Ardhanarishvara
Ardhanarishvara is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati, depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from Shiva, the male principle of God, and vice versa. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation.
↻ synthesized from 3 sources
When
- First attested
- 0 CE
- Attested period
- 0 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Earliest images dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE.
Relationships
- consort of
- Parvati
- co occurs with
- Lakshmi Narayana, Harishankari, Mainavati, Nandi, Goddess, Jumadi, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Kārtikeya, Saraswati, Himavan, Gauri
- manifested by
- Śiva, Ardhanaranari, Ardhanarisha, Ardhanarinateshvara, Parangada, Naranari, Ammaiyappan, Ardhayuvatishvara, dehardhaghatana, Ardha-Gaurishvara, Gaurishvara, Parvati
Mentioned by
- Nandi
- Goddess
- Jumadi
- Ganesha
- Lakshmi
- Kārtikeya
- Saraswati
- Himavan
- Gauri
- Śiva
- Ardhanaranari
- Ardhanarisha
- Ardhanarinateshvara
- Parangada
- Naranari
- Ammaiyappan
and 5 more
Sources
Source passages
“The Parashurameshvara Temple at Bhubaneswar has a dancing eight-armed Ardhanarishvara. The upper male arms hold a lute and akshamala (rosary), while the upper female ones hold a mirror and a book; the others are broken. Another non-conventional Ardhanarishvara is found at Darasuram”
#22245 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Ardhanarishvara Jumadi Lakshmi Narayana Harishankari”
#22553 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Devi is portrayed as the ideal wife, mother, and householder in Indian legends. In Indian art, this vision of ideal couple is derived from Shiva and Parvati as being half of the other, represented as Ardhanarishvara.”
#29957 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001