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class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Origins and early images</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Origins_and_early_images-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Iconography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Iconography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Iconography</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Iconography-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Iconography subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Iconography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Male_half" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Male_half"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Male half</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Male_half-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Female_half" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Female_half"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Female half</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Female_half-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Postures_and_vahana" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Postures_and_vahana"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Postures and vahana</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Postures_and_vahana-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Eight-armed_form" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Eight-armed_form"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Eight-armed form</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Eight-armed_form-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_textual_descriptions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_textual_descriptions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Other textual descriptions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_textual_descriptions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Legends" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Legends"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Legends</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Legends-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Symbolism" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Symbolism"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Symbolism</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Symbolism-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Worship" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Worship"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Worship</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Worship-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" 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type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 36 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-36" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">36 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara" title="Ardhanarishvara – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Ardhanarishvara" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7" title="أردهاناريشفارا – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="أردهاناريشفارا" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-as badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle mw-list-item" title="good article badge"><a href="https://as.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%85%E0%A7%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A7%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%B0" title="অৰ্ধনাৰীশ্বৰ – Assamese" lang="as" hreflang="as" data-title="অৰ্ধনাৰীশ্বৰ" data-language-autonym="অসমীয়া" data-language-local-name="Assamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>অসমীয়া</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%85%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%B6%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%B0" title="অর্ধনারীশ্বর – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="অর্ধনারীশ্বর" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanari" title="Ardhanari – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Ardhanari" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhan%C3%A1r%C3%AD%C5%A1vara" title="Ardhanáríšvara – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Ardhanáríšvara" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara" title="Ardhanarishvara – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Ardhanarishvara" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanari" title="Ardhanari – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Ardhanari" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara" title="Ardhanarishvara – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Ardhanarishvara" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gu mw-list-item"><a href="https://gu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AA%85%E0%AA%B0%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%A7%E0%AA%A8%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%B0%E0%AB%80%E0%AA%B6%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%B5%E0%AA%B0" title="અર્ધનારીશ્વર – Gujarati" lang="gu" hreflang="gu" data-title="અર્ધનારીશ્વર" data-language-autonym="ગુજરાતી" data-language-local-name="Gujarati" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ગુજરાતી</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gom mw-list-item"><a href="https://gom.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0" title="अर्धनारीश्वर – Goan Konkani" lang="gom" hreflang="gom" data-title="अर्धनारीश्वर" data-language-autonym="गोंयची कोंकणी / Gõychi Konknni" data-language-local-name="Goan Konkani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>गोंयची कोंकणी / Gõychi Konknni</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0" title="अर्धनारीश्वर – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="अर्धनारीश्वर" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardanariswara" title="Ardanariswara – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Ardanariswara" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB%C5%9Bvara" title="Ardhanārīśvara – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Ardhanārīśvara" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-kn mw-list-item"><a href="https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%85%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%A7%E0%B2%A8%E0%B2%BE%E0%B2%B0%E0%B3%80%E0%B2%B6%E0%B3%8D%E0%B2%B5%E0%B2%B0" title="ಅರ್ಧನಾರೀಶ್ವರ – Kannada" lang="kn" hreflang="kn" data-title="ಅರ್ಧನಾರೀಶ್ವರ" data-language-autonym="ಕನ್ನಡ" data-language-local-name="Kannada" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ಕನ್ನಡ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mai mw-list-item"><a href="https://mai.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0" title="अर्धनारीश्वर – Maithili" lang="mai" hreflang="mai" data-title="अर्धनारीश्वर" data-language-autonym="मैथिली" data-language-local-name="Maithili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मैथिली</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ml mw-list-item"><a href="https://ml.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B4%85%E0%B5%BC%E0%B4%A6%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%A7%E0%B4%A8%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%B0%E0%B5%80%E0%B4%B6%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B5%E0%B4%B0%E0%B5%BB" title="അർദ്ധനാരീശ്വരൻ – Malayalam" lang="ml" hreflang="ml" data-title="അർദ്ധനാരീശ്വരൻ" data-language-autonym="മലയാളം" data-language-local-name="Malayalam" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>മലയാളം</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0" title="अर्धनारीनटेश्वर – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="अर्धनारीनटेश्वर" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7" title="اردهاناريشفارا – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="اردهاناريشفارا" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mni mw-list-item"><a href="https://mni.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%AF%91%EA%AF%94%EA%AF%99%EA%AF%85%EA%AF%A5%EA%AF%94%EA%AF%A4%EA%AF%81%EA%AF%AD%EA%AF%8B%EA%AF%94" title="ꯑꯔꯙꯅꯥꯔꯤꯁ꯭ꯋꯔ – Manipuri" lang="mni" hreflang="mni" data-title="ꯑꯔꯙꯅꯥꯔꯤꯁ꯭ꯋꯔ" data-language-autonym="ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ" data-language-local-name="Manipuri" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-new mw-list-item"><a href="https://new.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B0" title="अर्धनारीश्वर – Newari" lang="new" hreflang="new" data-title="अर्धनारीश्वर" data-language-autonym="नेपाल भाषा" data-language-local-name="Newari" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>नेपाल भाषा</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%80%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%A9" title="アルダナーリーシュヴァラ – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="アルダナーリーシュヴァラ" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-or mw-list-item"><a href="https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AC%85%E0%AC%B0%E0%AD%8D%E0%AC%A6%E0%AD%8D%E0%AC%A7%E0%AC%A8%E0%AC%BE%E0%AC%B0%E0%AD%80%E0%AC%B6%E0%AD%8D%E0%AD%B1%E0%AC%B0" title="ଅର୍ଦ୍ଧନାରୀଶ୍ୱର – Odia" lang="or" hreflang="or" data-title="ଅର୍ଦ୍ଧନାରୀଶ୍ୱର" data-language-autonym="ଓଡ଼ିଆ" data-language-local-name="Odia" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ଓଡ଼ିଆ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pa mw-list-item"><a href="https://pa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A8%85%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%A7%E0%A8%A8%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B0%E0%A9%80%E0%A8%B8%E0%A8%BC%E0%A8%B5%E0%A8%B0" title="ਅਰਧਨਾਰੀਸ਼ਵਰ – Punjabi" lang="pa" hreflang="pa" data-title="ਅਰਧਨਾਰੀਸ਼ਵਰ" data-language-autonym="ਪੰਜਾਬੀ" data-language-local-name="Punjabi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ਪੰਜਾਬੀ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-km mw-list-item"><a href="https://km.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%9E%A2%E1%9E%92%E1%9F%8C%E1%9E%93%E1%9E%B6%E1%9E%9C%E1%9E%B7%E1%9E%9F%E1%9F%92%E1%9E%9C%E1%9E%9A" title="អធ៌នាវិស្វរ – Khmer" lang="km" hreflang="km" data-title="អធ៌នាវិស្វរ" data-language-autonym="ភាសាខ្មែរ" data-language-local-name="Khmer" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ភាសាខ្មែរ</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanari" title="Ardhanari – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Ardhanari" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardanar%C3%ADxvara" title="Ardanaríxvara – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Ardanaríxvara" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%80%D0%B4%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8" title="Ардханари – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Ардханари" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a 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Click here for more information." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/19px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png" decoding="async" width="19" height="20" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/29px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Symbol_support_vote.svg/39px-Symbol_support_vote.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span></div></div> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Composite form of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Ardhanari" redirects here. For the 2012 film, see <a href="/wiki/Ardhanaari" title="Ardhanaari"><i>Ardhanaari</i></a>. For the composite form of the deities Vishnu and Lakshmi, see <a href="/wiki/Vaikuntha_Kamalaja" title="Vaikuntha Kamalaja">Vaikuntha Kamalaja</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;background-color: #FFC569;">Ardhanarishvara</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg/220px-Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="338" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg/330px-Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg/440px-Standing_Ardhanari_c.1800.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1477" data-file-height="2269" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Ardhanarishvara</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Devanagari" title="Devanagari">Devanagari</a></th><td class="infobox-data">अर्धनारीश्वर</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> transliteration</th><td class="infobox-data"><span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit transliteration"><i lang="sa-Latn">Ardhanārīśvara</i></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Affiliation</th><td class="infobox-data">A combined form of <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> and <a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Weapon</th><td class="infobox-data">Trishula</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Vahana" title="Vahana">Mount</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Nandi_(bull)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nandi (bull)">Nandi</a> and a lion named Somanandi</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Ardhanarishvara</b> (<a href="/wiki/Sanskrit_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Sanskrit language">Sanskrit</a>: <span lang="sa">अर्धनारीश्वर</span>, <small><a href="/wiki/Romanization_of_Sanskrit" class="mw-redirect" title="Romanization of Sanskrit">romanized</a>: </small><span title="International Alphabet of Sanskrit transliteration"><i lang="sa-Latn">Ardhanārīśvara</i></span>, <small><a href="/wiki/Literal_translation" title="Literal translation">lit.</a> </small>'the half-female Lord'), is a form of the Hindu deity <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> combined with his consort <a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a>. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. </p><p>Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (<a href="/wiki/Purusha" title="Purusha">Purusha</a> and <a href="/wiki/Prakriti" class="mw-redirect" title="Prakriti">Prakriti</a>) and illustrates how <a href="/wiki/Shakti" title="Shakti">Shakti</a>, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God, and vice versa. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva's all-pervasive nature. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes. </p><p>The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the <a href="/wiki/Kushan_Empire" title="Kushan Empire">Kushan</a> period, starting from the first century <a href="/wiki/Common_era" class="mw-redirect" title="Common era">CE</a>. Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the <a href="/wiki/Gupta_Empire" title="Gupta Empire">Gupta</a> era. The <a href="/wiki/Puranas" title="Puranas">Puranas</a> and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, though very few temples are dedicated to this deity. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Names">Names</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Names"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The name Ardhanarishvara means "the Lord Who is half woman." Ardhanarishvara is also known by other names like Ardhanaranari ("the half man-woman"), Ardhanarisha ("the Lord who is half woman"), Ardhanarinateshvara ("the <a href="/wiki/Nataraja" title="Nataraja">Lord of Dance</a> (Who is half-woman),<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Parangada,<sup id="cite_ref-garg_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-garg-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Naranari ("man-woman"), Ammaiyappan (a <a href="/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a> Name meaning "Mother-Father"),<sup id="cite_ref-jordan_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-jordan-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and Ardhayuvatishvara (in <a href="/wiki/Assam" title="Assam">Assam</a>, "the Lord whose half is a young woman or girl").<sup id="cite_ref-swami57_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Gupta_Empire" title="Gupta Empire">Gupta</a>-era writer Pushpadanta in his Mahimnastava refers to this form as <i>dehardhaghatana</i> ("Thou and She art each the half of one body"). <a href="/wiki/Utpala_(astronomer)" title="Utpala (astronomer)">Utpala</a>, commenting on the <a href="/wiki/B%E1%B9%9Bhat_Sa%E1%B9%83hit%C4%81" title="Bṛhat Saṃhitā">Brihat Samhita</a>, calls this form Ardha-Gaurishvara ("the Lord whose half is the fair one"; the fair one – Gauri – is an attribute of <a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Vishnudharmottara_Purana" title="Vishnudharmottara Purana">Vishnudharmottara Purana</a> simply calls this form Gaurishvara ("The Lord/husband of Gauri).<sup id="cite_ref-collins80_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-collins80-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origins_and_early_images">Origins and early images</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Origins and early images"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg/170px-Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="354" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg/255px-Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Kushana_Ardhanareswar.jpg 2x" data-file-width="286" data-file-height="596" /></a><figcaption>An early <a href="/wiki/Kushan_Empire" title="Kushan Empire">Kushan</a> head of Ardhanarishvara, discovered at Rajghat, now in the <a href="/wiki/Mathura_Museum" class="mw-redirect" title="Mathura Museum">Mathura Museum</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The conception of Ardhanarishvara may have been inspired by <a href="/wiki/Vedic" class="mw-redirect" title="Vedic">Vedic</a> literature's composite figure of <a href="/wiki/Yama_(Hinduism)" class="mw-redirect" title="Yama (Hinduism)">Yama</a>-<a href="/wiki/Yami" class="mw-redirect" title="Yami">Yami</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-swami58_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the Vedic descriptions of the primordial Creator Vishvarupa or <a href="/wiki/Prajapati" title="Prajapati">Prajapati</a> and the fire-god <a href="/wiki/Agni" title="Agni">Agni</a> as "bull who is also a cow,"<sup id="cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan57-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the <a href="/wiki/Brihadaranyaka_Upanishad" title="Brihadaranyaka Upanishad">Brihadaranyaka Upanishad</a>'s <a href="/wiki/%C4%80tman_(Hinduism)" title="Ātman (Hinduism)">Atman</a> ("Self") in the form of the androgynous cosmic man <a href="/wiki/Purusha" title="Purusha">Purusha</a><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan57-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the androgynous myths of the <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Greece" title="Ancient Greece">Greek</a> <a href="/wiki/Hermaphroditus" title="Hermaphroditus">Hermaphroditus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Phrygians" title="Phrygians">Phrygian</a> <a href="/wiki/Agdistis" title="Agdistis">Agdistis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daniélou63ff-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that Purusha splits himself into two parts, male and female, and the two halves copulate, producing all life – a theme concurrent in Ardhanarishvara's tales.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Shvetashvatara_Upanishad" title="Shvetashvatara Upanishad">Shvetashvatara Upanishad</a> sows the seed of the <a href="/wiki/Puranas" title="Puranas">Puranic</a> Ardhanarishvara. It declares <a href="/wiki/Rudra" title="Rudra">Rudra</a> – the antecedent of the Puranic Shiva – the maker of all and the root of Purusha (the male principle) and <a href="/wiki/Prakriti" class="mw-redirect" title="Prakriti">Prakriti</a> (the female principle), adhering to <a href="/wiki/Samkhya" title="Samkhya">Samkhya</a> philosophy. It hints at his androgynous nature, describing him both as male and female.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The concept of Ardhanarishvara originated in <a href="/wiki/Kushan_Empire" title="Kushan Empire">Kushan</a> and Greek cultures simultaneously; the iconography evolved in the Kushan era (30–375 CE), but was perfected in the Gupta era (320-600 CE).<sup id="cite_ref-swami55ff_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami55ff-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A mid-first century Kushan era <a href="/wiki/Stele" title="Stele">stela</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Mathura_Museum" class="mw-redirect" title="Mathura Museum">Mathura Museum</a> has a half-male, half-female image, along with three other figures identified with <a href="/wiki/Vishnu" title="Vishnu">Vishnu</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gaja_Lakshmi" class="mw-redirect" title="Gaja Lakshmi">Gaja Lakshmi</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kubera" title="Kubera">Kubera</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-swami58_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The male half is <a href="/wiki/Ithyphallic" class="mw-redirect" title="Ithyphallic">ithyphallic</a> or with an <i>urdhvalinga</i> and makes an <i><a href="/wiki/Abhayamudra" title="Abhayamudra">abhaya mudra</a></i> gesture; the female left half holds a mirror and has a rounded breast. This is the earliest representation of Ardhanarishvara, universally recognized.<sup id="cite_ref-swami58_9-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg30-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> An early Kushan Ardhanarishvara head discovered at Rajghat is displayed at the <a href="/wiki/Mathura_Museum" class="mw-redirect" title="Mathura Museum">Mathura Museum</a>. The right male half has matted hair with a skull and crescent moon; the left female half has well-combed hair decorated with flowers and wears a patra-kundala (earring). The face has a common <a href="/wiki/Third_eye" title="Third eye">third eye</a>. A terracotta seal discovered in <a href="/wiki/Vaishali_(ancient_city)" title="Vaishali (ancient city)">Vaishali</a> has half-man, half-woman features.<sup id="cite_ref-swami58_9-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Early Kushan images show Ardhanarishvara in a simple two-armed form, but later texts and sculptures depict a more complex iconography.<sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan57-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Ardhanarishvara is referred to by the Greek author <a href="/wiki/Stobaeus" title="Stobaeus">Stobaeus</a> (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 500 AD</span>) while quoting <a href="/wiki/Bardasanes" class="mw-redirect" title="Bardasanes">Bardasanes</a> (<abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 154</span>–222 AD), who learnt from an Indian embassy's visit to <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> during the reign of <a href="/wiki/Elagabalus" title="Elagabalus">Elagabalus</a> (Antoninus of Emesa) (218–22 AD).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-swami55ff_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami55ff-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A terracotta androgynous bust, excavated at <a href="/wiki/Taxila" title="Taxila">Taxila</a> and dated to the <a href="/wiki/Saka" title="Saka">Saka</a>-<a href="/wiki/Parthian_Empire" title="Parthian Empire">Parthian</a> era, pictures a bearded man with female breasts.<sup id="cite_ref-swami55ff_15-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami55ff-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Ardhanarishvara is interpreted as an attempt to <a href="/wiki/Syncretism" title="Syncretism">syncretise</a> the two principal Hindu sects, <a href="/wiki/Shaivism" title="Shaivism">Shaivism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shaktism" title="Shaktism">Shaktism</a>, dedicated to Shiva and the <a href="/wiki/Mahadevi" title="Mahadevi">Great Goddess</a>. A similar syncretic image is <a href="/wiki/Harihara" title="Harihara">Harihara</a>, a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu, the Supreme deity of the <a href="/wiki/Vaishnava" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaishnava">Vaishnava</a> sect.<sup id="cite_ref-garg_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-garg-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dehejia37ff-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Pande_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pande-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Iconography">Iconography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Iconography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg/220px-Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="230" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg/330px-Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg/440px-Shakta_Ardhanari.jpg 2x" data-file-width="717" data-file-height="750" /></a><figcaption>A rare example of a Shakta Ardhanarishvara, where the dominant right side is female</figcaption></figure> <p>The iconographic 16th century work <a href="/wiki/Shilparatna" title="Shilparatna">Shilparatna</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Matsya_Purana" title="Matsya Purana">Matsya Purana</a> and <a href="/wiki/Agama_(Hinduism)" title="Agama (Hinduism)">Agamic</a> texts like Amshumadbhedagama, Kamikagama, Supredagama and Karanagama – most of them of South Indian origin – describe the iconography of Ardhanarishvara.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-matsya_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-matsya-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The right superior side of the body usually is the male Shiva and the left is the female Parvati; in rare depictions belonging to the Shaktism school, the feminine holds the dominant right side.<sup id="cite_ref-goldberg145_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-goldberg145-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The icon usually is prescribed to have four, three or two arms, but rarely is depicted with eight arms. In the case of three arms, the Parvati side has only one arm, suggesting a lesser role in the icon. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Male_half">Male half</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Male half"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The male half wears a <i>jata-mukuta</i> (a headdress formed of piled, matted hair) on his head, adorned with a crescent moon. Sometimes the <i>jata-mukuta</i> is adorned with serpents and the river goddess <a href="/wiki/Ganges_in_Hinduism" class="mw-redirect" title="Ganges in Hinduism">Ganga</a> flowing through the hair. The right ear wears a <i>nakra-kundala</i>, <i>sarpa-kundala</i> ("serpent-earring") or ordinary kundala ("earring"). Sometimes, the male eye is depicted smaller than the female one and a half-moustache is also seen.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg4-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A half third eye (<i>trinetra</i>) is prescribed on the male side of the forehead in the canons; a full eye may also be depicted in middle of forehead separated by both the sides or a half eye may be shown above or below Parvati's round dot.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A common elliptical halo (<i>prabhamandala</i>/<i>prabhavali</i>) may be depicted behind the head; sometimes the shape of the halo may differ on either side.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the four-armed form, a right hand holds a <i><a href="/wiki/Parashu" title="Parashu">parashu</a></i> (axe) and another makes an <i>abhaya mudra</i> (gesture of reassurance), or one of the right arms is slightly bent and rests on the head of Shiva's bull mount, <a href="/wiki/Nandi_(bull)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nandi (bull)">Nandi</a>, while the other is held in the <i>abhaya mudra</i> gesture. Another configuration suggests that a right hand holds a <i><a href="/wiki/Trishula" title="Trishula">trishula</a></i> (trident) and another makes a <i><a href="/wiki/Varadamudra" title="Varadamudra">varada mudra</a></i> (gesture of blessing). Another scripture prescribes that a trishula and <i><a href="/wiki/Akshamala" class="mw-redirect" title="Akshamala">akshamala</a></i> (rosary) are held in the two right hands. In the two-armed form, the right hand holds a <a href="/wiki/Kapala" title="Kapala">kapala</a> (skull cup) or gestures in a <i>varada mudra</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg4-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He may also hold a skull.<sup id="cite_ref-matsya_23-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-matsya-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the <a href="/wiki/Badami" title="Badami">Badami</a> relief, the four-armed Ardhanarishvara plays a <a href="/wiki/Veena" title="Veena">veena</a> (lute), using a left and a right arm, while other male arm holds a <i>parashu</i> and the female one a lotus.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao327ff_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao327ff-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ardhanari.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Ardhanari.png/170px-Ardhanari.png" decoding="async" width="170" height="356" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Ardhanari.png/255px-Ardhanari.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Ardhanari.png/340px-Ardhanari.png 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="753" /></a><figcaption>A three-armed bronze Ardhanarishvara</figcaption></figure> <p>The Shiva half has a flat masculine chest, a straight vertical chest, broader shoulder, wider waist and muscular thigh.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg4-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He wears a <a href="/wiki/Upanayana" title="Upanayana"><i>yagnopavita</i></a> (sacred thread) across the chest, which is sometimes represented as a <i>naga-yagnopavita</i> (a snake worn as a <i>yagnopavita</i>) or a string of pearls or gems. The <i>yajnopavita</i> may also divide the torso into its male and female halves. He wears ornaments characteristic of Shiva's iconography, including serpent ornaments.<sup id="cite_ref-matsya_23-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-matsya-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-britannica_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In some North Indian images,<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the male half may be nude and also be ithyphallic (<i>urdhavlinga</i> or <i>urdhavreta</i>: with an erect phallus), however, connotes the very opposite in this context.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It contextualizes "<a href="/wiki/Coitus_reservatus" title="Coitus reservatus">seminal retention</a>" or practice of <a href="/wiki/Celibacy#Hinduism" title="Celibacy">celibacy</a><sup id="cite_ref-govind52_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-govind52-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (illustration of <i>Urdhva Retas</i>),<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a26_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a26-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-brill72_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-brill72-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-patt06_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-patt06-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and represents the deity as "the one who stands for complete control of the senses, and for the supreme carnal renunciation",<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218_33-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> other images found in North India include full or half phallus and one testicle.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg30-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, such imagery is never found in South Indian images;<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the loins are usually covered in a garment (sometimes a <a href="/wiki/Dhoti" title="Dhoti">dhoti</a>) of silk or cotton, or the skin of a tiger or deer), typically down to the knee, and held in place by a <i>sarpa-mekhala</i>, serpent girdle or jewellery. The right leg may be somewhat bent or straight and often rests on a lotus pedestal (<i>padma-pitha</i>). The whole right half is described as smeared with ashes and as terrible and red-coloured or gold or coral in appearance; however, these features are rarely depicted.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Female_half">Female half</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Female half"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The female half has <i>karanda-mukuta</i> (a basket-shaped crown) on her head or well-combed knotted hair or both. The left ear wears a <i>valika-kundala</i> (a type of earring). A <i><a href="/wiki/Tilaka" title="Tilaka">tilaka</a></i> or <i><a href="/wiki/Bindi_(decoration)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bindi (decoration)">bindu</a></i> (a round red dot) adorns her forehead, matching Shiva's third eye. The left eye is painted with black eyeliner.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao325ff-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While the male neck is sometimes adorned with a jewelled hooded serpent, the female neck has a blue lotus matching it.<sup id="cite_ref-swami57_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the four-armed form, one of the left arms rests on Nandi's head, while the other is bent in <i>kataka mudra</i> pose and holds a <i>nilotpala</i> (blue lotus) or hangs loosely at her side. In the three-armed representation, the left hand holds a flower, a mirror or a parrot. In the case of two-armed icons, the left hand rests on Nandi's head, hangs loose or holds either a flower, a mirror or a parrot. The parrot may be also perched on Parvati's wrist. Her hand(s) is/are adorned with ornaments like a <i>keyura</i> (anklet) or <i>kankana</i> (bangles).<sup id="cite_ref-britannica_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao325ff-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Parvati has a well-developed, round bosom and a narrow feminine waist embellished with various <i>haras</i> (religious bracelets) and other ornaments, made of diamonds and other gems. She has a fuller thigh and a curvier body and hip than the male part of the icon.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg30-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao325ff-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The torso, hip and pelvis of the female is exaggerated to emphasize the anatomical differences between the halves.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Though the male private parts may be depicted, the female genitalia are never depicted and the loins are always draped.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg30-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> She wears a multi-coloured or white silken garment down to her ankle and one or three girdles around her waist. The left half wears an anklet and her foot is painted red with <a href="/wiki/Henna" title="Henna">henna</a>. The left leg may be somewhat bent or straight, resting on a lotus pedestal. In contrast to the Shiva half, the Parvati half – smeared with saffron – is described as calm and gentle, fair and parrot-green or dark in colour.<sup id="cite_ref-britannica_32-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao325ff-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> She may be draped in a <a href="/wiki/Sari" title="Sari">sari</a> covering her torso and legs. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Postures_and_vahana">Postures and vahana</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Postures and vahana"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:God_marriage_AS.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/God_marriage_AS.jpg/170px-God_marriage_AS.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="245" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/God_marriage_AS.jpg/255px-God_marriage_AS.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/God_marriage_AS.jpg/340px-God_marriage_AS.jpg 2x" data-file-width="417" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>A seated Ardhanarishvara with both the vahanas</figcaption></figure> <p>The posture of Ardhanarishvara may be <i><a href="/wiki/Tribhanga" title="Tribhanga">tribhanga</a></i> – bent in three parts: head (leaning to the left), torso (to the right) and right leg or in the <i>sthanamudra</i> position (straight), sometimes standing on a lotus pedestal, whereupon it is called <i>samapada</i>. Seated images of Ardhanarishvara are missing in iconographic treatises, but are still found in sculpture and painting.<sup id="cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Rao330ff_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao330ff-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Though the canons often depict the Nandi bull as the common <i><a href="/wiki/Vahana" title="Vahana">vahana</a></i> (mount) of Ardhanarishvara, some depictions have Shiva's bull <i>vahana</i> seated or standing near or behind his foot, while the goddess's lion <i>vahana</i> is near her foot.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Eight-armed_form">Eight-armed form</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Eight-armed form"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Parsurameswar_Temple" class="mw-redirect" title="Parsurameswar Temple">Parashurameshvara Temple</a> at <a href="/wiki/Bhubaneswar" title="Bhubaneswar">Bhubaneswar</a> has a dancing eight-armed Ardhanarishvara. The upper male arms hold a lute and <i>akshamala</i> (rosary), while the upper female ones hold a mirror and a book; the others are broken.<sup id="cite_ref-swami57_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Another non-conventional Ardhanarishvara is found at <a href="/wiki/Darasuram" title="Darasuram">Darasuram</a>. The sculpture is three-headed and eight-armed, holding <i>akshamala</i>, <i>khadga</i> (sword), <i>pasha</i>, <i>musala</i>, <i>kapala</i> (skull cup), lotus and other objects.<sup id="cite_ref-Rao330ff_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Rao330ff-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Other_textual_descriptions">Other textual descriptions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Other textual descriptions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Naradiya_Purana" title="Naradiya Purana">Naradiya Purana</a> mentions that Ardhanarishvara is half-black and half-yellow, nude on one side and clothed on other, wearing skulls and a garland of lotuses on the male half and female half respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Linga Purana gives a brief description of Ardhanarishvara as making <i>varada</i> and <i>abhaya mudras</i> and holding a <i>trishula</i> and a lotus.<sup id="cite_ref-linga_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-linga-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Vishnudharmottara_Purana" title="Vishnudharmottara Purana">Vishnudharmottara Purana</a> prescribes a four-armed form, with right hands holding a rosary and <i>trishula</i>, while the left ones bear a mirror and a lotus. The form is called <i>Gaurishvara</i> in this text.<sup id="cite_ref-collins80_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-collins80-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Legends">Legends</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Legends"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ardhanari.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Ardhanari.jpg/170px-Ardhanari.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="291" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Ardhanari.jpg/255px-Ardhanari.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Ardhanari.jpg/340px-Ardhanari.jpg 2x" data-file-width="447" data-file-height="764" /></a><figcaption>Ardhanarishvara relief is from the <a href="/wiki/Elephanta_Caves" title="Elephanta Caves">Elephanta Caves</a> near <a href="/wiki/Mumbai" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The mythology of Ardhanarishvara – which mainly originates in the Puranic canons – was developed later to explain existent images of the deity that had emerged in the Kushan era.<sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan57-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dehejia37ff-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The unnamed half-female form of Shiva is also alluded to in the epic <i><a href="/wiki/Mahabharata" title="Mahabharata">Mahabharata</a></i>. In Book XIII, Upamanyu praises Shiva rhetorically asking if there is anyone else whose half-body is shared by his spouse, and adds that the universe had risen from the union of sexes, as represented by Shiva's half-female form. In some narratives, Shiva is described as dark and fair-complexioned, half yellow and half white, half woman and half man, and both woman and man. In Book XIII, Shiva preaches to Parvati that half of his body is made up of her body.<sup id="cite_ref-Mbh_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mbh-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the <i><a href="/wiki/Skanda_Purana" title="Skanda Purana">Skanda Purana</a></i>, Parvati requests Shiva to allow her to reside with him, embracing "limb-to-limb", and so Ardhanarishvara is formed.<sup id="cite_ref-swami60ff_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami60ff-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It also tells that when the demon <a href="/wiki/Andhaka" title="Andhaka">Andhaka</a> wanted to seize Parvati and make her his wife, Vishnu rescued her and brought her to his abode. When the demon followed her there, Parvati revealed her Ardhanarishvara form to him. Seeing the half-male, half-female form, the demon lost interest in her and left. Vishnu was amazed to see this form and saw himself in the female part of the form.<sup id="cite_ref-Pande_21-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pande-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <i><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Purana" title="Shiva Purana">Shiva Purana</a></i> describes that the creator god <a href="/wiki/Brahma" title="Brahma">Brahma</a> created all male beings, the <a href="/wiki/Prajapati" title="Prajapati">Prajapatis</a>, and told them to regenerate, which they were unable to do. Confronted with the resulting decline in the pace of creation, Brahma was perplexed and contemplated on Shiva for help. To enlighten Brahma of his folly, Shiva appeared before him as Ardhanarishvara. Brahma prayed to the female half of Shiva to give him a female to continue creation. The goddess agreed and created various female powers from her body, thereby allowing creation to progress.<sup id="cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-swami60ff_47-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami60ff-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In other Puranas like the <a href="/wiki/Linga_Purana" title="Linga Purana">Linga Purana</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vayu_Purana" title="Vayu Purana">Vayu Purana</a>, <a href="/wiki/Vishnu_Purana" title="Vishnu Purana">Vishnu Purana</a>, <a href="/wiki/Skanda_Purana" title="Skanda Purana">Skanda Purana</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Kurma_Purana" title="Kurma Purana">Kurma Purana</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Markandeya_Purana" title="Markandeya Purana">Markandeya Purana</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Rudra (identified with Shiva) appears as Ardhanarishvara, emerging from Brahma's head, forehead, mouth or soul as the embodiment of Brahma's fury and frustration due to the slow pace of creation. Brahma asks Rudra to divide himself, and the latter complies by dividing into male and female. Numerous beings, including the 11 <a href="/wiki/Rudras" title="Rudras">Rudras</a> and various female <a href="/wiki/Shakti" title="Shakti">shaktis</a>, are created from both the halves. In some versions, the goddess unites with Shiva again and promises to be born as <a href="/wiki/Dakshayani" class="mw-redirect" title="Dakshayani">Sati</a> on earth to be Shiva's wife.<sup id="cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the Linga Purana, the Ardhanarishvara Rudra is so hot that in the process of appearing from Brahma's forehead, he burns Brahma himself. Ardhanarishvara Shiva then enjoys his own half – the Great Goddess – by "the path of yoga" and creates Brahma and Vishnu from her body. In the repetitive cycle of <a href="/wiki/Kalpa_(aeon)" class="mw-redirect" title="Kalpa (aeon)">aeons</a>, Ardhanarishvara is ordained to reappear at the beginning of every creation as in the past.<sup id="cite_ref-linga_44-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-linga-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg/170px-Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="248" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg/255px-Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg/340px-Ardhanari_Shiva_Vinadhara.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1095" data-file-height="1600" /></a><figcaption>Ardhanarishvara playing a <i>veena</i> surrounded by <a href="/wiki/Bhringi" title="Bhringi">Bhringi</a> and a female attendant, <a href="/wiki/Badami" title="Badami">Badami</a><sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>The Matsya Purana describes how Brahma, pleased with a penance performed by Parvati, rewards her by blessing her with a golden complexion. This renders her more attractive to Shiva, to whom she later merges as one half of his body.<sup id="cite_ref-matsya_23-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-matsya-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Tamil_Nadu" title="Tamil Nadu">Tamil</a> temple lore narrates that once the gods and sages (<i><a href="/wiki/Rishi" title="Rishi">rishi</a></i>) had gathered at Shiva's abode, they prayed their respects to Shiva and Parvati. However, the sage <a href="/wiki/Bhringi" title="Bhringi">Bhringi</a> had vowed to worship only one deity, Shiva, and ignored Parvati while <a href="/wiki/Pradakshina" class="mw-redirect" title="Pradakshina">worshipping and circumambulating</a> him. Agitated, Parvati cursed Bhringi to lose all his flesh and blood, reducing him to a skeleton. In this form Bhringi could not stand erect, so the compassionate ones who witnessed the scene blessed the sage with a third leg for support. As her attempt to humiliate the sage had failed, Parvati punished herself with austerities that pleased Shiva and led him to grant her the boon of uniting with him, thereby compelling Bhringi to worship her as well as himself in the form of Ardhanarishvara. However, the sage assumed the form of a beetle and circumambulating only the male half, drilling a hole in the deity. Amazed by his devotion, Parvati reconciled with the sage and blessed him.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Pattanaik_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pattanaik-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The seventh-century Shaiva <a href="/wiki/Nayanars" title="Nayanars">Nayanar</a> saint <a href="/wiki/Appar" title="Appar">Appar</a> mentions that after marrying Parvati, Shiva incorporated her into half of his body.<sup id="cite_ref-Pande_21-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pande-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/Kalika_Purana" title="Kalika Purana">Kalika Purana</a>, Parvati (called Gauri here) is described as having suspected Shiva of infidelity when she saw her own reflection in the crystal-like breast of Shiva. A conjugal dispute erupted but was quickly resolved, after which Parvati wished to stay eternally with Shiva in his body. The divine couple was thereafter fused as Ardhanarishvara.<sup id="cite_ref-swami60ff_47-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami60ff-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Another tale from North India also talks about Parvati's jealousy. Another woman, the river Ganga – often depicted flowing out of Shiva's locks – sat on his head, while Parvati (as Gauri) sat on his lap. To pacify Gauri, Shiva united with her as Ardhanarishvara.<sup id="cite_ref-Pattanaik_54-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pattanaik-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Only in tales associated with the hindu sect of Shakta (in which the Goddess is considered the Supreme Being) is the Goddess venerated as the Maker of All. In these tales, it is her body (not Shiva's) which splits into male and female halves.<sup id="cite_ref-goldberg145_27-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-goldberg145-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Symbolism">Symbolism</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Symbolism"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg/220px-Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="241" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg/330px-Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg/440px-Khajuraho_Ardharnareshvar.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1459" data-file-height="1600" /></a><figcaption>Ardhanarishvara sculpture, <a href="/wiki/Khajuraho" title="Khajuraho">Khajuraho</a>, depicting <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> with <a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a> as his equal half.</figcaption></figure> <p>Ardhanarishvara symbolizes that the male and female principles are inseparable.<sup id="cite_ref-britannica_32-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The composite form conveys the <a href="/wiki/Unity_of_opposites" title="Unity of opposites">unity of opposites</a> (<i>coniunctio oppositorum</i>) in the universe.<sup id="cite_ref-garg_3-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-garg-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daniélou63ff-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-kinsley_55-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kinsley-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The male half of Ardhanarishvara stands for <a href="/wiki/Purusha" title="Purusha">Purusha</a> and female half is <a href="/wiki/Prakriti" class="mw-redirect" title="Prakriti">Prakriti</a>. Purusha is the male principle and passive force of the universe, while Prakriti is the female active force; both are "constantly drawn to embrace and fuse with each other, though... separated by the intervening axis". The union of Purusha (Shiva) and Prikriti (Shiva's energy, Shakti) generates the universe, an idea also manifested in the union of the <a href="/wiki/Linga" class="mw-redirect" title="Linga">Linga</a> of Shiva and <a href="/wiki/Yoni" title="Yoni">Yoni</a> of Devi creating the cosmos.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-swami59_58-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami59-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Daniélou_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daniélou-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Mahabharata lauds this form as the source of creation.<sup id="cite_ref-Mbh_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mbh-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ardhanarishvara also suggests the element of <a href="/wiki/Kama" title="Kama">Kama</a> or Lust, which leads to creation.<sup id="cite_ref-Daniélou_59-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daniélou-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Ardhanarishvara signifies "totality that lies beyond duality", "bi-unity of male and female in God" and "the bisexuality and therefore the non-duality" of the Supreme Being.<sup id="cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dehejia37ff-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-conner67_60-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-conner67-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It conveys that God is both Shiva and Parvati, "both male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle, both destructive and constructive" and unifies all other dichotomies of the universe.<sup id="cite_ref-kinsley_55-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kinsley-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While Shiva's rosary in the Ardhanarishvara iconography associates him with asceticism and spirituality, Parvati's mirror associates her to the material illusory world.<sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan158_61-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan158-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ardhanarishvara reconciles and harmonizes the two conflicting ways of life: the spiritual way of the ascetic as represented by Shiva, and the materialistic way of the householder as symbolized by Parvati, who invites the ascetic Shiva into marriage and the wider circle of worldly affairs. The interdependence of Shiva on his power (<i>Shakti</i>) as embodied in Parvati is also manifested in this form.<sup id="cite_ref-kinsley_55-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kinsley-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ardhanarishvara conveys that <a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shakti" title="Shakti">Shakti</a> are one and the same, an interpretation also declared in inscriptions found along with Ardhanarishvara images in <a href="/wiki/Java" title="Java">Java</a> and the eastern <a href="/wiki/Malay_Archipelago" title="Malay Archipelago">Malay Archipelago</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-garg_3-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-garg-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-swami58_9-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Vishnudharmottara Purana also emphasizes the identity and sameness of the male Purusha and female Prakriti, manifested in the image of Ardhanarishvara.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> According to Shaiva guru <a href="/wiki/Sivaya_Subramuniyaswami" title="Sivaya Subramuniyaswami">Sivaya Subramuniyaswami</a> (1927–2001), Ardhanarishvara signifies that the great Shiva is "All, inseparable from His energy" (i.e. his <i>Shakti</i>) and is beyond gender.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg/170px-Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="311" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg/255px-Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg/340px-Ardhanari_Gangaikonda.jpg 2x" data-file-width="438" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>A three-armed Ardhanarishvara sculpture with only Nandi as a <i>vahana</i>, 11th century, <a href="/wiki/Gangaikonda_Cholapuram" title="Gangaikonda Cholapuram">Gangaikonda Cholapuram</a> temple</figcaption></figure> <p>Across cultures, hermaphrodite figures like Ardhanarishvara have traditionally been associated with fertility and abundant growth. In this form, Shiva in his eternal embrace with Prakriti represents the eternal reproductive power of Nature, whom he regenerates after she loses her fertility. "It is a duality in unity, the underlying principle being a sexual dualism".<sup id="cite_ref-swami59_58-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami59-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Art historian <a href="/wiki/C._Sivarama_Murti" class="mw-redirect" title="C. Sivarama Murti">Sivaramamurti</a> calls it "a unique connection of the closely knit ideal of man and woman rising above the craving of the flesh and serving as a symbol of hospitality and parenthood".<sup id="cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dehejia37ff-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The dual unity of Ardhanarishvara is considered "a model of conjugal inseparability". Padma Upadhyaya comments, "The idea of ... Ardhanārīśvara is to locate the man in the woman as also the woman in the man and to create perfect homogeneity in domestic affairs".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Often, the right half of Ardhanarishvara is male and the left is female. The left side is the location of the heart and is associated with 'feminine' characteristics like intuition and creativity, while the right is associated with the brain and 'masculine' traits – logic, valour and systematic thought.<sup id="cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daniélou63ff-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The female is often not equal in the Ardhanarishvara, the male god who is half female; she remains a dependent entity.<sup id="cite_ref-Courtright_65-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Courtright-65"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>65<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Ardhanarishvara "is in essence Shiva, not Parvati". This is also reflected in mythology, where Parvati becomes a part of Shiva. It is likewise reflected in iconography: Shiva often has two supernatural arms and Parvati has just one earthly arm, and his bull <i>vahana</i> – not her lion vahana – typically accompanies them.<sup id="cite_ref-Seid_66-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Seid-66"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>66<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Worship">Worship</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Worship"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ardinary.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Ardinary.jpg/220px-Ardinary.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Ardinary.jpg/330px-Ardinary.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Ardinary.jpg/440px-Ardinary.jpg 2x" data-file-width="453" data-file-height="604" /></a><figcaption>Ardhanarishvara worshipped at <a href="/wiki/Sri_Rajarajeswari_Peetam" title="Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam">Sri Rajarajeswari Peetam</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Ardhanarishvara is one of the most popular iconographic forms of Shiva. It is found in more or less all temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva all over India and South-east Asia.<sup id="cite_ref-britannica_32-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>67<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Yadav161_68-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Yadav161-68"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>68<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> There is ample evidence from texts and the multiple depictions of the Ardhanarishvara in stone to suggest that a cult centred around the deity may have existed. The cult may have had occasional followers, but was never aligned to any sect. This cult focusing on the joint worship of Shiva and the Goddess may even have had a high position in Hinduism, but when and how it faded away remains a mystery.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>69<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Though a popular iconographic form, temples dedicated to the deity are few.<sup id="cite_ref-Yadav161_68-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Yadav161-68"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>68<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Tiruchengode_70-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tiruchengode-70"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>70<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A popular one is located in <a href="/wiki/Ardhanareeswarar_temple,_Tiruchengode" class="mw-redirect" title="Ardhanareeswarar temple, Tiruchengode">Thiruchengode</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Tiruchengode_70-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tiruchengode-70"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>70<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>71<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> while five others are located in <a href="/wiki/Kallakkurichi_taluk" title="Kallakkurichi taluk">Kallakkurichi taluk</a>, all of them in the Indian state of <a href="/wiki/Tamil_Nadu" title="Tamil Nadu">Tamil Nadu</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>72<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <i>Linga Purana</i> advocates the worship of Ardhanarishvara by devotees to attain union with Shiva upon dissolution of the world and thus attain <a href="/wiki/Moksha" title="Moksha">salvation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Srinivasan158_61-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Srinivasan158-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <i>Ardhanarinateshvara Stotra</i> composed by <a href="/wiki/Adi_Shankara" title="Adi Shankara">Adi Shankaracharya</a> is a popular hymn dedicated to the deity.<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>73<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Nayanars" title="Nayanars">Nayanar</a> saints of Tamil Nadu exault the deity in hymns. While the 8th-century Nayanar saint <a href="/wiki/Sundarar" title="Sundarar">Sundarar</a> says that Shiva is always inseparable from the Mother Goddess,<sup id="cite_ref-swami57_5-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> another 7th-century Nayanar saint <a href="/wiki/Sambandar" title="Sambandar">Sambandar</a> describes how the "<a href="/wiki/Eternal_feminine" title="Eternal feminine">eternal feminine</a>" is not only his consort, but she is also part of him.<sup id="cite_ref-swami57_5-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The renowned Sanskrit writer <a href="/wiki/Kalidasa" title="Kalidasa">Kalidasa</a> (c. 4th–5th century) alludes Ardhanarishvara in invocations of his <a href="/wiki/Raghuva%E1%B9%83%C5%9Ba" title="Raghuvaṃśa">Raghuvamsa</a> and <a href="/wiki/M%C4%81lavik%C4%81gnimitram" title="Mālavikāgnimitram">Malavikagnimitram</a>, and says that Shiva and Shakti are as inseparable as word and meaning.<sup id="cite_ref-collins80_7-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-collins80-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The 9th-century Nayanar saint <a href="/wiki/Manikkavacakar" title="Manikkavacakar">Manikkavacakar</a> casts Parvati in the role of the supreme devotee of Shiva in his hymns. He alludes to Ardhanarishvara several times and regards it the ultimate goal of a devotee to be united with Shiva as Parvati is in the Ardhanarishvara form.<sup id="cite_ref-kinsley_55-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kinsley-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shatkona" title="Shatkona">Shatkona</a>, a six-pointed star, with a meaning similar (if not the same) as <i>Ardhanarishvara</i>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harihara" title="Harihara">Harihara</a>: composite form of the gods Shiva and Vishnu</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jumadi" title="Jumadi">Jumadi</a>: a regional composite form of Shiva and Parvati</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vaikuntha_Kamalaja" title="Vaikuntha Kamalaja">Vaikuntha Kamalaja</a>: composite form of Vishnu and Lakshmi</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shilanath_Mahadev_Mandir" title="Shilanath Mahadev Mandir">Shilanath Mahadev Mandir</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-3"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgibin/monier/serveimg.pl?file=/scans/MWScan/MWScanjpg/mw0092-ardhakarNa.jpg">Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (2008 revision)</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFGopal1990" class="citation book cs1">Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada"><i>India through the ages</i></a>. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/69">69</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=India+through+the+ages&rft.pages=69&rft.pub=Publication+Division%2C+Ministry+of+Information+and+Broadcasting%2C+Government+of+India&rft.date=1990&rft.aulast=Gopal&rft.aufirst=Madan&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Findiathroughages00mada&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-garg-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-garg_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-garg_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-garg_3-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-garg_3-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Garg (ed), pp. 598–9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-jordan-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-jordan_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJordan2004" class="citation book cs1">Jordan, Michael (2004). <i>Dictionary of gods and goddesses</i> (2 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 27. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8160-5923-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-8160-5923-3"><bdi>0-8160-5923-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Dictionary+of+gods+and+goddesses&rft.pages=27&rft.edition=2&rft.pub=Facts+on+File%2C+Inc.&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=0-8160-5923-3&rft.aulast=Jordan&rft.aufirst=Michael&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-swami57-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-swami57_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami57_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami57_5-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami57_5-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami57_5-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 57</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 60</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-collins80-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-collins80_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-collins80_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-collins80_7-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins p. 80</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198644_8-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFChakravarti1986">Chakravarti 1986</a>, p. 44.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-swami58-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-swami58_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami58_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami58_9-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami58_9-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami58_9-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 58</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Kramrisch200-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Kramrisch200_10-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Kramrisch pp. 200–3, 207–8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Srinivasan57-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan57_11-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan p.57</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Daniélou63ff-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Daniélou63ff_12-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Daniélou pp. 63–7</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan pp. 57, 59</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan pp. 57–8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-swami55ff-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-swami55ff_15-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami55ff_15-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami55ff_15-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 55–6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146_16-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti1986146_16-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFChakravarti1986">Chakravarti 1986</a>, p. 146.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">See image in Goldberg pp. 26–7</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Goldberg30-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg30_18-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 30</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643_19-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEChakravarti198643_19-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFChakravarti1986">Chakravarti 1986</a>, p. 43.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dehejia37ff-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Dehejia37ff_20-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dehejia pp. 37–9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Pande-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pande_21-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pande_21-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pande_21-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPande" class="citation web cs1">Pande, Dr. Alka. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080704072150/http://www.alkapande.com/paper1.htm">"The Icon of Creation – Ardhanarisvara"</a>. <i>Official site of author</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alkapande.com/paper1.htm">the original</a> on 4 July 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Official+site+of+author&rft.atitle=The+Icon+of+Creation+%E2%80%93+Ardhanarisvara&rft.aulast=Pande&rft.aufirst=Dr.+Alka&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alkapande.com%2Fpaper1.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao p. 323</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-matsya-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-matsya_23-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-matsya_23-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-matsya_23-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-matsya_23-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins p.77</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRajarajan2000" class="citation journal cs1">Rajarajan, R. K. K. (January 2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/2955548">"Dance of Ardhanari as Pattini-Kannaki with special reference to the Cilappatikaram"</a>. <i>Berliner Indologische Studien</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Berliner+Indologische+Studien&rft.atitle=Dance+of+Ardhanari+as+Pattini-Kannaki+with+special+reference+to+the+Cilappatikaram&rft.date=2000-01&rft.aulast=Rajarajan&rft.aufirst=R.+K.+K.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F2955548&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRajarajan" class="citation journal cs1">Rajarajan, R. K. K. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/3740760">"Dance of Ardhanārī. A Historiographical Retrospection"</a>. <i>Convegni</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Convegni&rft.atitle=Dance+of+Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB.+A+Historiographical+Retrospection&rft.aulast=Rajarajan&rft.aufirst=R.+K.+K.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F3740760&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRajarajan" class="citation book cs1">Rajarajan, R. K. K. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/30222114"><i>Masterpieces of Indian Literature and Art - Tears of Kaṇṇaki: Annals and Iconology of the 'Cilappatikāram'<span></span></i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Masterpieces+of+Indian+Literature+and+Art+-+Tears+of+Ka%E1%B9%87%E1%B9%87aki%3A+Annals+and+Iconology+of+the+%27Cilappatik%C4%81ram%27&rft.aulast=Rajarajan&rft.aufirst=R.+K.+K.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F30222114&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-goldberg145-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-goldberg145_27-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-goldberg145_27-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg pp. 145–8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Rao324ff-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao324ff_28-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 324–5</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Goldberg4-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg4_29-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 12</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Goldberg5-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Goldberg5_30-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 13</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Rao327ff-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Rao327ff_31-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 327–8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-britannica-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-britannica_32-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-britannica_32-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-britannica_32-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-britannica_32-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-britannica_32-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation encyclopaedia cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/33339/Ardhanarisvara">"Ardhanārīśvara"</a>. <i>Encyclopædia Britannica Online</i>. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 January</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB%C5%9Bvara&rft.btitle=Encyclop%C3%A6dia+Britannica+Online&rft.pub=Encyclop%C3%A6dia+Britannica&rft.date=2011&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2FEBchecked%2Ftopic%2F33339%2FArdhanarisvara&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218_33-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a218_33-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKramrisch1994a">Kramrisch 1994a</a>, p. 218.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-govind52-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-govind52_34-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ghurye, G.S., 1952. Ascetic Origins. Sociological Bulletin, 1(2), pp.162-184.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a26-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKramrisch1994a26_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFKramrisch1994a">Kramrisch 1994a</a>, p. 26.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-brill72-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-brill72_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Pensa, Corrado. "Some Internal and Comparative Problems in the Field of Indian Religions." Problems and Methods of the History of Religions. Brill, 1972. 102-122.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-patt06-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-patt06_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Pattanaik, Devdutt. Shiva to Shankara: Decoding the phallic symbol. Indus Source, 2006.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Rao325ff-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao325ff_38-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 325–6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 329–30</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Rao330ff-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Rao330ff_40-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Rao330ff_40-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 330–2</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan p.266</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Daniélou p. 147</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 61</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-linga-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-linga_44-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-linga_44-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins p. 78-9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 157</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Mbh-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Mbh_46-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Mbh_46-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins p.76</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-swami60ff-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-swami60ff_47-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami60ff_47-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami60ff_47-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 60–1</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 321–2</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins p.77-8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Collins pp. 76–7</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Kramrisch p. 205</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 327–8: The male half of the four-armed Ardhanarishvara at <a href="/wiki/Badami" title="Badami">Badami</a> wears snake ornaments and a knee-length deerskin dress and holds a <i>parashu</i>. His <i>jatamukuta</i> is adorned by the crescent moon as well as a skull. The female side wears gold ornaments and an ankle-length silk garment, and carries a <i>nilotpala</i>. Together with the remaining arms, Ardhanarishvara plays a <i>veena</i>. The skeleton figure identified with Bhringi stands beside him. The bull stands behind the deity.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 322–3</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Pattanaik-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pattanaik_54-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pattanaik_54-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPattanaik2005" class="citation web cs1">Pattanaik, Devdutt (Sep 16, 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101121175321/http://devdutt.com/ardhanareshwara-the-hierarchy-of-halves/">"Ardhanareshwara"</a>. <i>Official site of <a href="/wiki/Devdutt_Pattanaik" title="Devdutt Pattanaik">Devdutt Pattanaik</a></i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://devdutt.com/ardhanareshwara-the-hierarchy-of-halves/">the original</a> on 21 November 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 February</span> 2011</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Official+site+of+Devdutt+Pattanaik&rft.atitle=Ardhanareshwara&rft.date=2005-09-16&rft.aulast=Pattanaik&rft.aufirst=Devdutt&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdevdutt.com%2Fardhanareshwara-the-hierarchy-of-halves%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-kinsley-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-kinsley_55-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kinsley_55-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kinsley_55-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kinsley_55-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKinsley1998" class="citation book cs1">Kinsley, David (1998). <i>Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition</i>. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. <span class="nowrap">49–</span>53. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-208-0394-9" title="Special:BookSources/81-208-0394-9"><bdi>81-208-0394-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Hindu+Goddesses%3A+Visions+of+the+Divine+Feminine+in+the+Hindu+Religious+Tradition&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E49-%3C%2Fspan%3E53&rft.pub=Motilal+Banarsidass+Publ&rft.date=1998&rft.isbn=81-208-0394-9&rft.aulast=Kinsley&rft.aufirst=David&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p.115</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rao pp. 332</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-swami59-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-swami59_58-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-swami59_58-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand p. 59</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Daniélou-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Daniélou_59-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Daniélou_59-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDaniélou1985" class="citation book cs1">Daniélou, Alain (1985). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/mythsgodsofindia00dani"><i>The Myths and Gods of India: the Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism</i></a></span>. Inner Traditions. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89281-354-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-89281-354-7"><bdi>0-89281-354-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Myths+and+Gods+of+India%3A+the+Classic+Work+on+Hindu+Polytheism&rft.pub=Inner+Traditions&rft.date=1985&rft.isbn=0-89281-354-7&rft.aulast=Dani%C3%A9lou&rft.aufirst=Alain&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fmythsgodsofindia00dani&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-conner67-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-conner67_60-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFConnerSparks,_David_HatfieldSparks,_Mariya1998" class="citation book cs1">Conner, Randy P.; Sparks, David Hatfield; Sparks, Mariya (1998). "Ardhararishvara". <i>Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit</i>. UK: Cassell. p. 67. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-304-70423-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-304-70423-7"><bdi>0-304-70423-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ardhararishvara&rft.btitle=Cassell%27s+Encyclopedia+of+Queer+Myth%2C+Symbol+and+Spirit&rft.place=UK&rft.pages=67&rft.pub=Cassell&rft.date=1998&rft.isbn=0-304-70423-7&rft.aulast=Conner&rft.aufirst=Randy+P.&rft.au=Sparks%2C+David+Hatfield&rft.au=Sparks%2C+Mariya&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Srinivasan158-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan158_61-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Srinivasan158_61-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan p. 158</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-62">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Srinivasan p. 59</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-63">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSivaya_Subramuniyaswami2003" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Sivaya_Subramuniyaswami" title="Sivaya Subramuniyaswami">Sivaya Subramuniyaswami</a> (2003). <i>Dancing with Siva: Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism</i>. Himalayan Academy Publications. p. 758.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Dancing+with+Siva%3A+Hinduism%27s+Contemporary+Catechism&rft.pages=758&rft.pub=Himalayan+Academy+Publications&rft.date=2003&rft.au=Sivaya+Subramuniyaswami&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-64">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 156</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Courtright-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Courtright_65-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCourtright2005" class="citation journal cs1">Courtright, Paul B. (December 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/73/4/1215.full">"Review: The Lord Who is Half Woman: Ardhanāriśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective"</a>. <i>Journal of the American Academy of Religion</i>. <b>73</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">1215–</span>1217. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fjaarel%2Flfi130">10.1093/jaarel/lfi130</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+the+American+Academy+of+Religion&rft.atitle=Review%3A+The+Lord+Who+is+Half+Woman%3A+Ardhan%C4%81ri%C5%9Bvara+in+Indian+and+Feminist+Perspective.&rft.volume=73&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E1215-%3C%2Fspan%3E1217&rft.date=2005-12&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fjaarel%2Flfi130&rft.aulast=Courtright&rft.aufirst=Paul+B.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fjaar.oxfordjournals.org%2Fcontent%2F73%2F4%2F1215.full&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Seid-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Seid_66-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSeid2004" class="citation journal cs1">Seid, Betty (2004). "The Lord Who Is Half Woman (Ardhanarishvara)". <i>Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies</i>. <b>30</b> (1). The Art Institute of Chicago: <span class="nowrap">48–</span>95. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4129920">4129920</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Art+Institute+of+Chicago+Museum+Studies&rft.atitle=The+Lord+Who+Is+Half+Woman+%28Ardhanarishvara%29&rft.volume=30&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E48-%3C%2Fspan%3E95&rft.date=2004&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F4129920%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.aulast=Seid&rft.aufirst=Betty&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-67">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 1</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Yadav161-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Yadav161_68-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Yadav161_68-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Yadav p. 161</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-69">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Swami Parmeshwaranand pp. 55, 61</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Tiruchengode-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Tiruchengode_70-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tiruchengode_70-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMoorthy1991" class="citation book cs1">Moorthy, K. K. (1991). "Tiruchengodu - Ardhanareeswarar Tirukovil". <i>The Temples of Tamilnadu</i>. Tirupathi.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Tiruchengodu+-+Ardhanareeswarar+Tirukovil&rft.btitle=The+Temples+of+Tamilnadu&rft.place=Tirupathi&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Moorthy&rft.aufirst=K.+K.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-71">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000443/http://www.arthanareeswarar.com/English.asp">"Site about Tiruchengode temple"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.arthanareeswarar.com/English.asp">the original</a> on 2016-03-04<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2011-03-14</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Site+about+Tiruchengode+temple&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthanareeswarar.com%2FEnglish.asp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-72">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHiltebeitel1988" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Alf_Hiltebeitel" title="Alf Hiltebeitel">Hiltebeitel, Alf</a> (1988). <i>The Cult of Draupadi: Mythologies: from Gingee to Kuruksetra</i>. Vol. 1. University of Chicago Press. p. 447. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-226-34046-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-226-34046-3"><bdi>978-0-226-34046-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Cult+of+Draupadi%3A+Mythologies%3A+from+Gingee+to+Kuruksetra&rft.pages=447&rft.pub=University+of+Chicago+Press&rft.date=1988&rft.isbn=978-0-226-34046-3&rft.aulast=Hiltebeitel&rft.aufirst=Alf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-73">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldberg p. 4</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCollins1988" class="citation book cs1">Collins, Charles Dillard (1988). <i>The iconography and ritual of Śiva at Elephanta</i>. SUNY Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-88706-773-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-88706-773-5"><bdi>0-88706-773-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+iconography+and+ritual+of+%C5%9Aiva+at+Elephanta&rft.pub=SUNY+Press&rft.date=1988&rft.isbn=0-88706-773-5&rft.aulast=Collins&rft.aufirst=Charles+Dillard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChakravarti1986" class="citation book cs1">Chakravarti, Mahadev (1986). <i>The concept of Rudra-Śiva through the ages</i>. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-208-0053-2" title="Special:BookSources/81-208-0053-2"><bdi>81-208-0053-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+concept+of+Rudra-%C5%9Aiva+through+the+ages&rft.pub=Motilal+Banarsidass+Publ&rft.date=1986&rft.isbn=81-208-0053-2&rft.aulast=Chakravarti&rft.aufirst=Mahadev&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDaniélou1992" class="citation book cs1">Daniélou, Alain (1992). <i>Gods of love and ecstasy: the traditions of Shiva and Dionysus</i>. Inner Traditions International. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-89281-374-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-89281-374-1"><bdi>0-89281-374-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Gods+of+love+and+ecstasy%3A+the+traditions+of+Shiva+and+Dionysus&rft.pub=Inner+Traditions+International&rft.date=1992&rft.isbn=0-89281-374-1&rft.aulast=Dani%C3%A9lou&rft.aufirst=Alain&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDehejia1997" class="citation book cs1">Dehejia, Harsha V. (1997). <i>Pārvatīdarpaṇa: an exposition of Kāśmir Śaivism through the images of Śiva and Parvati</i>. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-208-1484-3" title="Special:BookSources/81-208-1484-3"><bdi>81-208-1484-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=P%C4%81rvat%C4%ABdarpa%E1%B9%87a%3A+an+exposition+of+K%C4%81%C5%9Bmir+%C5%9Aaivism+through+the+images+of+%C5%9Aiva+and+Parvati&rft.pub=Motilal+Banarsidass+Publ&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=81-208-1484-3&rft.aulast=Dehejia&rft.aufirst=Harsha+V.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGoldberg2002" class="citation book cs1">Goldberg, Ellen (2002). <i>The Lord who is half woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and feminist perspective</i>. SUNY Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7914-5325-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-7914-5325-1"><bdi>0-7914-5325-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Lord+who+is+half+woman%3A+Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB%C5%9Bvara+in+Indian+and+feminist+perspective&rft.pub=SUNY+Press&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=0-7914-5325-1&rft.aulast=Goldberg&rft.aufirst=Ellen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGarg,_Ganga_Ram1992" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol">Garg, Ganga Ram, ed. (1992). <i>Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world</i>. Vol. 3: Ar-Az. Concept Publishing Company. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-7022-376-8" title="Special:BookSources/81-7022-376-8"><bdi>81-7022-376-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Encyclopaedia+of+the+Hindu+world&rft.pub=Concept+Publishing+Company.&rft.date=1992&rft.isbn=81-7022-376-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKramrisch1981" class="citation book cs1">Kramrisch, Stella (1981). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/presenceofsiva0000kram"><i>The Presence of Siva</i></a></span>. Princeton University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-691-01930-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-691-01930-4"><bdi>0-691-01930-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Presence+of+Siva&rft.pub=Princeton+University+Press&rft.date=1981&rft.isbn=0-691-01930-4&rft.aulast=Kramrisch&rft.aufirst=Stella&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fpresenceofsiva0000kram&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRao1916" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol">Rao, T.A. Gopinatha (1916). <i>Elements of Hindu iconography</i>. Vol. 2: Part I. Madras: Law Printing House.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Elements+of+Hindu+iconography&rft.place=Madras&rft.pub=Law+Printing+House&rft.date=1916&rft.aulast=Rao&rft.aufirst=T.A.+Gopinatha&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSrinivasan1997" class="citation book cs1">Srinivasan, Doris Meth (1997). <i>Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art</i>. BRILL. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/208705592">208705592</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Many+Heads%2C+Arms%2C+and+Eyes%3A+Origin%2C+Meaning%2C+and+Form+of+Multiplicity+in+Indian+Art&rft.pub=BRILL&rft.date=1997&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F208705592&rft.aulast=Srinivasan&rft.aufirst=Doris+Meth&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSwami_Parmeshwaranand2004" class="citation book cs1">Swami Parmeshwaranand (2004). "Ardhanārīśvara". <i>Encyclopaedia of the Śaivism</i>. Vol. 1. Sarup & Sons. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-7625-427-4" title="Special:BookSources/81-7625-427-4"><bdi>81-7625-427-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB%C5%9Bvara&rft.btitle=Encyclopaedia+of+the+%C5%9Aaivism&rft.pub=Sarup+%26+Sons&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=81-7625-427-4&rft.au=Swami+Parmeshwaranand&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFYadav2000" class="citation book cs1">Yadav, Neeta (2000). <i>Ardhanārīśvara in art and literature</i>. D.K. Printworld. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-246-0169-0" title="Special:BookSources/81-246-0169-0"><bdi>81-246-0169-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ardhan%C4%81r%C4%AB%C5%9Bvara+in+art+and+literature&rft.pub=D.K.+Printworld&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=81-246-0169-0&rft.aulast=Yadav&rft.aufirst=Neeta&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKramrisch1994a" class="citation cs2">Kramrisch, Stella (1994a), <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/presenceofsivamy00skra"><i>The Presence of Śiva</i></a></span>, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0691019307" title="Special:BookSources/978-0691019307"><bdi>978-0691019307</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Presence+of+%C5%9Aiva&rft.place=Princeton%2C+New+Jersey&rft.pub=Princeton+University+Press&rft.date=1994&rft.isbn=978-0691019307&rft.aulast=Kramrisch&rft.aufirst=Stella&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fpresenceofsivamy00skra&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AArdhanarishvara" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ardhanarishvara&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style 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navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Shaivism_topics" title="Template:Shaivism topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Shaivism_topics" title="Template talk:Shaivism topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Shaivism_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Shaivism topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Shaivism402" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Shaivism" title="Shaivism">Shaivism</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3" style="background:#FFC569;"><div><b><a href="/wiki/History_of_Shaivism" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Shaivism">History</a></b></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Forms_of_Shiva" title="Category:Forms of Shiva">Deities</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bhairava" title="Bhairava">Bhairava</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dakshinamurti" title="Dakshinamurti">Dakshinamurti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harihara" title="Harihara">Harihara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ishana" title="Ishana">Ishana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nataraja" title="Nataraja">Nataraja</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sadyojata" class="mw-redirect" title="Sadyojata">Sadyojata</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tatpurusha" class="mw-redirect" title="Tatpurusha">Tatpurusha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vamadeva" title="Vamadeva">Vamadeva</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shakti" title="Shakti">Shakti</a> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Ardhanarishvara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sati_(Hindu_goddess)" title="Sati (Hindu goddess)">Sati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ganesha" title="Ganesha">Ganesha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kartikeya" title="Kartikeya">Kartikeya</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Devasena" title="Devasena">Devasena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Valli" title="Valli">Valli</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nandi_(mythology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Nandi (mythology)">Nandi</a></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="7" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg/100px-India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="133" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg/150px-India_statue_of_nataraja.jpg 1.5x, 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scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Mantra" title="Mantra">Mantra</a>/<a href="/wiki/Stotra" title="Stotra">Stotra</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Om_Namah_Shivaya" title="Om Namah Shivaya">Om Namah Shivaya</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rudrashtakam" title="Rudrashtakam">Rudrashtakam</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Mah%C4%81mrityunjaya_Mantra" class="mw-redirect" title="Mahāmrityunjaya Mantra">Mahāmrityunjaya</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Tandava_Stotra" title="Shiva Tandava Stotra">Shiva Tandava</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Sahasranama" title="Shiva Sahasranama">Sahasranama</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shiv_Chalisa" class="mw-redirect" title="Shiv Chalisa">Chalisa</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shri_Rudram" title="Shri Rudram">Shri Rudram</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Mahimna_Stotra" title="Shiva Mahimna Stotra">Shiva Mahimna</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hara_Hara_Mahadeva" title="Hara Hara Mahadeva">Hara Hara Mahadeva</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%">Traditions</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shaiva_Siddhanta" title="Shaiva Siddhanta">Shaiva Siddhanta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pashupata_Shaivism" title="Pashupata Shaivism">Pashupata Shaivism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kapalika" title="Kapalika">Kapalika</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Aghori" title="Aghori">Aghori</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kaula_(Hinduism)" title="Kaula (Hinduism)">Kaula</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kashmir_Shaivism" title="Kashmir Shaivism">Trika Shaivism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lingayatism" class="mw-redirect" title="Lingayatism">Veera Shaivism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siddha_Siddhanta" title="Siddha Siddhanta">Siddha Siddhanta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Advaita" title="Shiva Advaita">Shiva Advaita</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Smarta_tradition" title="Smarta tradition">Shaiva Smartas</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%">Festivals and observances</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kanwar_Yatra" title="Kanwar Yatra">Kanwar Yatra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri" title="Maha Shivaratri">Maha Shivaratri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pradosha" title="Pradosha">Pradosha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Puja" title="Shiva Puja">Shiva Puja</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Shiva_temple" class="mw-redirect" title="Shiva temple">Shiva temples</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Panch_Kedar" title="Panch Kedar">Panch Kedar</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kedarnath_Temple" title="Kedarnath Temple">Kedarnath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tungnath" title="Tungnath">Tungnath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rudranath" title="Rudranath">Rudranath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madhyamaheshwar" title="Madhyamaheshwar">Madhyamaheshwar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kalpeshwar" title="Kalpeshwar">Kalpeshwar</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Pancha_Sabhai" title="Pancha Sabhai">Pancha Sabhai</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sri_Vadaranyeswarar_Temple" title="Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple">Rathinam</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nataraja_Temple,_Chidambaram" title="Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram">Pon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meenakshi_Temple" title="Meenakshi Temple">Velli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nellaiappar_Temple" title="Nellaiappar Temple">Thamiram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thirukutralam" title="Thirukutralam">Chitiram</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Pancha_Bhuta_Sthalam" title="Pancha Bhuta Sthalam">Pancha Bhuta Sthalam</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nataraja_Temple,_Chidambaram" title="Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram">Chidambaram (Ether)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Srikalahasteeswara_temple" title="Srikalahasteeswara temple">Tirukalahasti (Air)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arunachalesvara_Temple" title="Arunachalesvara Temple">Tiruvannamalai (Fire)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jambukeswarar_Temple,_Thiruvanaikaval" title="Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval">Tiruvanaikaval (Water)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ekambareswarar_Temple_(Kanchipuram)" title="Ekambareswarar Temple (Kanchipuram)">Kanchipuram (Earth)</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Jyotirlinga" title="Jyotirlinga">Jyotirlingas</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bhimashankar_Temple" title="Bhimashankar Temple">Bhimashankar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grishneshwar_Temple" title="Grishneshwar Temple">Grishneshwar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kedarnath_Temple" title="Kedarnath Temple">Kedarnath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mallikarjuna_Jyotirlinga" class="mw-redirect" title="Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga">Mallikarjun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mahakaleshwar_Jyotirlinga" title="Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga">Mahakaleshwar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nageshvara_Jyotirlinga" title="Nageshvara Jyotirlinga">Nageshvar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omkareshwar_Temple" title="Omkareshwar Temple">Omkareshwar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ramanathaswamy_Temple" title="Ramanathaswamy Temple">Ramanathaswamy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Somnath_temple" title="Somnath temple">Somnath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trimbakeshwar_Shiva_Temple" title="Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple">Trimbakeshwar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vaidyanath_Jyotirlinga" title="Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga">Vaidyanath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kashi_Vishwanath_Temple" title="Kashi Vishwanath Temple">Vishwanath</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;width:1%">Others</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Amarnath_Temple" title="Amarnath Temple">Amarnath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brihadisvara_Temple,_Thanjavur" class="mw-redirect" title="Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur">Brihadeeswarar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lake_Manasarovar" title="Lake Manasarovar">Kailash Mansarovar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Katas_Raj_Temples" title="Katas Raj Temples">Katas Raj</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lingaraja_Temple" title="Lingaraja Temple">Lingaraja</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Meenakshi_Temple" title="Meenakshi Temple">Meenakshi Sundareshwarar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ardhanareeswarar_temple,_Tiruchengode" class="mw-redirect" title="Ardhanareeswarar temple, Tiruchengode">Tiruchengode</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vadakkunnathan_Temple" title="Vadakkunnathan Temple">Vadakkum Nathan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%">Related topics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lingam" title="Lingam">Lingam</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rasalingam" title="Rasalingam">Rasalingam</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Siddha" title="Siddha">Siddha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vibhuti" title="Vibhuti">Vibhuti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shiva_Sahasranama" title="Shiva Sahasranama">Other names</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3" style="background:#FFC569;"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span><a href="/wiki/Category:Shaivism" title="Category:Shaivism">Category</a></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Symbol_portal_class.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Portal"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/16px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/23px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/Symbol_portal_class.svg/31px-Symbol_portal_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></a></span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Hinduism" title="Portal:Hinduism">Portal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Hindu_deities_and_texts170" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3" style="background:#FFC569;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Hindu_deities_and_texts" title="Template:Hindu deities and texts"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Hindu_deities_and_texts" title="Template talk:Hindu deities and texts"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Hindu_deities_and_texts" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Hindu deities and texts"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Hindu_deities_and_texts170" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Hindu_deities" title="Hindu deities">Hindu deities</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hindu_texts" title="Hindu texts">texts</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Deva_(Hinduism)" title="Deva (Hinduism)">Gods</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Trimurti" title="Trimurti">Trimurti</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brahma" title="Brahma">Brahma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vishnu" title="Vishnu">Vishnu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shiva" title="Shiva">Shiva</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Agni" title="Agni">Agni</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ashvins" title="Ashvins">Ashvins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chandra" title="Chandra">Chandra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dattatreya" title="Dattatreya">Dattatreya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ganesha" title="Ganesha">Ganesha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hanuman" title="Hanuman">Hanuman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indra" title="Indra">Indra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kamadeva" title="Kamadeva">Kama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kartikeya" title="Kartikeya">Kartikeya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Krishna" title="Krishna">Krishna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kubera" title="Kubera">Kubera</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rama" title="Rama">Rama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shasta_(deity)" title="Shasta (deity)">Shasta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surya" title="Surya">Surya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Varuna" title="Varuna">Varuna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vayu" title="Vayu">Vayu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vishvakarma" title="Vishvakarma">Vishvakarma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yama" title="Yama">Yama</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Category:Hindu_gods" title="Category:Hindu gods">more</a></i></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="4" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hindu Om symbol"><img alt="Hindu Om symbol" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Om_symbol.svg/50px-Om_symbol.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="52" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Om_symbol.svg/75px-Om_symbol.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Om_symbol.svg/100px-Om_symbol.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="356" data-file-height="367" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Devi" title="Devi">Goddesses</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tridevi" title="Tridevi">Tridevi</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Saraswati" title="Saraswati">Saraswati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lakshmi" title="Lakshmi">Lakshmi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parvati" title="Parvati">Parvati</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aditi" title="Aditi">Aditi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bhumi_(goddess)" title="Bhumi (goddess)">Bhumi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chhaya" title="Chhaya">Chhaya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Durga" title="Durga">Durga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ganga_(goddess)" title="Ganga (goddess)">Ganga</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indrani" class="mw-redirect" title="Indrani">Shachi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kali" title="Kali">Kali</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mahadevi" title="Mahadevi">Mahadevi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mahavidya" title="Mahavidya">Mahavidya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matangi" title="Matangi">Matangi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matrikas" title="Matrikas">Matrikas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radha" title="Radha">Radha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rati" title="Rati">Rati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rohini_(goddess)" title="Rohini (goddess)">Rohini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rukmini" title="Rukmini">Rukmini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sanjna" title="Sanjna">Sanjna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sati_(Hindu_goddess)" title="Sati (Hindu goddess)">Sati</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shakti" title="Shakti">Shakti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shashthi" title="Shashthi">Shashthi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sita" title="Sita">Sita</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Category:Hindu_goddesses" title="Category:Hindu goddesses">more</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%">Other deities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Apsara" title="Apsara">Apsaras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Asura" title="Asura">Asuras</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Daitya" title="Daitya">Daitya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danava_(Hinduism)" title="Danava (Hinduism)">Danava</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Devata" title="Devata">Devata</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guardians_of_the_directions" title="Guardians of the directions">Dikpāla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gandharva" title="Gandharva">Gandharvas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gana" title="Gana">Gana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kuladevata" title="Kuladevata">Kuladevatas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gramadevata" title="Gramadevata">Gramadevatas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rakshasa" title="Rakshasa">Rakshasas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vahana" title="Vahana">Vahanas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yaksha" title="Yaksha">Yakshas</a> / <a href="/wiki/Yakshini" title="Yakshini">Yakshini</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background:#FFC569;;width:1%">Texts (<a href="/wiki/List_of_Hindu_texts" title="List of Hindu texts">list</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Vedas" title="Vedas">Vedas</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rigveda" title="Rigveda">Rig</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Samaveda" title="Samaveda">Sama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yajurveda" title="Yajurveda">Yajur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atharvaveda" title="Atharvaveda">Atharva</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Upanishads" title="Upanishads">Upanishads</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Puranas" title="Puranas">Puranas</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ramayana" title="Ramayana">Ramayana</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Mahabharata" title="Mahabharata">Mahabharata</a></i> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" title="Bhagavad Gita">Bhagavad Gita</a></i></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali" title="Yoga Sutras of Patanjali">Yoga Sutras of Patanjali</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Category:Hindu_texts" title="Category:Hindu texts">more</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3" style="background:#FFC569;"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hindu_mythology" title="Hindu mythology">Hindu mythology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" 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