Shiva as Ardhanarishvara

This article is about the Ardhanarishvara form of lord Shiva, its symbolism, origin, and the representation in iconography.

Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśwara) – This androgynous form of Shiva is the glorious fusion of the ultimate man and the ultimate masculinity (Lord Shiva) with the ultimate woman and the ultimate feminine form (Shakti or Devi Parvati).

It reflects a concept of dualism, (something similar to the Chinese philosophy of Ying-Yang) where contrary forms masculine and feminine are actually complementary of each other, interconnected and interdependent; a perfect state of neutrality and equilibrium. 

Shiva as Ardhanarishvara – A perfect syncretic form

The left portion of our body is associated with heart and is related to feminine characteristics, the intuition and the creativity, while the right portion of the body reflects masculine traits of logic, valor and systematic thought process.

This form of Shiva is synthesis of these masculine and feminine energies of the universe that creates an ultimate personality. It symbolizes a perfect unity and equality of man and woman in creation of life, signifying that the two forms are non-duel, inseparable and their union generates state of ecstasy.

Worshipers of Ardhanarishvara

Some of lord Shiva’s incarnations are not that widely known and worshiped now, but the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva is ubiquitous and is still worshiped all over India.

I believe there was a cult that worshiped Shiva in this form and it had a large following, but these followers were not aligned to any specific sect or group and hence we see that this form is seen in temple iconography but there are not many dedicated temples.

There are only a few temples in which Shiva is worshiped as main deity in this form, and they are mainly in Tamilnadu. One possible reason for the large numbers of devotees of Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva could be its association with fertility and growth. One of the prevalent reasons that brings devotees, faithful to the temple, mosques, churches, majars is a desire to have kids.

The first image or the icons of Ardhanarishvara form are seen in the artifacts of the Kushan era that corresponds to the beginning of Christian era or a short time before the same. Some coins of that era probably carried the image but they are quite defaced and hence the iconography over them is disputable. The first main indisputable evidence of this form is instead a Kushan stela which can be seen in the government museum of Mathura.

Stories of the origin of the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva

Merge of sects following Shaivism and Shaktism

Some scholars believe that this form of Shiva was the result of an attempt of syncretizing the principal sects of the ancient time – the Shaivism and the Shaktism.

In most of Ardhanarishvara idols, Shiva occupies the dominant right-hand side but there are some exceptions to this iconography with the feminine form occupying the right-side position. Scholars believe that right-hand feminine form in idols were from those primarily from the Shaktism sect.

Ardhanarishvara – the first creature on earth

There are several mythological stories about how this androgenic form of Shiva-Parvati originated. According to Brihadaranyaka Upanishad this form of the Lord Shiva was the first creature on earth matching in size and kind as a man and woman.

This creature was facing the onlookers and hence it was not possible for it to mate and procreate. So, it allowed itself to fall-down and from this fall, man and woman were created.

And of-course those from the cult of Shakti believed that this creature was the goddess incarnation of Shakti and it was goddess body that split into two. For one sect, Shiva is the ultimate man and the other sect believed Goddess Shakti as the supreme self.

Lord Shiva made Brahma realize his mistake by taking the form of Ardhanarishvara

Let’s talk about other versions as well: According to another popular belief, Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, decided to create humans. He created several of them and named them, the Prajapati.

Lord Brahma wanted to throw these first seed of creation and then leave it to them to procreate. However, Prajapatis disappointed Lord Brahma as they failed to create progenies and showed no interest in the process.

Puzzled Brahma worshiped Shiva to ask for a solution. Shiva listened to Brahma’s problem, smiled at his mistake and then appeared in front of him in the form of Ardhanarishvara.

It immediately made Lord Brahma realize his mistake that while creating Prajapatis and expecting them to procreate, he had forgotten the feminine form, the creative force. This resulted in the creation and the birth of woman.

Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva – result of spousal jealousy

There is another belief related to the spousal jealousy. Shiva allowed Devi Ganga a place on his head while Devi Parvati had a place on his lap. It made Parvati furious that Shiva is giving more importance to the other lady.

In order to pacify the conjugal dispute and to clarify Devi Parvati about her position in His life, Shiva merged with Devi Parvati in a manner that her half part become his own. In symbolism, he acknowledged that half of him is his spouse.

An interesting dialogue between the two (something we all can relate in our day to day lives as well).

Devi Parvati is upset and Shiva attempts to placate her.

Lord Shiva – Devi, why are you upset? What mistake have I committed.

Devi Parvati – Lord, you don’t love me anymore.

Lord Shiva – This is not true. What makes you think so

Devi Parvati – Hmm what can be a better proof of the same. These days you don’t bring me the flowers I love the most.

Lord Shiva (smilingly) – Oh, so that’s the reason. Look you know Nandi is not well and you know that to bring those flowers I need to go up in the hills with him. If I take him, believe me it would be too much for him in this condition

Devi Parvati – ok. For this, I understand. But you no longer invite me to dance with you.

Lord Shiva – Devi, you are my beloved wife. Do I need to invite you? You can join me anytime you want.

Devi Parvati – Don’t try to fool me. I have even noticed you smiling when you are meditating. I know, you are thinking about the other woman and smiling.

Lord Shiva – Devi, you yourself is an accomplished yogini and a realized soul. You know that meditation brings the inner joy, peace at one’s face.

Devi Parvati – Hmm, these days you leave home early in morning and return late at night.

Lord Shiva – Devi, you know it very well. I have so many of folks, so many ganas to take care of. You know my responsibilities and burdens. Please share your real concern

Devi Parvati – (getting irritated with Lord Shiva successfully ducking and alleviating all imaginary causes of her being unhappy, wondering should she share her real concern, finally deciding to go for that) Lord, I can tell you, this Ganga sitting over your head is the real cause of you not loving me that much.

Lord Shiva – (understanding the whole reason for the drama) Oh Ganga! Don’t worry about her. She is only occupying a small portion on my head. Don’t compare her with you. You are my spouse and my half portion is you.

And then He shows Her the Ardhanarishvara form and seeing that Devi Parvati has no reason to complain about the marital bliss.

( I saw this beautifully rendered by Rukmini Vijayakumar in her solo Bharatanatyam presentation Abhimata – The Beloved) The presentation left all mesmerized and smiling ear-to-ear about this well-experienced day to day discussion.

Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva- to make sage Bhringi realize his mistake

There is another version of how Shiva took this form. According to it, once Gods and the sages went to Kailash-Parvat to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. All of them worshiped both, except for the sage Bhringi, a perseverant and fervent worshiper of Lord Shiva.

It is believed that the sage Bhringi had a vow of worshiping only one Being, and he believed in the superiority of Lord Shiva only. So, he refused to worship Devi Parvati and worshiped and circumambulated Lord Shiva only.

His mannerism amazed and also infuriated Devi Parvati. In order to make the sage Bhringi realize his mistake, she took away all feminine form away from him. It reduced the sage to skeleton, as flesh and blood are the feminine form of energy. In such condition, the sage Bhringi was not even able to stand.

When Lord Shiva noticed the pathetic condition of his bhakt, he provided him with a stick, so he can at-least stand on his own. Sage Bhringi got so used to of walking with this stick that it started to appear as his third leg. However, undaunted by this impediment, he continued worshiping and circumambulating only Shiva.

Devi Parvati complained about it to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva agreed with her that both of them are one only, but could not convince his stubborn devotee.

Finally he suggested Devi Parvati to merge with her and to appear as Ardhanarishvara, in front of the sage, to convey beyond doubt about the oneness of the two; to reveal to the sage that they are not two entities but only one and none of them is superior or inferior.

Next time, when the Sage Bhringi came to worship Lord Shiva, he appeared as Ardhanarishvara.

However, sage Bhringi was so adamant to worship only Shiva that he turned himself into betel and started drilling hole in the middle of Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva so he can move only around the Shiva part of the form.

Amazed and amused by his uni-directional devotion and thought process, Devi Parvati reconciled with his stubbornness and blessed him too.

Ardhanarishvara Form result of Shiva’s desire to share everything with his spouse

There is another belief, according to it, the Ardhanarishvara form of the Shiva is the result of His desire to share everything with His spouse.

He wanted her to become part of everything he owns, even his body and whatever he is experiencing. So He sheds half of His body and requested Devi Parvathi to merge Herself with Him, resulting in the birth of Ardhanarishvara form.

Legends on Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva

In Mahabharata, Upamanyu is quoted as saying that Lord Shiva is supreme; he is the only one to share half of his body with his spouse.

Nayanar saints exalted the deity in hymns. Saint Sundarar said that the form represents inseparability of Shiva from mother goddess. The Saint Sambandhar said that the message Shiva gives taking this form is that eternal feminine is not only his consort but part of him.

Poet Kalidas gave a poetic simile that taking this form, Lord Shiva wants to give message that He and Devi Parvati are as inseparable as word and meaning or letter and its pronunciation.

Ninth century saint Manikkavacakar said that this form shows that Devi Parvati is the supreme devotee of Lord Shiva and the ultimate goal of a devotee is to be united with Lord Shiva as Devi Parvati.

Acharya Rajneesh considered it a great mysticism of cosmic significance as it represents union of conflicting masculine and feminine dimensions.

Iconography representation of Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva

In the end let us talk about how to look, what to observe and how to appreciate the ancient sculptures of Lord Shiva as Ardhanarishvara.

The upper part of Ardhanarishvara form

In this form the Shiva part of the idol is usually carved with matted hair carrying crescent moon while Devi Parvati’s side is usually carved with well-combed hairs adorned with flowers.

Shiva side is shown wearing nakra-kundala, sarpa-kundala or an ordinary Kundala while Devi Parvati is shown wearing a patra-kundal, Nakra-kundal or a Valika-kundal. The forehead carries Shiva’s third eye and the left side of it is marked with a dot matching the third eye.

The Middle portion of Ardhanarishvara form

In the middle, Shiva’s side is carved with flat masculine chest, broad shoulders, wide-waist and muscular thighs.

Shiva’s neck is usually adorned with the sacred thread yagnopavit. In some of the idols this thread is represented by nag-yagnopavit (a serpent thread) or a string of pearls and gems. The Yagnopavit, in most cases divide the torso in two halves, the Shiva side and the Parvati side.

In icons from North India, the male side is shown nude and ithyphallic, with full or half phallus and one testicle. In southern India imagery, Shiva is shown wearing a silk or cotton dhoti or a tiger-skin covering up the body below loins, only upto the knees, and kept in place by sarpa-mekhla, a serpent girdle. The leg is usually bent and is on a lotus pedestal.

While, Devi Parvati side is carved with well developed round bosom. The portion near her neck is adorned with a blue lotus in her hand. She is carved with narrow waistline embellished with bracelet and other ornaments.

She is drawn with fuller thigh, and curvy body and hip. The torso, hip and pelvis portion are exaggerated to show difference between male and female bodies.

The lower portion of Ardhanarishvara form

She is shown wearing silken garment down to her ankle/anklet and her feet are tinted red with heena. She is either painted in parrot green representing that she is Himalayas daughter or shown fairer as compared to the male side area, representing her as Gauri.

In Iconography right side of the idol has penetrating eyes while the left side carry calm and gentle appearance of compassionate eyes.

Standing or sitting postures of Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva

These idols are usually curved showing the deity in tribhang standing posture, but the idols in sitting postures are also found across.

In tribhang portion, the vertical axis of the deity’s body is broken at two points to create three bends in the body – one is at the hip and the other is at neck.

The statues are also found in abhang (in this the idol is shown slightly bent forward or backward) or stathava-mudra (a straight posture).

In sitting posture deity is usually carved sitting on a lotus pedestal. Most of the time Nandi is carved as the vehicle of the deity however there are statues with nandi towards Shiva’s side and a lion towards Devi Parvati’s side.

Two, Three, Four and eight armed variations of the icons of Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva

Shiva as Ardhanarishvara is carved in two, three, four and eight armed variations.

The two-armed idols are the earliest form. In this form usually the male hand is carved in abhay mudra (the hand faces onlooker with straight fingers – the idea conveyed through this mudra is that the deity protects you from all evils) serving to impart fearlessness or the Varada mudra (in this right hand is generally shown hanging down with palm facing the viewer – the idea conveyed is that the God gives boon to its devotees, the boon that no harm could be done to him).

While The female hand is shown in kataka mudra (also called Simhakarna mudra, in this mudra the tips of the fingers are loosely joined together to form a ring in which a flower is inserted and offered daily) with mirror or blue lotus.

In many statues, the deity is carved as playing Veena; playing of Veena requires both hand so it represents divine harmony. The hand towards Devi’s side is adorned with bangles.

In three-arm form, the two arms are carved towards Shiva’s side. The hand towards Parvati’s side either carry lotus, mirror or parrot. Shiva is shown with two supernatural arms while Parvati is depicted having an earthy arm.

The textual description of four armed idols is found in Vishnu-Dharmottar puran.

According to it, the hand is usually divided at elbow. The hand towards Shiva’s side is usually carved in abhay-mudra and the other hand is shown holding a parshu or a trident or rosary beads, one of the arms may be somewhat bent and rested upon the head of Nandi and the other hand held in the abhaya pose.

Towards the female side, one of the hand is carved in katak-mudra, a gesture of intellectual engagement. It may also be carved holding a water pot (kamandal), a mirror, lotus, veena, dumroo or a parrot.

The eight-armed form holds rosary, sword, pasha, musal, skull (kapal), lotus and other objects. The eight-armed statue is carved in Parshurameshwar temple of Bhubaneswar and in Darasuram, Tamil Nadu. The idol in Darasuram is three-headed.

Well, I learnt from an interesting post from Mr Murali Natarajan that this idol is in-fact a combination of Sadashivamurthy and Ardhanarishvara form of Lord Shiva.

Ganesha in the lap of Ardhanarishvara

Let me end this article with a poem written by Allasani Peddana, an ashtadiggaja in the court of Krishnadevaraya, in the introductory verse of Manucaritramu. In this he imagined Child Ganesha sitting on the lap of mother Parvati in the form of Ardhanarishvara

Seated on his mother’s lap

sucking at her breast,

Playing, as a child plays

he moves his trunk to grab other breast

and there is no breast there.

Instead he finds a snake hanging from the neck

– Or is it a succulent lotus stem?

wondering he holds it

The God who brings me luck

Allasani Peddana in the introductory verse of
Manucaritramu

I hope, you enjoyed the article and knowing more about the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva.

Click here to read about Lakulisha, the last incarnation of Lord Shiva

Click here to read about the Tripurantaka incarnation of Lord Shiva

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