Ardhanarishvara is a Sanskrit term which is a blend of three words; ‘Ardha’ meaning half, ‘Nari’ meaning female, and ‘Ishvara’ meaning Lord. Ardhanarishvara, ‘The half-female Lord’, is a form of Lord Shiva combined with his divine consort Devi Parvati. The form represents the feminine energy and the masculine energy of the Supreme Lord, and illustrates that the Shakti or the internal potency (prakriti) and the Lord or the diving being (purusha) are inseparable.
This special idol shows the left half of Ardhanarishvara as the female, and the right half as the male, standing on a lotus pedestal in tribhanga posture. The Shiva half is wearing a mukuta of piled matted hair and thin strands come out from his head. He has two arms; a mace between the two fingers of the upper hand, and Varada Mudra (boon-granting gesture) of the lower hand. He has a broad and plain chest, muscular thigh, and a strong shoulder. A sacred thread (yagnopavita) can be seen across his chest.
The left half, Parvati, is crowned with a beautiful mukuta and the ear is adorned with Valika kundala (earring). She has a curvier and thin waist than the male part of the icon, and is wearing a perfectly pleated silk dhoti down to her ankle. Her one slender arm is embellished with gold armlets and the hand gracefully holds a lotus. Thus, this form shows the interdependence of Lord Shiva on his divine power, embodied as Parvati.
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