As published in Tarka #5: On Queer Dharma
Ardhanārīśvara: A Figure for Our Times
by Zoë Slatoff
dehārdha-yogaḥ śivayoḥ sa śreyāṃsi tanotu vaḥ |
duṣprāpam api yat-smṛtyā janaḥ kaivalyam aśnute ||
May that union of the two halves of the body of Śiva [and Śakti],
By the recollection of which, a person experiences absolute aloneness,
Even though it is difficult to attain,
Bestow good fortune upon you. || 1 ||
Rājamārtaṇḍa of Bhoja
dehārdha-yogaḥ = the union of the [two] halves of the body (masc. nom. sg., tatpuruṣa compound); śivayoḥ = of Śiva (masc. gen. sg.); saḥ = that (masc. nom. sg.); śreyāṃsi = good fortune (n. acc. pl.); tanotu = may it bestow (imperative, 3rd p. sg. P √tan); vaḥ = upon you (2nd p. pronoun, loc. pl.); duṣprāpam = difficult to attain (neut. acc. sg., karmadhāraya compound); api = even, also (indeclinable); yatsmṛtyā = by the memory of which (f. inst. sg., pronomial tatpuruṣa compound); janaḥ = person (m. nom. sg.); kaivalyam = absolute aloneness, isolation (neut. acc. sg.); aśnute = experiences (present, 3rd p. sg. Ā √aś)
The ultimate aim of yoga according to the Yogasūtra is kaivalya, the isolation of puruṣa, the male principle, or soul/spirit, from prakṛti, the female principle, or nature. And yet Bhoja, in his commentary on this text, begins by saying that this occurs through the union of Śiva and Pārvatī or Śakti in his form of ardha-nārīśvara, which literally means “the lord who is half woman.” In many ways this is in keeping with the rest of the text, which says that it is the confusion of the seer and the seen that leads to suffering[1] and yet it is also through their connection that we understand their intrinsic nature and find our way out.[2] So in order to ultimately separate, these two complementary powers must know each other completely.
This idea originates in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, where the original male self was lonely, without pleasure, and so decided to split himself into husband and wife, becoming two pieces of a whole, where the empty space was filled with the woman, and they eventually became the source of all else.[3] From a more popular perspective, told through stories in the Purāṇas, this combination of masculine and feminine energies is similarly thought to be the source of all creation, and they are often considered inseparable. In both figurative and literary depictions, he/she is literally split down the middle, as we see in this verse, attributed to Śaṅkarācārya, though probably written much later, which intertwines male and female.
cāmpeya-gaurārdha-śarīra-kāyai karpūra-gaurārdha-śarīrakāya |
dhammillakāyai ca jaṭādharāya namaḥ śivāyai ca namaḥ śivāya ||
- Ardhanārīśvarastotra Verse 1
To she whose half body is golden yellow like the Champaka flower,
To he whose half body is yellowish white like camphor,
To she whose braided, adorned hair is wound around her head,
To he who bears matted dreadlocks,
Salutations to Pārvatī and salutations to Śiva!
cāmpeya-gaurārdha-śarīra-kāyai = to she whose half body is golden yellow like the Champaka flower (fem. dat. sg., bahuvrīhi compound); karpūra-gaurārdha-śarīrakāya = to he whose half body is yellowish white like camphor (masc. dat. sg., bahuvrīhi compound); dhammillakāyai = to she whose braided, adorned hair is wound around her head (fem. dat. sg., bahuvrīhi compound); ca = and (indeclinable); jaṭādharāya = to he who bears matted dreadlocks (masc. dat. sg, bahuvrīhi compound); namaḥ = a bow, salutations (indeclinable); śivāyai = to Śivā, Pārvatī (fem. dat. sg.); ca = and (indeclinable); namaḥ = a bow, salutations (indeclinable); śivāya = to Śiva (masc. dat. sg.)
Here, through the joining of opposites, one reaches a state of non-duality beyond the two. Śiva is simultaneously beyond gender and yet includes all genders. Perhaps we could say that ardhanārīśvara is a figure for our times, holding space for everyone.
[1] Yogasūtra 2.17: draṣṭṛ-dṛśyayoḥ saṃyogo heya-hetuḥ || 17 ||
[2] Yogasūtra 2.23: sva-svāmi-śaktyoḥ svarūpopalabdhi-hetuḥ saṃyogaḥ || 23 ||
[3] Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.3