Hinduism’s one-of-a-kind deity: fusion of the masculine and the feminine, confluence of energy and matter, the cosmic union of Shiva and Parvati. Purusha, as embodied by Shiva, is the masculine/energy principle, while parkrti, embodied by Parvati, is feminine/matter. The murti that you see on this page is the half-Shiva-half-Parvati Ardhanarishvara statue, a confluence of the two.
The Shiva Ardhanarishvara is a powerful confluence. It is through this confluence that drshyam (existence as we perceive it) comes into being. Lord Ardhanarishvara is tall and stately, poised on an upturned lotus plinth. The right half of this Ardhanarishvara statue (Shiva) features a flat loincloth-clad musculature and hints of flaying jata (locks), while the left (Parvati) is curvaceous and clad in a dhoti all the way down to Her ankles.
There is great beauty of form in this Ardhanrishvara Shiva Shakti sculpture. Made via madhuchista vidhana (lost wax metalcasting) with panchaloha, a special kind of bronze, it has been handpicked from the studios of Swamimalai, which is the modern-day home of South India’s great sculptural tradition.
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