The eloquent stance of Ardhanarishvara. Shiva fused into Parvati; a silhouette of the divine (‘ishvara’) that is half (‘ardha’) woman (‘nari’), half man. Parvati’s hip juts out laterally, a seductive accentuation of the feminine. The arm of Shiva seemingly rests on the back of Nandi, the bull.
In terms of iconography, Ardhanarishvara is unlike anything else in world cultures. Ardhanarishvara is the germinal for drshyam - all of life and samsara as we know it. Without the confluence of the masculine principle and the feminine principle, energy and matter, purusha va prakrti, drshyam would not exist.
This Ardharishvara is sculpted from panchaloha, the most sacred of the traditional sculptor’s alloys. It has gold and silver as well as copper, zinc, and iron. It is made using madhuchista vidhana, the traditional lost-wax technique of metalcasting.
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