The
worried Brahma then meditates upon
Maheshvara. Thereupon Maheshvara appears
before him. He has the composite form of male
Purusha and Prakriti and female and it is out of this composite form
that the creation comes up with the desired pace.
The Male-Female Equation in Contemporary Contexts

The Vedic perception of the male, being half female, and the vice versa, has wider approval of
the modern scientists, primarily the behavioral analysts and psychologists. Somewhat
controversial but quite novel and a totally different kind of thinker of the present era, Acharya
Rajnish, widely known as Osho, discovers in the Ardhanarishvara form great mysticism and
cosmic significance. To him, the Ardhanarishvara form shows that the line dividing God's
creation as male and female is only superfluous. The creation is essentially composite in its
character and the Ardhanarishvara form is its best manifestation. To him, the Ardhanarishvara
image represents Him in His absolute form and is hence more sacred and His worship absolute
and far more accomplished. Thus, even on the mundane level, the Ardhanarishvara form is the
perception of the unity of the conflicting male-female elements. This perception is essentially
different from that of the Western world, which perceives in Cupid and Psyche, their love-god
and his spouse, the inseparable union of the male and female but such union is essentially of the
two in two frames. In Indian thought, as it manifests in the Ardhanarishvara form, this union is in
the single frame and with cosmic magnification. A Greek myth also comes out with a
hermaphroditic form. Salamacis, a nymph, falls in love with Hermophroditus, the son of
Aphrodite. After Hermophroditus turns down her proposal, Salamacis prays gods to put her into
his body. And, thus, the two join limb to limb into a single frame. This Greek hermaphroditic
form has mythical dimensions but it is neither divine nor cosmic or procreative, such as is the
Ardhanarishvara form.

Shiva as Ardhanarishvara

Most of the Ardhanarishvara myths, as

well as the Ardhanarishvara form in
arts, except very rarely, as the mention
of the term Vallabhavardham in the
Bhavishya Purana, or a few late
miniatures from the northern India,
center around Lord Shiva.
Vallabhavardham, a largely Vaishnavite
term synonymous to Ardhanarishvara
(Vallabh: Vishnu; vardham: woman),
seems to have been conceived by
devotees of Vishnu and the same might Ardhanarisvara Vishnu+Lakshmi (Kashmir Style)
have inspired the miniatures seeking to
represent Vishnu in Ardhanarishvara
form. Such miniatures come primarily from Kashmir like northern belt where Vaishnavism had
been in greater prevalence. Under the related mythology as also by their number, Vishnu's
Ardhanarishvara forms, though a rarity, are almost insignificant.

The tradition perceives Ardhanarishvara mainly as the form of Shiva who it perceives as
Sadashiva, Adishiva and Adipurusha. As has been discussed heretofore, Ardhanarishvara is the
timeless Cosmic Seed, the endless procreative process and the existence in its composite
character, the aspects which are the attributes of Shiva who is the timeless Linga, the all
enlivening Prana and the inexhaustible Bhuta. As the Rigveda has it, Rudra, the Shiva, is Agni,
who as Prana energizes all things. He is without a beginning as also without an end. As Bhuta-
the Prakriti or matter, is only his aspect, he is the entire existence. He creates out of him and is
thus himself the creation. He is thus male as also the female. The Vaishnava myth is different. It
is suggestive of duality- the dveta, as Vishnu is not the creation but its sustainer. The sustainer
and the sustained are two entities. He is also only the male. He has the female- his consort,
though in inseparable union, yet she does not merge into his being. Lakshmi, as herself or as Sita
or Radha, is with him or with Rama or Krishna, but they are not in them inseparably, as is Shakti
in Shiva. Each of the born ones is the single egg- the male or the female, and so are Brahma and
Vishnu. Shiva, the Maheshvara, is the total- the Sakala and Nishkala, the Linga and Alinga, the
Rupa and Arupa, the Atman and Maya, the Sansar and Nirvana, all that is timed and all that is
beyond time, the born and the unborn, the manifest and the unmanifest, the spirit and the matter,
the ephemeral and the transcendental, the masculine and the feminine. The Indian mind believes
that Lord Shiva is the first of all beings and the root of all elements. He was always and was the
only one. Being the first, he is the Adishiva, and being always, he is the Sadashiva. Both as the
Adishiva and the Sadashiva, Shiva has inherent in his being the male and the female, the positive
and the negative, and thus his Ardhanarishvara form.

Sources of Ardhanarishvara Image

Shiva image- both the anthropomorphic and the symbolic Linga, has the pre-Vedic emergence.
Excavations at Indus sites have revealed images of Shiva as Mahayogi and Pashupati and the
Linga type objects suggestive of Shiva's manifestation as Linga and the cult of Linga worship.
There also revealed his anthropomorphic images with prominent upward phallus suggestive of
the significance of Linga in his worship cult. Shiva's subsequent Urdhalinga image was only its
developed form. In two of its verses, the Rigveda is critical of the phallus worship cult, which
suggests its prevalence in the non-Aryan tribes. Besides, such cult of phallus worship was
prevalent also in other parts of the world. The remains of Hellenistic civilization also reveal
traces of phallus worship. The ancient Egypt perceived its god Osiris in the form of Linga and
worshipped it. These early images of Shiva do not so much reveal an iconographic perception of
him but reveal quite significantly his divine dimensions, out of which developed his Sadashiva
and Maheshvara and consequently the Ardhanarishvara forms. In these early images, he is the
Linga, the Cosmic Seed, the root of procreation and thus himself the creation; as Pashupati, the
keeper of herds, he is the sustainer of the born ones as also of the fields that fed them, that is, the
sustainer of the 'jeevas' and 'ajeeva', the Prana and Aprana; and, as Mahayogi, he is the Cosmic
Self, the means of transcendence, that is, he is the Sansar as also the Nirvana.

The proper Shaivite iconography emerges, however, during the post-Vedic era. The earliest ones
to emerge were his Sadashiva and Maheshvara forms. The four-armed towering graceful figure
with broad chest and elegant Jatajuta characterized these forms. The majestic bull was his
vehicle. Added to his iconography, the bull gave to it a new dimension. Now the Maheshvara
with his bull was Vrashavaha Shiva. The usual two-armed Vrashavaha Shiva had one of his
hands rest on the bull. Parashiva, Sadashiva, Maheshvara and Vrashavaha Shiva are primarily the
forms of the Saumya Shiva. Strangely, his consort Parvati does not emerge in this early phase of
Shaivite images but his Ardhanarishvara form does. Obviously, even in arts, the Ardhanarishvara
form was not an amalgam of the two forms but rather an independent perception of Shiva, which
represented him in his totality. Practically, the iconography of the female part of the
Ardhanarishvara was discovered in the form of Mother Goddess, as by then the Brahmanical
pantheon did not have female deity icons. Inspired by the Vedic perception of Shiva as Rudra,
the furious Archer and the tamer of animals, there emerged also the Raudra Shiva- Shiva in his
violent forms, but his Ardhanarishvara form did not borrow any of its features from the Raudra
Shiva, perhaps because the Raudra and feminineness could not go together. The Ardhanarishvara
images discovered their male iconography in the forms of Saumya Shiva, mainly Sadashiva and
Maheshvara and the female largely in the Mother Goddess.
Iconographic Dimensions of Ardhanarishvara

Barring a few exceptions, the right half

of the Ardhanarishvara images
comprises of male anatomy and the left
that of the female. A few images,
obviously influenced by Shakta cult,
have a vice versa placing of the male
and female parts also.

Siva, the Lord Whose Half Is Woman (Ardhanarisvara)

Mankot School, Western Punjab Hills, c.1710-20
Opaque watercolor on paper, 21.3 X 20.5 cm

As regards the height perspective, dimensions of face

and other parts, the male anatomy, and more so in
sculptures where bolder forms are chisel's need, is
the determinant, but in paintings, which look for the
softer aspects, the female anatomy is found
dominating the entire figure.

Ardhanarishvara with Ganesha

Despite a similar anatomy of the two parts, the female part
imparts the feeling of elegance and tenderness. An elegantly
modeled prominent breast is the essentiality of the female
anatomy. The Ardhanarishvara image may be endowed with two,
three, four, six or eight arms. Arms more than eight are the
attribute of Raudra Shiva who has been conceived with as many
as a thousand arms. The two-armed image is the Ardhanarishvara
in lalita posture, the beautiful one in absolute ease. The female
hand carries either a mirror or nilotpala, a blue lotus. The male
hand either rests on the bull or is let loose below the thigh. It may
also be in abhaya-mudra, the gesture imparting fearlessness.
When three-armed, one is on the female side and the two on male.

Now one of the two male arms is in abhaya or varada and other
one carries a trident or rod. In four-armed figures on male side it
is almost the same, but the second female hand carries variously
the mirror, nilotpala or pot. The male in six and eight-armed
figures carries, besides the abhaya and varada, various weapons
and the drum and the female, besides the mirror, nilotpala and pot,
also the parrot.
Ardhanarishvara

The Ardhanarishvara images have broadly three body postures-

the abhanga, a posture without a curve;

Abhanga posture of
Ardhanarishvara
the tribhanga,

Tribhanga posture of
Ardhanarishvara

a posture with three mild curves; and, the atibhanga, a posture with
extreme curves.

Atibhanga posture of
Ardhanarishvara
Similarly, four of the gestures of the
Ardhanarishvara images- abhaya, varada,
vyakhyana and katyavalambita, are more
prevalent. In abhaya, the upper right hand is held
in posture imparting fearlessness. In varada, the
lower right hand imparts varada. In vyakhyana, the
fingers of right and left hands join in a circular
knot defining the interpretive posture. And, in
katyavalambita posture, the right arm is placed
resting and sometimes as suspending over the
'katya' or waist. The distinction of the two aspects
is discovered more in the style of costume and
adornment. The male part has Jatamukuta, while
the female a well dressed coiffure. The female part
wears upon its ear an impressive ring, while the
male may have an earring made of scorpion or
snake. The half of the forehead, towards the male
side, has half eye and to it towards the left joins a
half tilaka. The left half of the figure, the female
The Male Female Divine Unity part, is in sari, while the upper half towards the
right is either naked or is covered with elephant
hide of tiger skin. Its lower half, usually up to knees, is covered by a loincloth comprising of lion
skin. Similar distinction is perceptible in other things seeking to define the male and female
aspects of the Divine Being.

References and Further Reading

- Rigveda: (ed.) Vishvabandhu: Vishveshvananda Vedic Research Institute, Hoshiyarpur.

- Bhavishya Purana: Venkateshvara Press, Bombay.
- Skand Purana: Venkateshvara Press, Bombay.
- Linga Purana: (ed.) J. L. Shashtri, Delhi.
- Neeta Yadav: Ardhanarishvara in Art and Literature: New Delhi.
- V. S. Agrawal: Shiva Mahadeva, The Great God : Varanasi.
- Ellen Goldberg: The Lord Who Is Half Woman: New York.
- Stella Kramrisch: The Presence Of Shiva: Delhi.
- O. P. Mishra: The Mother Goddess in Central India: New Delhi.
- C. Krishnamurthi and K. S. Ramchandran: Ardhanarishvara in South Indian Sculpture (Indian
Historical Quarterly): 36:69 - 74.

This article by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient
Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National
Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and
culture.

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