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Blackwell Oxford, Religion RECO 1749-8171 Journal February 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00066.x 066 1 0 Original 15??? Ardhan Ellen ??? 2008 Goldberg aThe r UK Compilation Articles is Compass 2008 Publishing vara: Author What We Ltd 2008 Know Blackwell and What Publishing We Do notLtd

Ardhanarisvara: What We Know and What We Do not

Ellen Goldberg*
Queens University

Abstract

Ardhanarisvara is an expression of male brahmanical orthodox discourse; yet, this fact does not dismiss or negate the primary role that Ardhanarisvara plays as a symbol of wholeness and liberation within Indian religion. We know by looking at the image of Ardhanarisvara that although Parvati is placed on the left hand side, she constitutes no less than half of Sivas body. In other words, Ardhanarisvara is as much female as he or she is male. Consequently, even though we see the anthropomorphic body of Ardhanarisvara idealized by the patriarchal norms of sacred iconographic convention, we also recognize profound attempts at symmetry, complementarity, and wholeness. In this state-of-the-field review, we look at both of these areas to establish what we know, and what we do not know, about Ardhanarisvara.

1 Introduction Ardhanarisvara (translated as the lord who is half woman) belongs to a rich and highly stylized pantheon of Indian sacred art. There are various textual accounts of Ardhanarisvara from the silpa sastras (texts on temple architecture including Visnudharmamottara, Silparatna, and Sritattvanidhi), puranas (ancient stories including Linga, Siva, Skanda, Matsya, and Markandeya), yoga treatises, and bhakti (devotional) literature (e.g. the Ardhanarisvara stotra, see Goldberg 2002a). Until recently, most scholarly studies of Ardhanarisvara have focused primarily on the mythological and iconographical details of the image (murti) as one form (rupa) of Siva (see, for example, Rao 1914; Kramrisch 1922, 1924; Zimmer 1955; Banerjea 1956; Krishnamurthi & Ramachandran 1960, 1964; Agrawala 1966; Adiceam 1967; Bose 1974; Sivaramamurti 1984; Chandra 1985; Pal 1988; Srinivasan 1997; Yadav 2001). These studies, along with the various canons of Indian iconography, provide brief formulaic descriptions of Ardhanarisvara. In this essay, I summarize the current state-of-the field and go beyond current iconographical analysis in order to review what we know, and what we do not know, about Ardhanarisvara.
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Fig. 1. Kushana stele, mid-first century Studies, Gurgaon, India.

CE.

Courtesy of the American Institute of Indian

2 Ardhanarisvara in Indian Iconography At present, the broadly conceived typology of Ardhanarisvara iconography compiled from silpa texts on the ancient Indian arts of image-making ( pratimalaksana) and from extensive research on the various ways Ardhanarisvara has been depicted iconographically in India, Nepal, and Kashmir since the mid-first century ce, indicates that the single most important diagnostic feature is the division of a bipolar body along a central vertical axis (brahmasutra) or line of demarcation that runs from the crown of the head downwards dividing the body into right side male and left side female (see Figure 1). This vertical line of measurement is evident, though imperceptible, on all deities. In the instance of Ardhanarisvara, it carries the ancillary function of visibly demarcating the body into an androgynous form. Although there are some canonical variations, the male right side typically displays the following stock diagnostic features (see Figure 2): an elaborate jatamakuta or usnisa (crown of matted hair worn by ascetics and yogis) at times ornamented with snakes, crescent moon, thunderbolt, the goddess Ganga flowing from the top and/or jewels; smaller right eye; broader right shoulder, wider waist, virile chest, and more massive thigh; male style earrings (kundala); draped garments such as dhoti or tiger skin usually covering the body from the waist to the knees; and, belts and accessories characteristically associated with Siva including a garland (mala) made from skulls or rudraksa beads. One distinct diagnostic feature found exclusively on some North Indian images of Ardhanarisvara is the half urdhvareta (ithyphallic) feature on the right male side (see Goldberg 2002a).
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Fig. 2. Elephanta Caves, sixth century. Courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon, India.

Most iconographical accounts that we have refer to the left-female side of Ardhanarisvara as Uma, Siva, or Gauri, although most often she is identified as Parvati (or Sakti). The left side is distinguished from the right side by what I call female indicators (Goldberg 2002a,b). These include a traditional braided hairstyle ornamented with precious gems (karanda makuta or dhamilla), earrings, nose ornamentation (vesara), though this is a later custom, draped clothing to the ankles, and red henna (lac) on the foot or hand (Goldberg 2002a). The shape of the female waist is usually smaller and the hip is fuller than the right male half. However, the most important female indicator distinguishing all standing and seated images of Ardhanarisvara is a round and well-developed womans breast on the left side. As a composite figure, Ardhanarisvara displays several diagnostic features shared jointly by the male and female sides. They include ornamentation, such as necklaces (haras), rings, and belts (mekhala). Often we see a halo of light or prabhamandala illuminating the deity from behind the head, though in certain instances the shape and size of the right and left halves might vary, for example, the prabhamandala is sometimes larger on the right side. Also, a sacred thread (yajopavita) worn by the upper castes (dvijatis or twice born) can be seen on some Ardhanarisvara images from the Gupta period (ca. 320600 ce) onwards (Goldberg 2002a). Typically,
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Ardhanarisvara has one face though the shape of the eyes and the mouth does vary on the right and left sides. More important is the placement of a third eye (trinetra). Here we see several variations such as a shared full third eye in the middle of the forehead, or a half third eye on the male right side and a dot (bindu or tilaka) on the left female side (Goldberg 2002a). We know that Ardhanarisvara is typically seen standing (sthanas) in one of three different poses referred to as tribhanga, meaning three bends in the hips, shoulders, and head; samapada (balanced feet) suggesting a perfect distribution of body proportions on each side of the central axis or brahmasutra; and ardhansamapada (half balanced feet). Seated images of Ardhanarisvara are also common, as are busts. In the latter, we find that the distinguishing features of the male and female sides are earrings and, to a lesser extent, hairstyle. A significant feature of any Indian deity is the number of arms. Typically, Ardhanarisvara is depicted with two, four, or three arms. We know that two-armed images were the earliest representations (see Figure 1). In this pose, the male right half holds his hand outstretched toward the devotee in a gesture of fearlessness called abhaya mudra. The left female hand sometimes holds a mirror (darpana, see Hoeveler 1990; Goldberg 2002b). If there are four arms, probably a later development, they are usually divided at the elbows. As stated, the front right male hand is held in the gesture of fearlessness or protection, whereas the rear right hand holds either a small axe ( parasu) or a trident (trisula). However, we also see a few canonical variations, such as club (khatvanga), thunderbolt (vajra), skull (kapala), or noose ( pasa) sometimes in the form of a snake. The left female side can also be seen holding a lotus flower (nilotpala), water pot (kamandalu), a stringed musical instrument called a vina, drum (damaru), or a small parrot perched on the left wrist (Adiceam 1967; Yadav 2001; Goldberg 2002a). On four-armed images, the front left arm sometimes can be seen resting on Nandin (Sivas bull vehicle) in the posture of ease (katyavalambita mudra ) or in the flower holding gesture (kataka mudra). A primary function of the mudras in Indian iconography is that they give voice through symbol to seemingly silent images (Goldberg 2002a). To fully appreciate the extensive system of poses and gestures (mudras) used in Indian iconography, technical background in Indian classical dance is helpful. As Anne-Marie Gaston (1982) shows, the parallels and correspondences between iconographical motifs and gestures in Indian classical dance are mutually informing, since the postures of classical dance derive their origins from the iconographic styles in Indian temple art. We see from this typology that descriptions of deities in the sastra tradition represent a compilation of formulas or recipes derived from older texts that have been lost or destroyed over the centuries (Kramrisch 1924; Dagens 1987; Kalidos 1993; Srinivasan 1997; Goldberg 2002a). In other words, formulaic descriptions of Ardhanarisvara, or any deity, for that matter, are not only extrapolated from pre-existing texts, but also
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from pre-existing monuments. Thus, it seems more than likely, as Bruno Dagens (1989) and others maintain, that image precedes text. The sastra tradition basically provides little more than a guide for the silpin or image maker (Dagens 1989). Silpa texts list only the compulsory or stock diagnostic identifiers required for constructing, maintaining, and identifying a particular god or goddess. As such, the silpin tradition becomes an integral link in transmitting what R. N. Misra (1989) calls the concretized or canonical form (murti, rupa) of the unmanifest (nirguna) deity but, we also see that prescriptive accounts as maintained in the sastra tradition function primarily to preserve an orthodox tradition of brahmanical theology and philosophy (see Dahmen-Dallapiccola 1989; Srinivasan 1997; Goldberg 2002a). Building on this central idea, T. S. Maxwell (1989) raises several important issues in his research regarding the overall function of iconography in India. He states that most icons are used primarily as objects of worship, and although the style of practice might vary to some extent throughout the Indian subcontinent, the use of images is pan-Indian. The image or murti [understood here as pertaining to the manifest or saguna (with qualities) aspect of the deity] becomes defined by these codified and prescriptive canonical accounts. John Mostellers (1988) research, like Maxwells, shows that the sastras maintain a system of correct proportion and measurement, and strict adherence to rules of form is central to maintaining the orthodox tradition of sacred images. Consequently, following precise protocols and mnemonic techniques necessary for artistic reconstruction, including memorization of forms, stock diagnostic indicators, repetitive drawing exercises or lines and points, not only ensures continuity across time and place, but also the programmatic transmission of orthodox meaning. Hence, Maxwells point is well taken that the silpin tradition basically operates as a storehouse of legitimated cultural and textual norms under the power and supervision of its priestly-male guardians (Maxwell 1989, p. 15; Goldberg 2002a, p. 19). Therefore, Maxwell demonstrates, and rightly so, that studying any deity on the basis of textual and iconographic descriptions alone will provide only a partial understanding. Iconographic formulas and terse descriptive language used in iconographic treatises, as we see in the specific example of Ardhanarisvara above, represents only part of the making of an image. One also sees in the sastric tradition on Indian arts in general, and from accounts of Ardhanarisvara in particular, the legitimation, preservation, and perpetuation of brahmanical orthodoxy (Maxwell 1989; Goldberg 2002a). While it is true that the correlation between iconography and Indian culture is philosophical and theological, we also see that it is social, economic, political, and legal. The aphoristic style of the silpin tradition certainly enabled memorization and easy transmission from one generation to the next, but as Maxwells research proves, images are informed by more than just the canons of Indian iconography. The orthodox ideal that an image such as Ardhanarisvara represents within the tradition is communicated and reinforced repeatedly through multiple avenues of
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culture including law codes, family values, social convention, gender roles, and spiritual practice, such as yoga and tantra, to name just a few. Consequently, attempts to understand Indian iconography from the perspective of the sastra tradition alone, as Maxwell warns, is ultimately doomed to failure (Maxwell 1989, p. 10). However, it is clear that Ardhanarisvara is neither human nor mortal. As Maxwell shows, iconic forms, such as Ardhanarisvara, are employed primarily in a religious or sacred context and, for this reason, it is important not to completely collapse them into mundane or secular terms (Goldberg 2002a). Nevertheless, given the pioneer research of Maxwell, Srinivasan, Kalidos, Dagens and others, we also know that it would be nave not to question the message(s) being conveyed by a tradition that has used sacred images, including composite and androgynous deities, to legitimate, regulate, and preserve orthodox (i.e. patriarchal) brahmanical values over time and place. 3 Mythology What we do know is that Ardhanarisvara is integral to a sacred tradition of syncretic or composite images in Indian culture as far back as the early Vedic period. Wendy Donigers provocative analysis, entitled Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts (1980), established new ground by offering the first comparative taxonomy of the androgyne motif in Hindu mythology based on extensive accounts from the vast corpus of Hindu puranas (ancient stories). In this study, Doniger tracks the development of the androgyne motif in Indian mythology, rather than Indian iconography, as far back as the early Rg Veda with examples such as Dyava-Prthivi (Sky-Earth), Visvarupa, the Asura bull-cow, and Indra the alternating androgyne. Doris Meth Srinivasan (1997, p. 57) claims, not unlike Doniger, that the androgyne motif found in Vedic literature prepares the way for what she calls an overall understanding of the advent of the Saiva Ardhanarisvara concept and form. Doniger cleverly develops extensive comparative categories of androgynes, such as good and bad androgynes, vertical and horizontal androgynes, and two-in-one androgynes, to name just a few examples, as a way to distinguish, classify, and categorize cross-cultural tales of androgyny in Indian and Greek narrative. Using Donigers own typology, Ardhanarisvara is classified as a vertical, two-in-one, and/or fused androgyne, identified as positive and good within Indian tradition. Another name for the two-in-one androgyne is hieros gamos referring to the sacred marriage between two deities. Perceived in this way, Ardhanarisvara has a positive or good effect on normative male and female social behavior, that is to say, Ardhanarisvara participates in legitmating, regulating, and preserving orthodox (patriarchal) brahmanical values over time and place (Doniger 1980; Maxwell 1989; Goldberg 2002a).
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Throughout the extensive corpus of Hindu puranas, we find numerous examples of Ardhanarisvara involved in creation. In various accounts (see, for example, Linga Purana 1.70.325, 1.41.79, 1.5.2; Visnu Purana 1.7.1213; Kurma Purana 1.11.23; and Siva Purana 2.1.15.5556 ), the female principle emerges from the two-in-one androgyne to generate the universe. For the sake of creation and the generation of the womankind, the androgyne splits by distinguishing his female nature. Hence, by assuming the role of primordial parent, Ardhanarisvara plays a key cosmogenic function in Hindu mythology. 4 Gender Whether this two-in-one androgynous image of Ardhanarisvara conveys an egalitarian model or whether the diagnostic indicators used to identify Ardhanarisvara reflect a repository of ambivalent and referential gender constructions that typically privilege the male half, is also a crucial, timely, and (potentially) controversial question that is explored in my feminist analysis of Ardhanarisvara titled The Lord Who Is Half Woman (Goldberg 2002a). As we have shown, scholars, such as Maxwell, Dagens, Misra, and others, argue that normative values, that is to say, patriarchal brahmanical values, are concretized and encoded in Indian sacred art including the typology of Ardhanarisvara images from the sastra tradition. More specifically, the consistent placement of right-male and left-female that we see as the essential defining diagnostic feature on all Ardhanarisvara images confers lower status to the left-female side. Raju Kalidos (1993) and P. Kandasamy (1994) advanced this controversial understanding in their respective pioneer studies of Ardhanari images from South India. Kalidos argues, for example, that the left-hand position is associated with something low, not worthy of being accorded a commendable status of equality, weakness, baseness and degradation (Kalidos 1993, p. 287). Kandasamy claims that Indian tradition is well aware of the subordinate status associated with the left side, and that by assigning it to Parvati in the Ardhanarisvara model a deliberate attempt is made to denigrate the female half (Kandasamy 1994, p. 494). According to R. J. Z. Werblowsky (1982, pp. 123 4), this designation is completely normative since everyone knows that practically all cultures . . . are male cultures, and symbols of the feminine . . . are male symbols, that is, they are concerned with male attitudes, fears, complexes, and interests. We also see asymmetry or privileging demonstrated in the Chola image of Ardhanarisvara from South Arcot District, Siva Vallabesvara Temple (see Figure 3). What this image of Ardhanarisvara shows so clearly is that discernible diagnostic indicators can depict asymmetry as well as symmetry between the right and left, male and female, halves of the deity creating ambivalence in meaning and gender status. For the most part, this particular image of Ardhanarisvara displays all of the stock iconographical
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FPO
Fig. 3. Chola Period, Tiruvankadu. Courtesy of the French Institute of Pondicherry.

representations including the central vertical axis line of gender demarcation (brahmasutra), full third eye (trinetra) located directly in the middle of the forehead indicating shared divine status, full female breast on the left, different style earrings on the left and right, tribanga pose, more massive right shoulder, joint headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, and so on clearly reflecting the vertical demarcation into male and female typical of all standing Ardhanarisvara images. A sacred thread (yajopavita) lies across the left and right sides indicating equal twice born status. As well, the left and right sides have their respective identifying hairstyles and ornamentation. However, the explicit three-armed diagnostic feature privileges and polarizes the male right half by its absence of symmetry on the female side. This absence of symmetry signals the ambivalence of Parvatis status as both woman (nari ) and goddess (devi ). Sivas status is never in doubt he is always the lord (isvara) who is half woman (ardha-nari ). One could argue that this apparent absence of symmetry places the power of the deity on the right-male side, particularly in an iconographical tradition where the number of arms is understood as a sign of divinity. Srinivasans research probes what she calls the multiplicity convention, that is, the religious significance of divine images in India that exhibit multiple organs, limbs, heads, and arms. For Srinivasan, multiplicity is the most pervasive iconographic feature in Indian art (1997, p. 3). As such, the lack of symmetry evident in the Chola image only reinforces the separate claims offered by both Kalidos and Kamasamy that the left-hand female side is accorded a lower status. This is a concretized example that
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there is a deliberate attempt on the part of the brahmanical tradition to denigrate or subdue the left-hand placement, which, in this case, is female identified. For this reason, a feminist analysis of Ardhanarisvara is appropriate. In my comparative study of The Lord Who Is Half Woman (Goldberg 2002a), I offer two perspectives on androgyny, that is, I look at the image of Ardhanarisvara within the context of sacred Indian images, while also tracking the debate on androgyny in Western feminist theory as an alternative model for gender stereotypes. Western models of androgyny deriving from Greek classical thought, Hebrew creation myths, medieval alchemical traditions, Jungian archetypes, and fictional literary sources, to name just a few, offer profound cross-cultural similarities as well as differences. First wave Western feminists argued that androgyny (as it was seen in the West) offered a model of psychological and philosophical wholeness, but, second wave feminism challenged this claim asserting that androgyny is unshakably embedded in patriarchal meta-narratives that displace the female in subtle ways (see, Heilbrun 1973; Rich 1976; Singer 1976; Daly 1978; as well as critiques by Daly 1985; Irigaray 1985; Hoeveler 1990; Weil 1992). In other words, models of androgyny intended as an alternative to hierarchical and heterosexist logic were exposed as essentialist and androcentric. Although I examine this debate in Western feminism, I also argue that Ardhanarisvara is more complex because of its multivalent message and the praxis-oriented traditions of non-duality that speak directly to a living religious tradition. This complex dialogue provides a useful way to view two disparate cross-cultural theories/traditions of androgyny, with Ardhanarisvara placed at the center of the discourse. What is remarkable is that we also find several reverse images of Ardhanari (half woman) in South India. In his research, Kalidos draws our attention to several rare images from the early ninth century ce, Chola period. In these examples, the well-developed female breast appears only on the right side (see Figure 5). Kalidos maintains that this variation is a clear deviation from the brahmanical or orthodox norm. More importantly, it shows that there are alternative expressions that reflect the perceived power of the female divine within Indian tradition. Kalidos argues that due to the process of Sanskritization, goddess (devi) images were assimilated over time with Siva in the form and figure of Ardhanarisvara. This process of syncretization served as an effective method of acculturation and social fusion, whereby the brahmanical elite absorbed crucial aspects of matrifocal society (see Kalidos 1993; also see Kosambi 1981). Kalidos also claims that the association of left-right in Indian tradition is reversed in these rare images, so that the power and privilege once accorded to Devi or the female divine is now offered to Siva. What this tells us is that both versions of the image are products of human culture and, as such, gender norms can be reinterpreted and reclaimed on these terms.
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Fig. 4. Contemporary Poster Art, Mumbai, India. (Apparently this does not require copy rights, according to SUNY).

5 Yoga We also see numerous examples of four-armed images of Ardhanarisvara. For example, images of Ardhanarisvara from tenth-century Nepal and eleventh-century Rajasthan currently housed in the Los Angeles County Museum, as well as samples of contemporary Indian poster art (see Figure 4), demonstrate that Ardhanarisvara, as one of the most celebrated syncretic motifs in Indian iconography, also tends toward an expression of unity (yoga), totality, and non-duality (advaita). Indeed, we know that as a potent symbol or blueprint for mapping the subtle transformation of human consciousness within Indian traditions of yoga, Ardhanarisvara represents a symbolic form that encodes male and female gender norms into a standard anthropomorphic model for the sake of yoga realization or non-duality
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Fig. 5. Ardhanari Vedopusisvara Temple, Thanjavur District, Tiruvedikudi, Madras, nineth century. Courtesy of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon, India.

(for a more extensive discussion, see Goldberg 2002a). However, as we have seen, these complex and multifaceted issues must be interpreted, including any gender assumptions, possible sectarianism, and the potential asymmetry of power, authority, and privilege that is deeply embedded in this imagery. In the Indian Saiva traditions of yoga, Siva-Sakti (another name for Ardhanarisvara) presents a symbol encoding subtle (evolutionary) processes experienced by the adept in the higher stages of yoga practice (sadhana). As such, Ardhanarisvara represents a profound metaphysical guide for yogis and yoginis, illuminating in symbolic terms the dynamics of spiritual
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practice, and offering a powerful metaphor based on a complex homologous universe that points the way to totality and transcendental liberation (moksa, mukti ). Understood in this way, yoga refers both to a spiritual path and to the attainment of wholeness that is represented in symbolic terms in Indian iconography by the androgynous image of Ardhanarisvara (Goldberg 2002a). The (so-called) pairs of opposites, such as activepassive, hotcold, lightdark, sunmoon, daynight, rightleft, malefemale, idapingala, ignorance and the cessation of ignorance are concretized, to use Misras term, via the stock diagnostic indicators associated with Ardhanarisvara, but, once again, this raises the question as to whether the ideal of non-duality and complementarity that is potentially experienced by the liberated yogi or yogini is fully realized in Indian iconography by an androgynous form that at times places power (arms) and privilege (right side) on the male side? Rather, one question we need to raise is what, if any, alternative motifs are available to capture in codified language the subtle states of wholeness that the tradition claims arise in the higher stages of yoga or is this state of consciousness. 6 What We Do Not Know Here, I offer only preliminary observations, speculating on three areas that might be useful to future studies of Ardhanarisvara. What has become clear from my own research and this brief review is that more sustained studies of Ardhanarisvara are necessary, in particular studies that focus on the possible influence of Ardhanarisvara as a nuptial ideal in specific areas, such as family law and economics. For example, the community continuously re-enacts the Ardhanarisvara myth insofar as married Hindu couples often embody the Ardhanarisvara ideal as a living social unit (see Wadley & Jacobson 1992). However, as the nineteenth-century Hindu reformer Rammohun Roy points out, the Ardhanarisvara nuptial ideal historically privileges the male half. He writes: although a woman is recognized as being half of her husband, she is in fact treated as worse than inferior animals, and is made to do the work of a slave in the house (Roy cited in Karlekar 1993, pp. 467). Consequently, critical studies analyzing the social, legal, and economic implications (past and present) of an androgynous nuptial ideal that models itself on the mythic model of the hieros gamos of Siva and Parvati is needed. If the androgynous model, as many feminists argue, traditionally denies independence to the female half and posits woman as the property of her male family, then the female is potentially constrained in a divinely sanctioned paradigm of economic disparagement rather than economic well-being. Amartya Sen (1992) explains that there are systemic gender arrangements specific to South Asia that indeed disparages the female in parallel social and economic arrangements. At present, we do not know the broader implications that this patriarchal model has on the economic well-being of Hindu women.
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Another area for further study is the reverse Ardhanari image. Kalidos insightful discussion of several rare right-side female Ardhanari images, as mentioned above, speaks directly to the critical issue of the cultural construction and historicity of sacred symbols. These symbols are powerful religious images for men and women. Therefore, a more sustained analysis of the shifting cultural message(s) implied by alternative expressions of male and female power needs to be investigated, including legitimating the symbolic avenues associated with female agency within the context of Indian society. Scant research beyond Kalidos preliminary study identifying these images of Ardhanari exists. Consequently, further research into accompanying myths, etc., related to reverse androgynous images could possibly prove beyond a doubt, as Kalidos speculates, that the Ardhanarisvara motif actually has its base in Devi images of South India. Presently, the earliest image we have is first century ce, and it is right side male (see Figure 1). A third possible area is to analyze Ardhanarisvara from the perspective of cognitive science and/or cognitive theories of religion. Although well beyond the scope of this particular essay, here I am suggesting that an application of various approaches within cognitive science, such as neuroscience, could provide a useful methodological model for studying Ardhanarisvara. As I mentioned earlier, Ardhanarisvara offers an extensive map or blueprint of sabiia samadhi in Indian yoga traditions. As such, a sustained investigation of the formulaic representations conceptualized by the androgynous image of Ardhanarisvara and an explanation as to their underlying biological structures could be most beneficial. More specifically, Ardhanarisvara offers not only a conceptual template to explain the human of enlightenment, but adept yogis and yogini are understood as living embodiments of Ardhanarisvara. As such, technologies in cognitive science can be useful for understanding the deeper neurological processes going on in the higher stages of meditation or states of consciousness experienced by adepts. A cognitive analysis could yield empirical data that correspond to the coded systems articulated in the seemingly esoteric language of yogas theoretical assumptions, and it offers a new way of studying and explaining this central metaphor in Indian tradition. Short Biography Ellen Goldberg holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Toronto and is Associate Professor of Comparative Religion in the Department of Religious Studies at Queens University, Canada. Her current research focuses on a dialogue among cognitive science and Hindu and Buddhist meditation practice. She has published two articles in this area for Zygon (2006) and Studying Hinduism: Key Concepts and Methods (Routledge, 2007), as well as several articles on Buddhism in the West. She is currently working on a book titled Cognitive Sciences and the Higher Teachings of Hindu and Buddhist Yoga.
2008 The Author Journal Compilation 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Religion Compass 2 (2008): 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2008.00066.x

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Notes
* Correspondence address: Ellen Goldberg, Department of Religious Studies, Theological Hall 414, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6. Email: eg7@queensu.ca.

Works Cited
Adiceam, ME, 1967, Les Images de Siva dans LInde du Sud, VI. Ardhanarisvara, Arts Asiatique vol. XIX, no. 8, pp. 143 64. Ardhanarinatesvara Stotra, 1976, Sanskrit, Chowkhamba Orientalis, Varanasi, Inida. Banerjea, JN, 1956, The Development of Hindu Iconography, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, India. Bhattacharrya, DC, 1991, Pratimalaksana of the Visnudharmottara, Harman Publishing, New Delhi, India. Boner, A, 1962, Principles of Composition in Hindu Sculpture, E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. Dagens, B, 1989, Iconography in Sivagamas: Description or Prescription?, in Anna Libera Dahmen-Dallapiccola (ed.), Shastric Traditions in Indian Arts, vol. 1, pp. 151 4, Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Germany. Dahmen-Dallapiccola, AL, ed. 1989, in Anna Libera Dahmen-Dallapiccola (ed.), Shastric Traditions in Indian Arts, vol. 1, Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Germany. Daly, M, 1978, Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism, Beacon Press, Boston, MA. , 1985, Beyond God the Father: Twoard A Philosophy of Womens Liberation, Beacon Press, Boston, MA. Doniger, W (see Wendy Doniger OFlaherty), 1980, Women, androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Gaston, A-M, 1982, Siva in Dance, Myth and Iconography, Oxford University Press, Delhi, India. Goldberg, E, 1999, Ardhanarisvara in Indian Iconography: A New Interpretation, East and West. vol. 49, no. 1 4, pp. 175 89. , 2002a, The Lord Who Is Half Woman: Ardhanarisvara in Indian and Feminist Traditions, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. , 2002b, Parvvati Through the Looking Glass, Acta Orientalia, vol. 63, pp. 71 92. Heilbrun, CG, 1973, Towards a Recognition of Androgyny, Knopf, New York, NY. Hoeveler, DL, 1990, Romantic Androgyny: The Woman Within, Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA. Irigaray, L, 1985, Speculum and the Other. Translated by Gillian C. Gill. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Kalidos, R, 1993, The Twain-Face of Ardhanari, Acta Orientale, vol. 54, pp. 68106. Kandasamy, P, 1994, Ardhanarisvara: Samples of Cola Masterpieces, East and West, vol. 44, nos. 2 4, pp. 491 6. Kosambi, DD, 1981, The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outline. Reprint 1970. Vikas, New Delhi, India. Kramrisch, S, 1922, The Vishnudharmottaram. Part 111: A Treatise on Indian Painting and ImageMaking, Calcutta University Press, Calcutta, India. , 1924, The Vishnudharmottaram, Calcutta Review, vol. X, pp. 33186. , 1988, The Presence of Siva, Motilal, Reprint, Delhi. 1981. Krishnamurthi, C, & Ramachandran, KS, 1960, Ardhanarisvara in South Indian Sculpture, Indian Historical Quarterly, vol. 36, pp. 69 74. , 1964, Hermaphroditism and Early Ardhanarisvara Figures in India, Vishveshvaranand Indological Journal, vol. 2, pp. 1235. Markandeya Purana, 1969, English and Sanskrit, Translated with notes by F. Eden Pargiter. Indological Book House, Delhi, India. Maxwell, TS, 1989, Silpa vs. Sastra, in Anna Libera Dahmen-Dallapiccola (ed.), Shastric Traditions in Indian Arts, vol. 1, pp. 5 16, Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Germany. Misra, RN, 1989, Indian Silpa Tradition, Silpi and Aesthetics: A Study of Correspondence, in Anna Libera Dahmen-Dallapiccola (ed.), Shastric Traditions in Indian Arts, vol. 1, pp. 17586, Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Germany.
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Mosteller, JF, 1988, The Study of Indian Iconometry in Historical Perspective, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 108, no. 1, pp. 99 110. OFlaherty, WD (see also Wendy Doniger), 1980, Women, Androgynes, and Other Mythical Beasts, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Pal, P, 1988, Indian Sculpture, vol. 2. Los Angeles County Museum and University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Rao, TAG, 1968 [1914], Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol. II, part I. Paragon Book Reprint Corp, New York, NY. Rich, A, 1976, Of Woman Born: Motherhood and Experience and Institution, Norton, New York, NY. Sen, A, 1992, Inequality Reexamined, Oxford University Press, Delhi, India. Singer, J, 1976. Androgyny: The Opposites Within, Sigo Press, Boston, MA. Srinivasan, DM, 1997, Many Heads, Arms, and Eyes: Origin, Meaning, and Form of Multiplicity in Indian Art, Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. Wadley, S, & Jacobson, D, 1992, Women in India: Two Perspectives, South Asia Publications, Columbia, MO. Weil, K, 1992, Androgyny and the Denial of Difference, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, VA. Yadav, N, 2001, Ardhanarisvara in Indian Art and Literature, D. K. Printworld, Delhi, India. Zimmer, H, 1955, The Art of Indian Asia: Its Mythology and Transformations, Bollingen Foundation, New York, NY.

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