Ardhnareshwar Swaroop and its divine implications in our daily life.

Ardhnareshwar Swaroop and its divine implications in our daily life.

Ardhanareshwar Swaroop is a highly revered form of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati, in a hermaphrodite union. This union represents the union of Purush and Prakriti Elements of Mother nature and symbolizes materialism and detachment in a constant union, that shapes and nurtures life on Earth. We find a similar kind of hermaphrodite entity in Greek mythology also by the name of Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. The nymph of the fountain of Salmacis in Caria became enamored of him and entreated the gods that she might be forever united with him, and thus was born the hermaphrodite entity in Greek myth.

This form of life or energy as mentioned in our Vedas as Ardhnareshwar holds a deeper meaning and relevance if we try to understand it in the way Dr. Gupta shows in his exemplary work on Divine energy based on Ancient Vedic Wisdom, in his book- IS DIVINE ENERGY.

Ardhnareshwar form of Lord Shiva– It is believed that the God is Lord Shiva and the woman part is his consort Goddess Parvati or Shakti. The Ardhnareshwar represents a constructive and generative power. Ardhnareshwar symbolizes that the male and female principles cannot be separated. It conveys the unity of opposites in the universe. The male half stands for Purusha and the female half is Prakriti. These conflicting forms are the two dimensions of Mother Nature.

Let’s first understand how Dr. Gupta defines Mother Nature, Purusha, and Prakriti.

He explains Mother Nature as, an absolute sequence, the mass unit, the primordial entity— the macrocosmic subject, the sum of a positive universe and a negative universe of super wishers”.

The super wishers are the impassioned devotees, who reproduce the wisher program as the Divine light (Usha, 16). The negative value is due to their gradual drift towards procuring and consuming worldly possessions, guided by the illusionary “I am a deity consciousness” (Pavitratma, 1). As discordant factors, they behave like Super Wishers, wishing that somebody else takes the role of being impassioned devotees so that they may enjoy consuming the “deity” (Deva, 1) on the “path of devotion” (Bhakti marga, 1) to gain immortality. The Mother Nature, “As a “symbolic Wisher face” (Sita, 0) of the microcosmic subject, she takes the Wisher subject turned Wisher King to be the ignorant “Param Wisher” (Ajani, -7). She grants absolute freedom to the Param Wisher for programming the Wisher consciousness within each entity in the universe, wishing to enjoy the entropy-effect of not having confidence in one’s divinity.”

Mother Nature assumes the form of ‘a “Primordial Wisher” (Akarta, -8), liberating the Wisher King to enjoy the diverse formations as part of the Wisher program’s circulating reproduction.”

The primordial Wisher or the wisher king here is the “Purusha” and the wisher program is the “Prakriti”. So we understand that the Purusha is the Akarta or the inactive force that witnesses and supports the Karta or Prakriti, which actively reproduces life and manifests all doings in the world.

Vedic philosophy sees Prakriti and Purusha as two separate aspects of the (Brahman, 2) or the universe. While Prakriti is understood as the creative energy or non-sentient but active energy of Mother Nature, Purusha is the sentient but inactive, the consciousness that is the power of Brahman. Since both are the active and inactive parts of the same primordial energy called Mother Nature, they cannot function in separation and are manifested in their prime forms only when they are in unison.

Dr. Gupta elaborates- Purusha as the “self-luminous entity” (Purusha, 12), which trades the proportionate SHEENY, guider, and divine entropy-effects for becoming a “Devoted Para Manifestor”. Its non-active and only witnesses the events of the universe.

Prakriti dharma, 27- Dr. Gupta explains is, The entity dimension is composed of the “trading effect” (Damodara, 26), that forces an entity to dimensionalize its intrinsic energy and service it for augmenting and multiplying the trading-effect, which is in n tune with the Active Prakriti that it is.

Now when we say that the Purusha and Prakriti cannot thrive independently, we believe that they sustain as the two dimensions in a single entity. This single entity is Mother Nature and the Purusha and Prakriti are its natural dimensions. Together the Purush and Prakriti form the Cosmic energy of the universe.

Dr. Gupta further explains that the “Devoted Para Manifestor, gradually transforms into the “primordial super manifestor” (Surasa, 38), sexually trading the paternal’s planning energy. …… Eventually, he transforms into the “primordial super perpetrator” (Ardhnareshwar, 39), whose primordial half is the feminine maternal energy, and the primeval half is the masculine child energy”

And this is ARDHANARESHWAR: “primordial super perpetrator of the natural primordial SHEENY value”.

As Ardhnareshwar, Shiva destroys the old and in destruction, there is renewal.

It cleanses and constructs a new universe. In this new construction, he is the Father of Brahma. And the cycle of time, the process of recreation begins all over again. Dr. Gupta says- “The technological oneness paradigm transforms all the groups into a unified “dark matter” (Sadashiva, 1600). It manifests the end of the present paradigm, before the beginning of a new paradigm”. The Technological oneness Dr. Gupta here speaks about here implies the oneness of Purush and Prakriti, which diffuse into the wholesome whole energy of Sadashiva at the end of every Epoch when a new “growth era of the luminous” (Pralaya, 180) begins, and the Lord assumes the shape of Ardhanarishvara, to begin the process of procreation. Everything in this Universe originates from Ardhanarishvara and goes back into Ardhanarishvara after the completion of its lifetime.

The phrase from the Vedas- “Ekoham Bahusyami”, which means, “That which I only am, shall manifest as many.” This was the desire of the Power to emanate forth in the form of Shakti, creating a multitude, and also to emanate as Shiva, to witness that multitude in action.

Thus, The Concept Ardhanarishvara, in its simplest form, explains how mother nature procreates, diffuses everything in the dark matter after the end of an Epoch and then manifests life again by releasing the powers of Purusha and Prakriti in unison once again, to start the reproductive cycle of the universe till the time of next Pralaya.

So next time you see the Image of Ardhnareshwar, before folding hands in reverence of the Lord, take some time out and appreciate the Purusha and Prakriti that lies within you, making you an Ardhnareshwar of your own kind, fully equipped with the energy of Mother Nature. This awakening will definitely make you more of a seeker than a believer and this journey will find its meaning in Project VIPIN, which will guide you step by step in your journey of spiritual awakening.

-Ranjula Jain

July 28, 2021