In every way imaginable, the manifestations of various gods and goddesses of Hinduism attest to the oneness of the supreme consciousness, and the elevation of the ‘atman’ and the ‘brahman,’ transcending the material plane to the spiritual one. When we look at either the great triad ‘Trimurti,’ or the pantheon of gods in general, we are always presented with their consorts in hand, channelling the god’s virtues and energy. This is similarly witnessed in this ultimate manifestation of divinity in front of us – the ‘panchaloha’ bronze image of Shiva as half-man and half-woman, ‘Ardhanarishvara.’
This unique three-armed figure – with an iconography that is detailed in texts like the Shilparatna and Matsya Purana – presents the right superior side of the body in the male aspect, and the left side, female. Shiva is presented to us adorning a ‘jata-mukuta,’ with his matted hair piled one on top of the other (along with the crescent moon), with one hand holding the ‘parashu’ or axe, while the other is bent in the manner of resting on Nandi’s hump – a manner that is similarly observed in this Vrishavahana image of Shiva. We also note the free-flowing nature of the goddess Ganga, emanating from Shiva’s ‘mukuta’ and extending outward.
Executed in the ‘madhuchista vidhana’ lost wax technique, the ‘sthapati’ has presented the left side in the classic iconography of Parvati, draped in graceful ‘dhoti’ covering her feet, while her hand is held in a posture that would usually have a blue lotus. Parvati’s narrow waist accentuates her femineity, and her round bosom supports the ‘yagnopavita’ or the sacred thread that runs across the ‘Ardhanarishvara’s’ body. The graceful figure stands on a ‘padma-pitha,’ a lotus pedestal.
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