Ardhanarishvara

Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit, m., अर्धनारीश्वर, ardhanārīśvara, ardha = half, nari = woman = ishvara Lord, " the Lord who is half woman " ), also called Ardhanari, is the name for the Hindu god Shiva, who along with his consort Parvati forms a shape that is half man and half woman.

Legends

In the Shiva Purana, the legend of Ardhanarishvara is told as follows: Brahma could not make further his creation because its creatures are not increased. He asked Shiva for help, and this appeared in his half male, half female form. He then divided into Shiva and Parvati, and Parvati took over the function of fertility.

A rather popular legend describes the desire of Parvati, Shiva worshipers of one to experience the same adoration as her husband, after which she decided the union of the two bodies. The originally intended purpose, however, remained without success.

Representations

In representations of the left half of the body is usually represented as a woman, the right as a man. Crown of hair and headdress are usually divided into two parts. Shiva's half sometimes shows a trident ( trishula ), an hourglass ( damaru ) or ax ( kuthara ); dressed, he is merely a ( Tiger ) fur loincloth. He stands or lies of the Nandi bull aside. Parvati's half of the body is dressed in a sari, in the classic illustrations, the breast usually remains free; in her hands she holds a mirror, a flower bouquet and / or a pitcher of water, also she wears bracelets. They are complemented by a lion, her mount ( vahana ).

Representations of Ardhanarishvara can be found scattered all over India, where a certain proximity to shaktischen and determine tantric ideas is that gaining considerable importance, especially in North India ( Rajasthan, Bengal ) and Nepal. In some sculptures Ardhanarishvara is three-arm to see two of the arms of Shiva are being assigned to the more important part.

In the ritual theater Nagamandala in the southwest of Karnataka called the Ardhanari musician and singer embodies the hermaphrodites, while the other of the two actors is owned as Patri from the male serpent god Naga.

Importance

According to Hindu conception the absolute is an undivided primal unity, symbolized by the egg or point. In God and Goddess this primal unity is divided into polar opposites. The idea of äonenlangen copulation of Shiva and Parvati became that of a bisexual Creator God. This was stimulated by the onset in India about the 4th century AD Shaktism, the female power ( Shakti ) and devotion ( bhakti ) is equivalent to the male generative power to the side and stressed that the male element alone is powerless - Parvati only do the " corpse " ( Shava ) to God Shiva. Later in the cosmogonic process, it is Shakti, which - guided by the consciousness of Shiva - is. The idea of Ardhanarishvara represents a connection between the cult of Shiva and the female deities