title: Ardhanareeshwara concept: Brain and psychiatry.
abstract: Ardhanareeshvara is a combination of three words "Ardha," "Nari," and "Ishwara" 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. The Ardhanareeshvara represents a constructive and generative power. Ardhanareeshvara symbolizes male and female principles cannot be separated. It conveys the unity of opposites in the universe. The male half stands for Purusha and female half is Prakriti. Ardhanareeshvara harmonizes the two conflicting ways of life: The spiritual way of the ascetic as represented by Shiva, and the materialistic way of the householder symbolized by Parvati. It conveys that Shiva and Shakti are one and the same. A human being is not a pure unisexual organism. Each human organism bears the potentiality of both male and female sex. Neurohormonal mechanisms have been found to be greatly influencing the sexual behavior. The modern world has come to understand the concept of "Ardhanareeshwara" as it aspires to resolve the paradox of opposites into a unity, not by negation, but through positive experiences of life. The matching of opposites produces the true rhythm of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, Mysore, India.
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Raveesh
keywords: Ardhanareeshvara; Shiva and Shakti; brain and psychiatry