Ardhanarishvara is a form of Shiva combined with Parvati, depicted as half-male and half-female. Learn about its origins, iconography, mythology and symbolism in Hinduism. Shri Ardhanarishwara Stotram was composed by Sri Adi Shankara bhagavatpada. Creator and Creation are One ~ Ardhanarishwara, composite of Shiva and Shakti together in one body. This form reminds us that Shiva is beyond gender, yet encompasses both genders. Shiva represents the unmanifest and Shakti the manifest; Shiva the formless and Shakti the formed; Shiva consciousness and Shakti energy, not only in the cosmos as a whole but in each and every individual. Ardhanarishwara form also ... Ardhanarishvara or ardhnarishwar is a half Shiva and half Parvati form of Mahadeva where he is depicted as half man and half woman to indicate that the ultimate reality includes both the feminine and masculine dimension of life. An Ardhnarishwar Puja and Homa is an ultimate offering that is made to this divine union and their supreme power as Ardhnarishwar . We at SHIVA help devotees who do not know how to perform this sacred Puja and Homa by themselves.
