Ardhanarishwar Form of Lord Shiva Explains Beautifully How Men and Women Complement Each Other
It is a wonderful coincidence that this year Mahashivratri coincided with International Women’s Day. For centuries we have been worshiping such a form of Shiva, which tells us that this ongoing debate about feminism and ‘equality’ between men and women is the ignorance of our overall understanding. Let us find out which is the form of Lord Shiva that represents this equality between men and women and what exactly it tells us.
Shiva and Shakti complement each other
Whenever we talk about ‘equality’, the meaning behind it is ‘comparison’. You can prove that you are equal to someone else only when you decide on the basis of calculations which of the two things is better. We don’t even realize when this debate moves from ‘equal’ to ‘better’. According to experts, ‘Shiva’s Ardhanarishwar form in itself is enough to end this debate and show the place of men and women in society. When it comes to equality, there is comparison, but if you understand the nature of Shiva, then Shiva and Shakti complement each other. The Ardhanarishwar form of Shiva explains this beautifully.
Ardhanareeshvara is a combination of three words “Ardha,” “Nari,” and “Ishwara” which means “half,” “woman,” and “lord,” respectively, which when combined means the lord whose half is a woman. It is believed that the God is Lord Shiva and the woman part is his consort Goddess Parvati or Shakti.
Men and women ‘complete’, each other and not ‘compete’ with each other
It is said in our philosophy that man and nature complement each other. Here Shiva is considered the man and nature is Parvati. The existence of one without the other is not possible. Shiva is stability, which is necessary for the creation of the universe, whereas nature is creative, it creates.
Take it like a plant that needs land to grow. Plants cannot grow without the stability of the earth, on the contrary, plants are born and created. If there is no plant formation i.e. the land is barren then that earth is also incomplete. That means plants and the earth complement each other. The stability of the earth is Shiva i.e. man and the creation of plants is Parvati, i.e. woman. Shiva does not give a sense of superiority, he gives a sense of completeness along with power. Shiva without Shakti is as incomplete as Shakti is without Shiva. This form of Ardhanarishwar itself makes us understand how men and women are complementary to each other, not competitors. Women and men ‘complete’ each other, not ‘compete’.
Brahma explained the creation of creation in the form of Ardhanarishwar
Explaining this further, astrologers have explained that, ‘If we understand from the point of view of philosophy, then even in Sankhya philosophy, man has been called eternal and imperishable. Man means Shiva. Whereas Prakriti, who is Parvati, has been called Guna. Both of these are necessary for the structure of creation in their respective places; hence, there is no comparison here but the quality of complementarity. When Lord Brahma created the universe, he couldn’t complete the creation every day. Replicated creatures had to be created. In such a situation, the question arose as to how to run the universe smoothly. Then Shiva talked about the creation of the universe through his Ardhanarishwar form. That is, if man and nature complement each other, then the process of creation will happen automatically and smoothly without any conflict.
We need to understand that this way Shiva never compared Parvati with himself. Rather, he always inspired Parvati to move forward, to overcome the wrongs herself. Shiva always respected his Shakti form. Rather, Shiva is the one who inspired him to become Mahakali and when his anger could not be controlled by anyone, Shiva himself came under the feet of Mahakali without any ego.
