ARDHANARISHWARA - THE GOD WHO IS HALF WOMAN

KALKINATH
Ardhanarishwara - often referred to as a hermaphrodite or androgynous deity, is one of the
principal forms of Shiva. In this essay, I will examine the mythographic dimensions of this
deity, and in doing so, discuss the related issue of magical androgyny, particularly within the
context of Indian magic & myth. I will also attempt to make some suggestions for appropriate
forms of sadhana for magical work with Ardhanarishwara.

Ardhanarishwara is described by Daniélou and others as an primordial androgynous deity. The

sacred androgyne, both as a deity, and as the human being who crosses or otherwise blurs the
gender-divide are related. Daniélou for instance, notes that homosexuals, hermaphrodites and
transvestites can be considered sacred beings - "images" of Ardhanarishwara.

One: Cosmic Creation

The Mahabharata tells us that Brahma failed in his early attempts to create mortals who would
both create offspring carnally, and later, die. His mind-born sons were ascetic sages. And,
according to the Shiva Purana, Brahma lacked the power to create women. When Rudra sprang
forth from his brow, Brahma chose him to create mortals. There are a variety of myths relating
to Rudras' responses to the request of Brahma.

In one version of this myth-cycle, Brahma created the goddess Gauri to be the wife of Rudra.
Rudra was initially pleased by this, but when Brahma asked him to beget progeny, he
submerged himself in the waters and performed austerities for thousands of years. When at
last, Rudra emerged, he castrated himself, and set his linga ('sign') free. It became a fiery pillar -
a sign of cosmic potential. Rudra's actions can be understood as a metaphor for the creation of
the manifest Universe. He first withdraws into himself, indicating the formless nature of the
Great God, in samadhi. By his action of self-castration, he reveals the sign - the nature - of the
Manifest Universe, in relation to that which is Unmanifested.

Following these two stages in the cosmic creative process, it is said that Rudra became the
mind-born son of Brahma, issuing forth from Brahma's head in the form of Ardhanarishwara -
"the Lord whose half is woman" - the right half male, the left half, female. On seeing the
Supreme Lord (Shiva), Brahma practised austerities. (It is also said that Ardhanarishwara was
terrible to behold, and that Brahma could not look upon him, or was burned by the fire of his
radiance.)

This form, for Brahma, held the potential for becoming a couple that could unite sexually.
Pleased by Brahma's austerities, the Great God divided himself. The Great Goddess, Sati ('the
Real') became manifest, (i.e. the 'image' of the Great Goddess) for the sake of the world. All
shaktis sprang forth from the Great Goddess. Thus Ardhanarishwara manifested the 'signs' of
both sexes as the prime cause of creation in the world. Also, in taking the form of
Ardhanarishwara, Shiva revealed himself, for the first time, in wholly anthropomorphic
features.
Taking the process of creation further, both manifest god and goddess continued to divide
themselves. From Shiva came the eleven Rudras - the eleven 'vital breaths' who carried the fiery
essence of Rudra into all forms of life. It is said that Shiva requested that the Great Goddess
divide herself into two aspects - black and white - from which sprang the infinite Shaktis, or
female powers.

One should note however, that no progeny issued from the union of Shiva and Sati - neither
mortals nor immortals. It is said that, having discharged Ardhanarishwara from his brow,
Brahma performed a similar operation on himself, dividing himself into a progenitive couple,
Manu and Satarupa, whose issue represented the various conditions, qualities and activities of
the total human condition.

Ardhanarishwara exists without desire. He is a complete form - a single unity. It was by

Brahma's command (i.e. Brahma's desire to create beings capable of sexual procreation) that
Ardhanarishwara divided to become God and Goddess.

Shiva divided himself and let his Shakti (his power) be apprehended separately by both himself
and Brahma. The body of fire, of which erotic pleasure is the sparks, was divided. The Great
Goddess sent her glowing ardour, in the form of a woman, into the world of the gods. Thus
from Ardhanarishwara's self-division came the essential idea of woman, sex, and sensuality.
Thus duality came into the world.

Following the act of differentiation, the Supreme Goddess re-entered Ardhanarishwara, once
more becoming a timeless, ceaseless image, an image which contains in one body the possibility
for sexual awareness of both sexes.

"The great god, Maheshvara, never delights with a wife distinct from his own self … The joy
within him is called the Goddess." -- Kurma Purana, quoted in Stella Kramrisch, 1981

The Desire to Create

In the Artharva Veda, Lust or Kama is given as the supreme divinity - the impeller of creation.
"Lust was born first. Neither gods nor Ancestors nor men can equal him." In the creation hymn of the
Rg Veda, Kama (desire) is the first seed of mind, from which came the entire Creation. It is the
arrows of Kama which, in the primordial beginning, inspire Brahma with the passion and lust
for creation. Thus Kama is the primal urge of life to become embodied in form. It is the effect of
Kama upon Brahma which leads to the manifestation and the division of Ardhanarishwara.

Iconography of the image

Images of Ardhanarishwara are notable as they are examples of a vertical (rather than the more
common horizontal) fusion of male & female characteristics. However, this fusion is not entirely
balanced. Some images of Ardhanarishwara possess half a lingam, but the primary emblem of
femininity is always the breast, rather than the vagina.
Gender-bending as sadhana
The Mythological Dimension

The Mahabharata

Arjuna, one of the epic heroes of the Mahabharata, is claimed by contemporary Hijras as one of
their mythic forebears. Arjuna, the fiercest of the Pandava warriors, spends a year dressed as a
member of the 'third sex' living in a harem, teaching women the arts of song and dance.

"Yudhishthira said: 'And what office will be performed by that mighty descendant of the
Kurus?'

Arjuna replied: 'O Lord of the Earth, I will declare myself as one of the neuter sex. O monarch, it
is indeed, difficult to hide the marks of the bow-string on my arms. I will, however, cover both
my cicatrized arms with bangles. Wearing brilliant rings on my ears and conch-bangles on my
wrists and causing a braid to hang down from my head, I will, O king, appear as one of the
third sex. Vrihannala by name."

A further tale from the Mahabharata is that of King Bangasvana, who was changed into a
woman by the god Indra, whom he had offended. According to the Mahabharata, the king
implored Indra to remain as a woman, having found the affection and pleasure that women
experience, preferable to the state of manhood.

The Ramayana

It is recounted, in various versions of the Ramayana that a King named Ila, whilst out hunting
in a forest, entered an area that was sacred to Shiva. In order to please Parvati, Shiva assumed
the shape of a woman and correspondingly, all male creatures in the forest became female,
including the king and his retinue. Ila was filled with fear when he realised that his change had
been brought about by Shiva.

The king then entered the grove where Shiva and Parvati were at play. Shiva allowed Ila to ask
for any boon except that of manhood. The king however, addressed himself to Paravati. The
Devi gave Ila the boon that he would live half his life as a woman, and half as a man. King Ila
suggested to the Devi that he might live as a beautiful woman for one month, and as a man for
the next month. The Goddess agreed, but decreed that, whilst male, he would not remember his
female form, and whilst female, he would not remember his male form.

It is further told that, whilst wandering as a woman, Ila encountered Budha (the planet
Mercury), who sought her as his wife. Budha made love to Ila, and she bore him a son, after
which Budha petitioned Shiva (with a horse sacrifice) to restore Ila to manhood permanently.
Shiva and Vishnu

Alain Daniélou, in "Gods of Love and Ecstasy" recounts the myth of Shiva's union with Vishnu,
whilst the latter had taken the form of Mohini, the Enchantress. Vishnu, as Mohini, was resting
by the ocean of milk when 'she' was approached by Shiva, who expressed the desire to unite
with Vishnu.

Vishnu, it is said, demurred, saying that union between two persons of the same sex was
'unfruitful'. It seems that Vishnu-Mohini finally submitted to Shiva, as, depending on the
version, the 'sap' that they spilled became the river Ganges, a son named Arikaraputtiran, or
that the Seven Sages took the fallen seed and poured it into Anjani, the daughter of Gautama,
who subsequently gave birth to the monkey-god, Hanuman. In other versions of this myth, it is
this coupling which leads to the birth of Skanda.

Gender-bending saints

In Kali's Child: The Mystical and the Erotic in the Life and Teachings of Ramakrishna, author Jeffrey J.
Kripal discusses Ramakrishna's injunction that, in order to approach a God, the male devotee
should take on a female identity. Ramakrishna paired his male disciples up into 'masculine' and
'feminine' couples.

According to his teachings, these 'spiritual' genders result in different types of religious
experience, the object of the gender-assignation being to awaken desire and devotional love.
According to Ramakrishna's teachings, everyone in the world is 'female' in relation to the
divine. According to the biographer Datta, Ramakrishna was taught by one of his tantric friends
that "if one is to know the Man, one must take the state of the Woman - as a Female friend, as a
handmaiden, or as a mother."

Ramakrishna spent long periods in a 'handmaid state' - one such period being whilst living in
the household of his temple boss, Mathur, and fanning the image of the Goddess with the
women of the household. Ramakrishna's biographer Datta records that Mathur would buy
Ramakrishna women's clothes, shawls and jewelry for him, and dress Ramakrishna with his
own hands.

The saint is reputed to have experienced a vision of Radha immediately after Mathur gave
Ramakrishna some feminine garments to wear. Another biographer, Saradananda says that
Ramakrishna's cross-dressing, and Mathur's gifts caused some people to make "scandalous"
interpretations of Ramakrishna's "renunciation." Datta also recounts that Mathur often took
Ramakrishna from the temple to his home.
On one such occasion, Ramakrishna felt that he had become Sita and that the demon Ravana
(i.e. Mathur) was kidnapping him, whereupon he entered samadhi. Kripal notes that the
abduction of Sita, the faithful wife of Rama, as told in the Ramayana, implies a sexual
abduction. Kripal says that, by assuming this mythological paradigm, Ramakrishna was able to
deal with a traumatic event, and also preserve his own 'purity'.

The implication here of course, is that there was some degree of homosexual relationship
between Ramakrishna and Mathur. Sarananda claims that Ramakrishna's cross-dressing was a
conscious Sadhana which enabled the Master to discover nonduality that lies beyond
conditioned gender.

Ramakrishna often imitated the mannerisms of women, in order to "conquer lust." The logic, as
Kripal explains it, is that since sexual desire can only exist between man and woman, then if a
man can 'become' a woman, his 'desire' for women will disappear.

However, Kripal reveals the secret of Ramakrishna in that: "As a woman, Ramakrishna was
ascetic to women and erotic to men" (p234). Kripal goes on to say that 'becoming a woman' for
Ramakrishna, inflamed his desire for men, and male deities. Whilst 'being' a woman,
Ramakrishna sang to his boy disciples, nursed them at his breasts, and fondled them in his lap.
Particular disciples were said to be 'masculine' in relation to the Saint's 'feminine' nature.

According to Ramakrishna, the effeminate actors of Bengal, skilled in mimicking the

mannerisms of women, should be considered role models for the male devotee. It is Kripal's
contention that the Saint's bouts of samadhi should be interpreted contextually - on the one
hand, Ramakrishna entered mystical states as an escape from the threatening sexual presence of
women, whilst on the other hand, he experiences bliss whilst looking at the cocked hips of a
beautiful English boy.

The homoerotic dimension of Ramakrishna's life has hitherto remained hidden, whilst his
tendency to enter samadhi at the sight of a woman has been interpreted as evidence of his
saintliness. Whilst it may be true that Ramakrishna worshipped the Divine Feminine Principle -
as a desexualised mother, able to grant Jnana (Gnosis), he feared and reviled earthly women
who entangled men in the entrapments of maya - becoming a householder, having children, etc.
Kripal says that Ramakrishna was "absolutely terrified of the polluting substances of the female body
and the contact with them that sexual intercourse inevitably brings."

The Hijra

There are an estimated 50,000 Hijra in contemporary India. Hijra are defined as males who lack
male sex-organs, from birth or, as is more common, through castration at an early age. It is
thought that the Hijra cult may go back over three thousand years and before the arrival of the
British, they had begging rights and land grants from both Hindu and Muslim rulers. They
identify as being neither male nor female, but of a 'third nature' (Sanskrit: trhytiyam
prakrhytim).
Hijra are often regarded with a mixture of disgust, fear, and awe. It is believed that they have
the power to foretell the future, bring rain, or utter fearful curses. In modern India, they often
appear at wedding ceremonies, offering a blessing which bestows fertility on newlyweds. Many
contemporary hijra resort to prostitution, and they are also infamous for their lewd public
behaviour.

Sociological studies of hijra prostitution indicate that some Indian men 'prefer' sex with hijra as
they will consent to sexual practices which women are reluctant to engage in. Interviews with
hijras conducted by Serena Nanda (1990) indicate that those who chose to become hijra did so
due to their homosexuality: "We dress like girls because of the sexual desire for men." For some
hijra, the element of choice does not exist, as young boys are castrated and sold to pimps - a
practice which seems to have increased in recent years, according to an article in 'India Today'.

Jeffrey Kripal, in his deconstruction of Ramakrishna's biographies, concludes that it is likely that
Ramakrishna had an encounter with two hijra whilst visiting Kartabhaja - a tantric community
headed by one Vaishnavacharan, who taught that one can worship God in a living man. It
seems that this community was made up of homoerotically-inclined males, hijra, and women.
Ramakrishna himself records that Vaishnavacharan liked to look at pictures of men, for they
aroused in him feelings of tenderness and love. Ramakrishna, it seems, used a similar
technique. Interestingly enough, in view of the 'third state' of the hijra, Kripal recounts that,
when asked by a disciple whether he was a man or a woman, the saint replied with a smile, "I
don't know."

Three: The Androgyne

Androgyne - Greek - Andre=man, guné=woman

Ardhanarishvara is acceptable as a stone image, but would look extremely strange as a living
being. Ziggy Stardust is an acceptable androgyne, but are heavily-muscled female body-
builders? A man with breasts is a common mythical and, largely thanks to modern hormone
therapy, an increasingly encountered 'real' phenonemon, but is a morphological woman with a
cock a comfortable image? Or a male with a vagina, for that matter?

It seems that the image of the androgyne, when it appears, must be acceptable to men and
women, but within the confines of a male definition of what is appropriately feminine.

My core disagreement with the whole modern concept of androgyny (at least in the post-
Jungian sense) is that 'masculine' and 'feminine' attributes are culturally imposed (in my view
anyway). Men can be 'intuitive' and women can be 'logical' without necessarily becoming
androgynous. Equally, I've met drag queens who like to fuck and leathermen who's legs fly up
like they were on balloons. I also feel that it's too simplistic to transpose androgynous figures
from myth directly into 'real' life.
As O'Flaherty says, in Indian mythology, there is no difficulty about 'men becoming women',
but the Indian psyche has severe problems with women who are too 'masculine'. I've felt for a
long time that the Androgyny thing doesn't really speak to women, as it were. I've met several
'Drag Kings' over the years - there was a much-celebrated incident when a whole group of them
'invaded' the 'Mineshaft' - a leather bar in Manchester, and had lots of fun with their whips and
dildoes - causing much horror and shock when they revealed this to the men afterwards.

I feel that they wouldn't immediately be recognised as androgynous, though. It seems to me

that there is a vast difference between assuming a mythical posture of 'androgyny' and the
playful transgression and blurring of sex-roles which happens in the modern sexual sub-
cultures.

It's also, I feel, an over-simplification to look at some tribal or ancient culture, find a role which
seems to fit the androgyny theory, and then apply it globally to contemporary experience. The
Lakota Winkte and the cross-dressing Siberian Shaman are worlds apart from the 'cock in a
frock' at the Porchester or Torture Garden.

When men 'become' women, I often feel that they are acting out their own projections of how
they think women behave - at least this has been my observation with most of the male-female
transsexuals I have met.

A comment that has stuck in my mind over the years was from a man who said he preferred
transsexuals because they were more 'feminine' than modern (i.e. 'liberated') women.

Ramakrishna's feints at becoming 'feminine' were, after all, a means for him to heighten his
erotic attraction to other men - the only means open to him in a culture which kept
homosexuality under the carpet. If androgyny is indeed a metaphor for the integration of male
& female attributes, then we cannot really say that Ramakrishna was an androgynous
individual in this sense.

The Dissolution of Categories

As the creation myth indicates, Ardhanishvara does not engage in procreation of mortals. The
Great Goddess temporarily emerges from Ardhanishvara, in order to fill the universe full of
Shakti. Ardhanishvara is an expression of the nondual - of the bliss of samadhi wherein there is
no difference made between one thing or another. All that exists flows from, and at the same
time is, the union of Shiva-Shakti as represented by the image of Ardhanishvara - the
primordial union which is beyond the categories of form and gender.

Ardhanishvara is both sensuous, yet also a passive figure - hinting at resolution, harmony and
balance.
The dissolution of categories through sadhana is a central and enduring theme in Tantric magic.
This dissolution is both transcendent and immanent. The goal of the Tantric sadhu is not so
much to transcend the world of form, but to immerse himself in it, all the better to enjoy the
love-play of the Goddess. In the image of All that exists flows from, and at the same time is, the
union of Shiva-Shakti as represented by the image of Ardhanishvara, the twin poles of Tantric
sadhana, renunciation and erotic bliss, are united.

The route to superconsciousness - "the realisation that everything is alive and significant" (as
William S. Burroughs put it), or, in the words of Ramakrishna, "She Herself has become
Everything", requires both asceticism and erotic union. Shiva is both the Mahayogi and the
lover of the Goddess, spending thousands of years in ascetic withdrawal, or in blissful union
with the Goddess.

Tantric texts often take the form of dialogues between the Goddess and the God during, or
immediately following, their erotic play. It is often argued that it is through the practice of
austerities that the tantric adept supercharges acts of (ritualised) sex.

Steps towards Sadhana

In seeking a distinct mode of sadhana for magical work with Ardhanishvara, I have drawn the
following conclusions.

My dissatisfaction with the theme of androgyny, as proposed in the work of Singer, Colgrave, et
al, is that the categories of masculinity and femininity themselves are socially created and
determined. The tantric uses antinomian practices to go beyond that which society deems
proper and acceptable.

Hence one might usefully explore and experiment with blurring the categorisation of
'masculine' and 'feminine' behaviour, moods, and expressions, through cross-dressing, bhakti to
a goddess or god, uncovering or creating selves of the 'opposite' or 'third' gender - these (and
more) are all potentially useful routes to union and integration with the rejected, or 'hidden'
other.

Ardhanishvara, as I noted above, can be understood as representing harmony, resolution and

balance, in union. Also, we should note that this title can be translated as "the god who is half
woman". One may read this as Shiva having projected Shakti, or Shakti having projected Shiva,
depending on whether one takes a shaivite or shakti perspective of the image.

This, I feel, is an important distinction to draw. There is a great deal of literature on the subject
of men 'becoming' feminine, but as far as I know, not so much about women becoming
'masculine'. It also strikes me that there must be a significant difference between the male desire
to explore or assume a psychic 'feminine' state, (in order to relate to the divine, or other men),
and how women might approach the 'masculine' state - if indeed, they feel a need to at all.
Theorists of radical sexuality have pointed out that we tend to view ourselves as 'subjects', and
others as 'objects'. Western consciousness is based on the 'objectification' of the 'other'. Harry
Hay, one of the founders of the modern Gay Liberation Movement, proposed the idea of
"Subject-Subject Consciousness". As I understand this principle, it means relating to others as
equals - giving the same degrees of latitude - complexity and independence, that we ascribe to
ourselves.

This strikes me as a useful perspective for anyone, regardless of gender-preference, to work

towards and one which I feel, reflects the image of Ardhanishvara. This places the emphasis on
sadhana not so much in distinct magical acts in the circle or zonule, but in our everyday lives, in
our relationships with others.

As for distinct forms of 'magical' work with Ardhanishvara, I would suggest meditation on the
form of Ardhanishvara as the primordial flame which may be located variously - at the bindu
point of a Yantra, or in each of the chakras. This nondual flame, which is both inward and
outward, is the firepit into which all kleshas may be cast, as offerings to Shiva-Shakti. After all,
it is these 'obstacles' which prevent us from experiencing the bliss of union which is both
transcendent and imminent.

Sources

1. The Presence of Shiva - Stella Kramrisch

2. Gods of Love & Ecstasy - Alain Daniélou
3. Myths & Gods of India - Alain Daniélou
4. The Complete Kama Sutra - Alain Daniélou
5. Shiva - Shakti M. Gupta
6. Kali's Child - Jeffrey J. Kripal
7. Queer Spirits - Will Roscoe