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106-713: The Vadathika Cave, also called Vadathi ka Kubha is one of three caves found in the Nagarjuni Hill cluster near the Barabar Caves in Bihar. The other two are Vapiyaka Cave and Gopika Cave, also called Vapiya ka Kubha and Gopi ka Kubha respectively. These are near the Lomas Rishi Cave , the earliest known cave excavated in 3rd century BCE and gifted by Ashoka to the Ajivikas monks. The Nagarjuni Caves were excavated in 214 BCE from

212-451: A trishula (trident) and another makes a varada mudra (gesture of blessing). Another scripture prescribes that a trishula and akshamala (rosary) are held in the two right hands. In the two-armed form, the right hand holds a kapala (skull cup) or gestures in a varada mudra . He may also hold a skull. In the Badami relief, the four-armed Ardhanarishvara plays a veena (lute), using

318-430: A nilotpala (blue lotus) or hangs loosely at her side. In the three-armed representation, the left hand holds a flower, a mirror or a parrot. In the case of two-armed icons, the left hand rests on Nandi's head, hangs loose or holds either a flower, a mirror or a parrot. The parrot may be also perched on Parvati's wrist. Her hand(s) is/are adorned with ornaments like a keyura (anklet) or kankana (bangles). Parvati has

424-446: A sarpa-mekhala , serpent girdle or jewellery. The right leg may be somewhat bent or straight and often rests on a lotus pedestal ( padma-pitha ). The whole right half is described as smeared with ashes and as terrible and red-coloured or gold or coral in appearance; however, these features are rarely depicted. The female half has karanda-mukuta (a basket-shaped crown) on her head or well-combed knotted hair or both. The left ear wears

530-425: A valika-kundala (a type of earring). A tilaka or bindu (a round red dot) adorns her forehead, matching Shiva's third eye. The left eye is painted with black eyeliner. While the male neck is sometimes adorned with a jewelled hooded serpent, the female neck has a blue lotus matching it. In the four-armed form, one of the left arms rests on Nandi's head, while the other is bent in kataka mudra pose and holds

636-399: A contemporary of Gautama Buddha , the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira , the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism . The Ajivikas had many similarities with Buddhism as well as Jainism. Also present at the site are several rock-cut Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and inscriptions from later periods. Most caves at Barabar consist of two chambers, carved entirely out of granite , with

742-478: A garland of lotuses on the male half and female half respectively. The Linga Purana gives a brief description of Ardhanarishvara as making varada and abhaya mudras and holding a trishula and a lotus. The Vishnudharmottara Purana prescribes a four-armed form, with right hands holding a rosary and trishula , while the left ones bear a mirror and a lotus. The form is called Gaurishvara in this text. The mythology of Ardhanarishvara – which mainly originates in

848-508: A granite hill by the grandson of Ashoka. They are about 16 miles (26 km) north of Gaya . According to Arthur Basham, the motifs carved in these groups of caves as well as inscriptions help establish that the Nagarjuni and Barabar Hill caves are from the 3rd century BCE. The original inhabitants of these were the Ajivikas, a non-Buddhist Indian religion that later became extinct. They abandoned

954-487: A high degree of precision craftsmanship. The Ashoka inscriptions of the Barabar Caves were engraved during the 12th year and the 19th year of Ashoka's reign (about 258 BCE and 251 BCE respectively, based on a coronation date of 269 BCE), for the dedication of several caves to the sect of the Ajivikas , a sect of ascetics, which flourished at the same time as Buddhism and Jainism. The words "Ajivikas" were later attacked by

1060-505: A highly polished internal surface, the " Mauryan polish " also found on sculptures, and exciting echo effects. The caves were featured – located in a fictitious Marabar – in the book A Passage to India by English author E. M. Forster . Barabar Hill contains four caves: Karan Chaupar, Lomas Rishi, Sudama and Visvakarma. Sudama and Lomas Rishi are the earliest examples of rock-cut architecture in India, with architectural detailing made in

1166-494: A hole in the deity. Amazed by his devotion, Parvati reconciled with the sage and blessed him. The seventh-century Shaiva Nayanar saint Appar mentions that after marrying Parvati, Shiva incorporated her into half of his body. In the Kalika Purana , Parvati (called Gauri here) is described as having suspected Shiva of infidelity when she saw her own reflection in the crystal-like breast of Shiva. A conjugal dispute erupted but

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1272-429: A left and a right arm, while other male arm holds a parashu and the female one a lotus. The Shiva half has a flat masculine chest, a straight vertical chest, broader shoulder, wider waist and muscular thigh. He wears a yagnopavita (sacred thread) across the chest, which is sometimes represented as a naga-yagnopavita (a snake worn as a yagnopavita ) or a string of pearls or gems. The yajnopavita may also divide

1378-411: A little east of the main granite hill 25°00′22″N 85°03′53″E  /  25.00611°N 85.06472°E  / 25.00611; 85.06472 . It consists of a rectangular room entirely open to the outside, a sort of elongated porch, and an unfinished semi-hemispherical room: the rectangular space measures 4.27x2.54m, and the circular room is 2.8m in diameter . One goes from the rectangular room to

1484-406: A mirror and a book; the others are broken. Another non-conventional Ardhanarishvara is found at Darasuram . The sculpture is three-headed and eight-armed, holding akshamala , khadga (sword), pasha , musala , kapala (skull cup), lotus and other objects. The Naradiya Purana mentions that Ardhanarishvara is half-black and half-yellow, nude on one side and clothed on other, wearing skulls and

1590-647: A mirror and has a rounded breast. This is the earliest representation of Ardhanarishvara, universally recognized. An early Kushan Ardhanarishvara head discovered at Rajghat is displayed at the Mathura Museum . The right male half has matted hair with a skull and crescent moon; the left female half has well-combed hair decorated with flowers and wears a patra-kundala (earring). The face has a common third eye . A terracotta seal discovered in Vaishali has half-man, half-woman features. Early Kushan images show Ardhanarishvara in

1696-547: A mirror effect of a great regularity, as well as an echo effect. This large-scale polish is reminiscent of polishing on smaller surfaces of the Maurya statuary, particularly visible on the pillars and capitals of the Ashoka pillars . Commenting of Mauryan sculpture, John Marshall once wrote about the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by

1802-401: A rectangular room measuring 9.86x5.18m, and a circular, semi-hemispherical room 5m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. This cave has an arched facade that probably imitates contemporary wooden architecture. On the periphery of the door, along the curve of the architrave, a line of elephants advances in the direction of stupa emblems. This

1908-492: A refuge that will last as long as the sun and the moon, was dug by Devanampiya (beloved of the gods) Dasaratha during his elevation to the throne, to make it a hermitage for the most pious Ajivikas The cave also has a much later Hindu inscription, the Vadathika Cave Inscription . The caves were carved out of granite , an extremely hard rock, then finished with a very nice polishing of the inner surface, giving

2014-471: A simple two-armed form, but later texts and sculptures depict a more complex iconography. Ardhanarishvara is referred to by the Greek author Stobaeus ( c.  500 AD ) while quoting Bardasanes ( c.  154 –222 AD), who learnt from an Indian embassy's visit to Syria during the reign of Elagabalus (Antoninus of Emesa) (218–22 AD). A terracotta androgynous bust, excavated at Taxila and dated to

2120-560: A very handsome temple here of early date". Barabar Caves The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India , dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district , Bihar, India, 24 km (15 mi) north of Gaya . These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves); caves of

2226-413: A well-developed, round bosom and a narrow feminine waist embellished with various haras (religious bracelets) and other ornaments, made of diamonds and other gems. She has a fuller thigh and a curvier body and hip than the male part of the icon. The torso, hip and pelvis of the female is exaggerated to emphasize the anatomical differences between the halves. Though the male private parts may be depicted,

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2332-459: Is Prakriti . Purusha is the male principle and passive force of the universe, while Prakriti is the female active force; both are "constantly drawn to embrace and fuse with each other, though... separated by the intervening axis". The union of Purusha (Shiva) and Prikriti (Shiva's energy, Shakti) generates the universe, an idea also manifested in the union of the Linga of Shiva and Yoni of Devi creating

2438-435: Is considered "a model of conjugal inseparability". Padma Upadhyaya comments, "The idea of ... Ardhanārīśvara is to locate the man in the woman as also the woman in the man and to create perfect homogeneity in domestic affairs". Often, the right half of Ardhanarishvara is male and the left is female. The left side is the location of the heart and is associated with 'feminine' characteristics like intuition and creativity, while

2544-469: Is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati . Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe ( Purusha and Prakriti ) and illustrates how Shakti , the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva,

2650-532: Is close to Lomas Rishi , and on its left. It consists of two rooms: a rectangular room measuring 9.98x5.94m, and a semi-hemispherical room 6m in diameter, which is accessed from the rectangular room by a narrow rectangular passage. This is probably the first cave in the group to have been dug. This cave was dedicated by Emperor Ashoka in 257 BCE (12th year of his reign) as evidenced by an inscription in Brahmi using his protocol name (Priyadarsin, "He who brings joy") found in

2756-522: Is described as calm and gentle, fair and parrot-green or dark in colour. She may be draped in a sari covering her torso and legs. The posture of Ardhanarishvara may be tribhanga – bent in three parts: head (leaning to the left), torso (to the right) and right leg or in the sthanamudra position (straight), sometimes standing on a lotus pedestal, whereupon it is called samapada . Seated images of Ardhanarishvara are missing in iconographic treatises, but are still found in sculpture and painting. Though

2862-551: Is described as dark and fair-complexioned, half yellow and half white, half woman and half man, and both woman and man. In Book XIII, Shiva preaches to Parvati that half of his body is made up of her body. In the Skanda Purana , Parvati requests Shiva to allow her to reside with him, embracing "limb-to-limb", and so Ardhanarishvara is formed. It also tells that when the demon Andhaka wanted to seize Parvati and make her his wife, Vishnu rescued her and brought her to his abode. When

2968-566: Is half woman"), Ardhanarinateshvara ("the Lord of Dance (Who is half-woman), Parangada, Naranari ("man-woman"), Ammaiyappan (a Tamil Name meaning "Mother-Father"), and Ardhayuvatishvara (in Assam , "the Lord whose half is a young woman or girl"). The Gupta -era writer Pushpadanta in his Mahimnastava refers to this form as dehardhaghatana ("Thou and She art each the half of one body"). Utpala , commenting on

3074-1076: Is one of the earliest Indian inscriptions that uses full matras (horizontal bar above each letter). 1. Om āsīt sarvvamahīkṣitā manur iva kṣattrasthiter ddeśikaḥ_śrīmān mattagajendrakhelagamanaḥ śrīyajñavarmmā nṛpaḥ | 2. yasyāhūtasahasranettravirahakṣāmā sadaivādhvaraiḥ_paulomī ciram aśrupātamalināṃ dhatte kapolaśriyaṃ || 3. śrīśārdūlanṛpātmajaḥ parahitaḥ śrīpauruṣaḥ śrūyate|loke candramarīcinirmmalaguṇo yo nantavarmmābhidhaḥ | 4. dṛṣṭādṛṣṭavibhūti kartṛvaradaṃ tenādbhutaṃ kāritaṃ|vimvaṃ bhūtapater guhāśritam idaṃ devyāś ca pāyāj jagaT || 5. ansāntākṛṣṭaśārṅgapravitatasaśarajyāsphuranmaṇḍalānta_vyaktabhrūbhaṅgalakṣmavyatikaraśavalākhaṇḍavaktrenduvimva | 6. antāyānantavarmmā smarasadṛśavapur jjīvite nispṛhābhiḥ_dṛṣṭa sthitvā mṛgībhiḥ suciram animiśasnigdhamugdhekṣaṇābhi || 7. atyākṛṣṭāt kuraravirutasparddhinaḥ śārṅgayantrā_2_dvegāviddhaḥ pravitataguṇād īritaḥ sauṣṭhavena | 8. dūraprāpī vimathitagajodbhrāntavājī pravīro_2_vāṇo ristrīvyasanapadavīdeśiko nantanāmna || – Vadathika Cave Inscription John Fleet translated it as, Om! There

3180-485: Is one of the most popular iconographic forms of Shiva. It is found in more or less all temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva all over India and South-east Asia. There is ample evidence from texts and the multiple depictions of the Ardhanarishvara in stone to suggest that a cult centred around the deity may have existed. The cult may have had occasional followers, but was never aligned to any sect. This cult focusing on

3286-430: Is possessed of excellencies (of workmanship) some of them (previously) beheld (in other images) but others not so; (and) which confers boons upon the maker (if it). May it protect the world! Having the surface of the full-moon that is (his) face made grey through being scattered over with spots that are (his) frowns displayed at the ends of the bent arc, glistening with (its) string pulled tight and fitted with an arrow, of

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3392-459: Is prescribed to have four, three or two arms, but rarely is depicted with eight arms. In the case of three arms, the Parvati side has only one arm, suggesting a lesser role in the icon. The male half wears a jata-mukuta (a headdress formed of piled, matted hair) on his head, adorned with a crescent moon. Sometimes the jata-mukuta is adorned with serpents and the river goddess Ganga flowing through

3498-430: Is suggested by the lack of finishing, even approximate, of the ground, with for example the abandonment in the state of some pikes of the rocks which would have required only a few minutes of chipping to be removed in order to obtain a fairly regular floor. Ashoka dedicated the caves of Sudama and Visvakarma to the ascetics called " Ajivikas " in the 12th year of his reign, when his religious evolution towards Buddhism

3604-556: Is the characteristic form of the " Chaitya arch" or chandrashala, to be an important feature of architecture and sculpture in the rock for many centuries. It is clearly a stone reproduction of wooden buildings and other plant materials. According to historian S. P. Gupta , Lomas Rishi's immediate successors are the Kondivite and Guntupalli caves. Lomas Rishi has no Ashoka inscription, perhaps because it has never been completed due to structural rock slide problems. According to Gupta,

3710-551: The Brihat Samhita , calls this form Ardha-Gaurishvara ("the Lord whose half is the fair one"; the fair one – Gauri – is an attribute of Parvati ). The Vishnudharmottara Purana simply calls this form Gaurishvara ("The Lord/husband of Gauri). The conception of Ardhanarishvara may have been inspired by Vedic literature's composite figure of Yama - Yami , the Vedic descriptions of the primordial Creator Vishvarupa or Prajapati and

3816-504: The Edicts of Ashoka . It was initially thought that Karna Chopar may have been dedicated to the Buddhists, based on a former reading of the inscription at the entrance of the cave, corrected by Harry Falk in 2007: the new reading shows that Karna Chopar too had been dedicated to the Ajivikas. Since Lomas Rishi has no dedicatory inscription, it has been suggested that it may had been dedicated to

3922-484: The Linga Purana , Vayu Purana , Vishnu Purana , Skanda Purana , Kurma Purana , and Markandeya Purana , Rudra (identified with Shiva) appears as Ardhanarishvara, emerging from Brahma's head, forehead, mouth or soul as the embodiment of Brahma's fury and frustration due to the slow pace of creation. Brahma asks Rudra to divide himself, and the latter complies by dividing into male and female. Numerous beings, including

4028-510: The Matsya Purana and Agamic texts like Amshumadbhedagama, Kamikagama, Supredagama and Karanagama – most of them of South Indian origin – describe the iconography of Ardhanarishvara. The right superior side of the body usually is the male Shiva and the left is the female Parvati; in rare depictions belonging to the Shaktism school, the feminine holds the dominant right side. The icon usually

4134-637: The Mauryan period. Similar examples include the larger Buddhist Chaitya , found in Maharashtra , such as in Ajanta and Karla Caves . The Barabar caves greatly influenced the tradition of rock-cut architecture in the Indian subcontinent . The cave of Lomas Rishi has a carved entranceway. It is on the southern side of Barabar granite hill, and is adjacent to Sudama cave, which is on the left. Lomas Rishi consists of two rooms:

4240-617: The Saka - Parthian era, pictures a bearded man with female breasts. Ardhanarishvara is interpreted as an attempt to syncretise the two principal Hindu sects, Shaivism and Shaktism , dedicated to Shiva and the Great Goddess . A similar syncretic image is Harihara , a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu, the Supreme deity of the Vaishnava sect. The iconographic 16th century work Shilparatna ,

4346-474: The " eternal feminine " is not only his consort, but she is also part of him. The renowned Sanskrit writer Kalidasa (c. 4th–5th century) alludes Ardhanarishvara in invocations of his Raghuvamsa and Malavikagnimitram , and says that Shiva and Shakti are as inseparable as word and meaning. The 9th-century Nayanar saint Manikkavacakar casts Parvati in the role of the supreme devotee of Shiva in his hymns. He alludes to Ardhanarishvara several times and regards it

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4452-577: The 1.6 km (0.99 mi)-distant Nagarjuni Hill are sometimes singled out as the Nagarjuni Caves. These rock-cut chambers bear dedicatory inscriptions in the name of "King Piyadasi" for the Barabar group, and "Devanampiya Dasaratha" for the Nagarjuni group, thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya period, and to correspond respectively to Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya . The sculptured surround to

4558-650: The 11 Rudras and various female shaktis , are created from both the halves. In some versions, the goddess unites with Shiva again and promises to be born as Sati on earth to be Shiva's wife. In the Linga Purana, the Ardhanarishvara Rudra is so hot that in the process of appearing from Brahma's forehead, he burns Brahma himself. Ardhanarishvara Shiva then enjoys his own half – the Great Goddess – by "the path of yoga" and creates Brahma and Vishnu from her body. In

4664-414: The 12th year of his reign, but only seven years later, argues for the hypothesis of a gradual construction of the caves under Ashoka. Similarly, the fact that the caves on Nagarjuni Hill were not consecrated by Ashoka but by his successor Dasaratha, suggests that these caves were only built after the reign of Ashoka. Dasaratha Maurya , Ashoka's grandson and regnal successor, wrote dedicatory inscriptions in

4770-466: The 14th-century, the area was occupied by Muslims, as a number of tombs are nearby. The Vadathika Cave inscription was first noticed in 1785 by J. H. Harrington, then reported to scholars in the 1790 issue of Asiatic Researches, Volume 2 . It is found on the northern side of the hill, immediately next to the Vapiyaka Cave and its Vapi (water tank). The cave has several inscriptions, including one from

4876-630: The 3rd-century BCE. It starts by stating the name of the cave to be Vadathi, the source of this cave's historic name and the inscription. The inscription as copied by Harrington was first translated by Charles Wilkins. In 1847, Markham Kittoe made a new eye-copy and published it with Rajendralal Mitra's new translation. John Fleet published another revised translation in 1888. The inscription is carved in granite over about 4.25 feet (1.30 m) by 1.5 feet (0.46 m) surface. It has eight lines in Gupta script, with letters approximately 1 inch (25 mm) tall. It

4982-409: The Ajivikas sect. They are 1.6 kilometers east of the Barabar Caves. The three caves are: Also called Gopi or Gopi-ka-Kubha or simply Nagarjuni, Gopika cave is the largest of all the caves of the Barabar complex ( 25°00′33″N 85°04′42″E  /  25.009116°N 85.078427°E  / 25.009116; 85.078427 ). It consists of a single large oblong room of 13.95x5.84m. The two ends of

5088-596: The Buddhists. The affiliation of Lomas Rishi to Buddhism, although unproven, would be coherent with the fact that the architecture of the gate of Lomas Rishi became a reference for the development of the Chaitya arch in Buddhist cave architecture for the following centuries, whereas the Hindus or the Jains caves essentially did not follow this architectural example. This would also mean that

5194-574: The Maurya period, none of the later caves such as the Ajanta caves having this characteristic of polished surfaces. The very act of digging artificial caves in the rock, of which the Barabar caves represent the oldest case in India, was probably inspired by the caves dug in the rock of the Achaemenids, as is the case in Naqsh-e Rostam . It seems, however, that in India there had been an ancient tradition of ascetics using caves. According to Gupta,

5300-560: The Puranic canons – was developed later to explain existent images of the deity that had emerged in the Kushan era. The unnamed half-female form of Shiva is also alluded to in the epic Mahabharata . In Book XIII, Upamanyu praises Shiva rhetorically asking if there is anyone else whose half-body is shared by his spouse, and adds that the universe had risen from the union of sexes, as represented by Shiva's half-female form. In some narratives, Shiva

5406-422: The absence of a significant problem in the rock, whereas 7 years later Ashoka dedicated Karan Chaupar cave, perfectly finished, a short distance from there. Visvakarma is also the only cave that does not have "historical" inscriptions after Ashoka. The nearby caves of Nagarjuni hill were built few decades later than the Barabar caves, and consecrated by Dasaratha Maurya , Ashoka's grandson and successor, each for

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5512-482: The ascetic Shiva into marriage and the wider circle of worldly affairs. The interdependence of Shiva on his power ( Shakti ) as embodied in Parvati is also manifested in this form. Ardhanarishvara conveys that Shiva and Shakti are one and the same, an interpretation also declared in inscriptions found along with Ardhanarishvara images in Java and the eastern Malay Archipelago . The Vishnudharmottara Purana also emphasizes

5618-466: The beauty of (her) cheeks for a long time sullied by the falling of tears. He, the son of the illustrious king Sardula, who has the name of Anantavarman; who is reputed in the world to be benevolent to others, (and) to be possessed of fortune and manliness, (and) to be full of virtues that are as spotless as the rays of the moon, by him was caused to be made this wondrous image , placed in (this) cave, of (the god) Bhutapati and (the goddess) Devi , which

5724-457: The bow drawn up to the extremities of (his) shoulders, Anantavarman, whose body is like (that of) (the god) Smara, having stood, gazed upon for a very long time by the does, indifferent to life, whose moist and tender eyes omit to blink (through the intentness with which they regard him), (lives only) for (the purpose of dealing out) death. The far reaching (and) powerful arrow, scattering the elephants and driving horses wild with fear, of him who has

5830-464: The canons often depict the Nandi bull as the common vahana (mount) of Ardhanarishvara, some depictions have Shiva's bull vahana seated or standing near or behind his foot, while the goddess's lion vahana is near her foot. The Parashurameshvara Temple at Bhubaneswar has a dancing eight-armed Ardhanarishvara. The upper male arms hold a lute and akshamala (rosary), while the upper female ones hold

5936-584: The caves at some point. Then the Buddhists used these caves because there are the Bodhimula and Klesa-kantara inscriptions found here. Centuries later, a Hindu king named Anantavarman, of Maukhari dynasty, dedicated Hindu murti (images) of Vaishnavism , Shaivism and Shaktism in three of these caves in the 5th or 6th century. To mark the consecration, he left inscriptions in Sanskrit. These inscriptions are in then prevalent Gupta script and these have survived. After

6042-471: The chisel, probably by religious rivals, at a time when the Brahmi script was still understood (probably before the 5th century CE). However, the original inscriptions being deep, they remain easily decipherable. The Ashoka inscriptions in the Barabar Caves are part of Ashoka's " Minor Rock Edicts ", and appear in the three caves named Sudama, Visvakarma and Karna Chopar. Lomas Rishi, meanwhile, has no Ashoka inscription (only an inscription of Anantavarman above

6148-656: The cosmos. The Mahabharata lauds this form as the source of creation. Ardhanarishvara also suggests the element of Kama or Lust, which leads to creation. Ardhanarishvara signifies "totality that lies beyond duality", "bi-unity of male and female in God" and "the bisexuality and therefore the non-duality" of the Supreme Being. It conveys that God is both Shiva and Parvati, "both male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle, both destructive and constructive" and unifies all other dichotomies of

6254-605: The decorated gate of Lomas Rishi was a Buddhist invention, which was emulated in Buddhist architecture in the following centuries. After the Barabar caves, the earliest known rock-cut Buddhist monasteries date to the 1st century BCE in the Western Ghats in western India, such as the Kondivite Caves and, in Eastern Ghats, such as Guntupalli Caves . The Sudama cave is located on the southern side of Barabar granite hill. It

6360-530: The deity as "the one who stands for complete control of the senses, and for the supreme carnal renunciation", other images found in North India include full or half phallus and one testicle. However, such imagery is never found in South Indian images; the loins are usually covered in a garment (sometimes a dhoti ) of silk or cotton, or the skin of a tiger or deer), typically down to the knee, and held in place by

6466-477: The demon followed her there, Parvati revealed her Ardhanarishvara form to him. Seeing the half-male, half-female form, the demon lost interest in her and left. Vishnu was amazed to see this form and saw himself in the female part of the form. The Shiva Purana describes that the creator god Brahma created all male beings, the Prajapatis , and told them to regenerate, which they were unable to do. Confronted with

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6572-508: The end of the Maurya Empire, under the reign of its last Emperor Brihadratha, and abruptly halted in 185 BC with the assassination of Brihadratha and the coup d'état of Pushyamitra Sunga, founder of the Sunga dynasty. Pushyamitra Sunga is also known to have persecuted Buddhists and Ajivikas, which would explain the immediate cessation of work. According to Gupta, the abrupt interruption of the works

6678-451: The entrance hall an inscription from the Gupta period mentions "Daridra Kantara" ("The Cave of the Beggars"). A mound decorated with later Buddhist sculptures is also near the entrance, another element which suggested the belonging of this cave to the Buddhists. The Visvakarma cave, also called Viswa Mitra, is accessible by the "steps of Ashoka" carved into the cliff. It is a hundred meters and

6784-463: The entrance of the cave, whereas the cave of Lomas Rishi did not receive a dedicatory inscription: The ceiling of the Sudama cave is arched. The cave is composed of a circular vaulted chamber and a vaulted room with the rectangular form of mandapa . The interior walls of the cave represent a technical feat: they are perfectly flat and polished granite surfaces, creating a mirror effect. On the other hand,

6890-458: The entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped " chaitya arch" or chandrashala that was to be an important feature of Indian rock-cut architecture and sculptural decoration for centuries. The form was a reproduction in stone of buildings in wood and other plant materials. The caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by Makkhali Gosala ,

6996-409: The entrance, 5-6th century CE), perhaps because she did not never been completed due to structural rock slide problems. In addition to the inscriptions indicating that they were made in the 12th year of Ashoka's reign (250 BC), it is generally considered that the construction of the Barabar caves itself also dates from his reign. The fact that the cave of Vivaskarma was not consecrated by Ashoka during

7102-402: The eternal reproductive power of Nature, whom he regenerates after she loses her fertility. "It is a duality in unity, the underlying principle being a sexual dualism". Art historian Sivaramamurti calls it "a unique connection of the closely knit ideal of man and woman rising above the craving of the flesh and serving as a symbol of hospitality and parenthood". The dual unity of Ardhanarishvara

7208-429: The fact that it is not finished, was nonetheless consecrated by Ashoka. This somewhat questions the theory that Lomas Rishi's cave would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it was in a state of incompletion. This could justify that Lomas Rishi, with his bas-reliefs, is actually posterior to Ashoka, as late as 185 BCE. This does not explain, however, why Visvakarma, consecrated in 260 BCE, has been interrupted, in

7314-454: The female genitalia are never depicted and the loins are always draped. She wears a multi-coloured or white silken garment down to her ankle and one or three girdles around her waist. The left half wears an anklet and her foot is painted red with henna . The left leg may be somewhat bent or straight, resting on a lotus pedestal. In contrast to the Shiva half, the Parvati half – smeared with saffron –

7420-579: The finest workmanship on Athenian buildings". This remarkable and large-scale polishing technique, and in many ways without parallel, seems nevertheless to have been derived from polishing techniques in Achaemenid statuary, the stone-working techniques having spread in India after the destruction of the empire by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and the displacement of Persian and Perso-Greek artists and technicians. This know-how seems to have disappeared again after

7526-598: The fire-god Agni as "bull who is also a cow," the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 's Atman ("Self") in the form of the androgynous cosmic man Purusha and the androgynous myths of the Greek Hermaphroditus and Phrygian Agdistis . The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that Purusha splits himself into two parts, male and female, and the two halves copulate, producing all life – a theme concurrent in Ardhanarishvara's tales. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad sows

7632-426: The gods and sages ( rishi ) had gathered at Shiva's abode, they prayed their respects to Shiva and Parvati. However, the sage Bhringi had vowed to worship only one deity, Shiva, and ignored Parvati while worshipping and circumambulating him. Agitated, Parvati cursed Bhringi to lose all his flesh and blood, reducing him to a skeleton. In this form Bhringi could not stand erect, so the compassionate ones who witnessed

7738-576: The granite walls inside, which again confirms that the technique of " Mauryan polish " did not die out with the reign of Ashoka. Inscription of Gopika cave: "The cave of Gopika, a refuge that will last as long as the sun and the moon, was dug by Devanampiya (beloved of the gods) Dasaratha at from his elevation to the throne, to make it a hermitage for the most pious Ajivikas ". [REDACTED] Ardhanarishvara Ardhanarishvara ( Sanskrit : अर्धनारीश्वर , romanized :  Ardhanārīśvara , lit.   'the half-female Lord'),

7844-536: The hair. The right ear wears a nakra-kundala , sarpa-kundala ("serpent-earring") or ordinary kundala ("earring"). Sometimes, the male eye is depicted smaller than the female one and a half-moustache is also seen. A half third eye ( trinetra ) is prescribed on the male side of the forehead in the canons; a full eye may also be depicted in middle of forehead separated by both the sides or a half eye may be shown above or below Parvati's round dot. A common elliptical halo ( prabhamandala / prabhavali ) may be depicted behind

7950-438: The half-hemispherical room by a narrow trapezoidal passage. On the floor of the porch, four holes were made, which are thought to allow the cave to be closed with a wooden picket fence. The cave of Visvakarma was offered by Ashoka to the Ajivikas in the year 12 of his reign, about 261 BCE: "By King Priyadarsin, in the 12th year of his reign, this cave of Khalatika Mountain was offered to the Ajivikas. " Visvakarma cave, despite

8056-402: The head; sometimes the shape of the halo may differ on either side. In the four-armed form, a right hand holds a parashu (axe) and another makes an abhaya mudra (gesture of reassurance), or one of the right arms is slightly bent and rests on the head of Shiva's bull mount, Nandi , while the other is held in the abhaya mudra gesture. Another configuration suggests that a right hand holds

8162-620: The hindu sect of Shakta (in which the Goddess is considered the Supreme Being) is the Goddess venerated as the Maker of All. In these tales, it is her body (not Shiva's) which splits into male and female halves. Ardhanarishvara symbolizes that the male and female principles are inseparable. The composite form conveys the unity of opposites ( coniunctio oppositorum ) in the universe. The male half of Ardhanarishvara stands for Purusha and female half

8268-414: The iconography evolved in the Kushan era (30–375 CE), but was perfected in the Gupta era (320-600 CE). A mid-first century Kushan era stela in the Mathura Museum has a half-male, half-female image, along with three other figures identified with Vishnu , Gaja Lakshmi and Kubera . The male half is ithyphallic or with an urdhvalinga and makes an abhaya mudra gesture; the female left half holds

8374-504: The identity and sameness of the male Purusha and female Prakriti, manifested in the image of Ardhanarishvara. According to Shaiva guru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927–2001), Ardhanarishvara signifies that the great Shiva is "All, inseparable from His energy" (i.e. his Shakti ) and is beyond gender. Across cultures, hermaphrodite figures like Ardhanarishvara have traditionally been associated with fertility and abundant growth. In this form, Shiva in his eternal embrace with Prakriti represents

8480-462: The import of these techniques from another culture. Nor are there any known examples of stone architecture in India before the Maurya period. According to Gupta, the Son Bhandar Caves could be such an intermediate step, although relatively unique, and subject to questioning its chronology, since it is generally dated to the 2nd-4th centuries of our era. Laser scans carried out in 2022 revealed

8586-612: The joint worship of Shiva and the Goddess may even have had a high position in Hinduism, but when and how it faded away remains a mystery. Though a popular iconographic form, temples dedicated to the deity are few. A popular one is located in Thiruchengode , while five others are located in Kallakkurichi taluk , all of them in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . The Linga Purana advocates

8692-472: The male principle of God, and vice versa. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva's all-pervasive nature. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes. The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE . Its iconography evolved and

8798-491: The methods used in polishing the stone surfaces could have a local origin, citing the existence of various highly polished stone tools found in the area dating from much earlier times, in the Neolithic era. There is, however, no trace of evolution from these Neolithic objects to the polished stone architecture of many centuries later, and the Barabar caves are essentially a sudden technological break with no local history, suggesting

8904-468: The name of Ananta, impelled with speed (and) skilfully discharged from the machine of (his) bow, fitted with a well-stretched string, that is drawn very tight (and) rivals the screams of an osprey (with the noise of its twanging), teaches to the wives of (his) enemies the condition of the sorrows (of widowhood). The inscription is a Shaiva inscription, one that mentions one statue ( vimvaṃ, bimba ) depicting Shiva and Parvati, which states Fleet likely means it

9010-410: The plane surfaces reverberate the sound, creating a very pronounced echo phenomenon. This characteristic is common to all the caves of Barabar, and, by amplifying the vibrations and the harmonies, seems to be favorable to the songs of the monks. All of Barabar's caves share this interior polished appearance to a greater or lesser extent, with the exception of Lomas Rishi Cave, which, although designed on

9116-401: The repetitive cycle of aeons , Ardhanarishvara is ordained to reappear at the beginning of every creation as in the past. The Matsya Purana describes how Brahma, pleased with a penance performed by Parvati, rewards her by blessing her with a golden complexion. This renders her more attractive to Shiva, to whom she later merges as one half of his body. Tamil temple lore narrates that once

9222-400: The resulting decline in the pace of creation, Brahma was perplexed and contemplated on Shiva for help. To enlighten Brahma of his folly, Shiva appeared before him as Ardhanarishvara. Brahma prayed to the female half of Shiva to give him a female to continue creation. The goddess agreed and created various female powers from her body, thereby allowing creation to progress. In other Puranas like

9328-561: The right is associated with the brain and 'masculine' traits – logic, valour and systematic thought. The female is often not equal in the Ardhanarishvara, the male god who is half female; she remains a dependent entity. Ardhanarishvara "is in essence Shiva, not Parvati". This is also reflected in mythology, where Parvati becomes a part of Shiva. It is likewise reflected in iconography: Shiva often has two supernatural arms and Parvati has just one earthly arm, and his bull vahana – not her lion vahana – typically accompanies them. Ardhanarishvara

9434-403: The room have the particularity of being circular, contrary to the other caves. The cave lies on the south bank of the hill, dug by King Dasharatha grandson of Emperor Ashoka, according to the inscription that was engraved above the front door: "The cave of Gopika, a refuge that will last as long as the sun and the moon, was dug by Devanampiya (beloved of the gods) Dasaratha during his elevation to

9540-411: The same model, is only half-finished for its interior. Karan Chaupar, also known as Karna Chaupar, is on the northern side of the Barabar granite hill. It consists of a single rectangular room with polished surfaces, 10.2x4.27m in dimensions. It contains an inscription of Ashoka dating from the 19th year of his reign, about 250 BCE, located outside, immediately to the right of the entrance. Initially, it

9646-412: The scene blessed the sage with a third leg for support. As her attempt to humiliate the sage had failed, Parvati punished herself with austerities that pleased Shiva and led him to grant her the boon of uniting with him, thereby compelling Bhringi to worship her as well as himself in the form of Ardhanarishvara. However, the sage assumed the form of a beetle and circumambulating only the male half, drilling

9752-526: The seed of the Puranic Ardhanarishvara. It declares Rudra – the antecedent of the Puranic Shiva – the maker of all and the root of Purusha (the male principle) and Prakriti (the female principle), adhering to Samkhya philosophy. It hints at his androgynous nature, describing him both as male and female. The concept of Ardhanarishvara originated in Kushan and Greek cultures simultaneously;

9858-438: The stone and inspecting it read: "When King Priyadarsin had been annointed 19 years, he went to Jalūṭha and then this cave (called) Supriyekṣā, was given to the Ajivikas." In particular, Falk reconstructs the last line as 𑀲𑀼𑀧𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀔𑀆𑀚𑀺𑀯𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀳𑀺𑀤𑀺𑀦𑀸 ( Su[p]i[y]ekha (Ajivikehi) dinā ), which means "Supriyekṣā was given to the Ājivikas". The cave has a rock-cut bench at one end, probably to sit or sleep. In

9964-558: The theory that Lomas Rishi would not have received Ashoka's inscription because it was in a state of incompleteness, is undermined by the fact that the cave of Vivaskarma, another cave of Barabar, although it is not finished, was nevertheless consecrated by Ashoka. The consecration of a cave could therefore be done in the course of work. This could imply that Lomas Rishi, with its bas-reliefs, actually post-dates Ashoka's reign. Gupta actually believes that Lomas Rishi post-dates both Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha, and would have been built at

10070-541: The three other caves, forming the Nagarjuni group (Gopika, Vadathi and Vapiya caves) of the Barabar hills. It is generally considered that their construction dates from his reign. The three caves were offered to the Ajivikas upon the accession to the throne of Dasaratha, confirming that these were still active around 230 BCE, and that Buddhism was not the exclusive religion of the Mauryas at that time. The three caves are also characterized by an extremely advanced finish of

10176-474: The throne, to make a hermitage for the most pious Ajivikas " The cave also has the " Gopika Cave Inscription " in the entrance corridor, dated to the 5-6th century CE. These two caves are a little higher on the north side of the hill, 300m as the crow flies ( 25°00′41″N 85°04′37″E  /  25.011261°N 85.076963°E  / 25.011261; 85.076963 ). Although small, they are very beautiful, perfectly carved, caves. The cave of Vadathika,

10282-444: The torso into its male and female halves. He wears ornaments characteristic of Shiva's iconography, including serpent ornaments. In some North Indian images, the male half may be nude and also be ithyphallic ( urdhavlinga or urdhavreta : with an erect phallus), however, connotes the very opposite in this context. It contextualizes " seminal retention " or practice of celibacy (illustration of Urdhva Retas ), and represents

10388-401: The universe. While Shiva's rosary in the Ardhanarishvara iconography associates him with asceticism and spirituality, Parvati's mirror associates her to the material illusory world. Ardhanarishvara reconciles and harmonizes the two conflicting ways of life: the spiritual way of the ascetic as represented by Shiva, and the materialistic way of the householder as symbolized by Parvati, who invites

10494-528: The worship of Ardhanarishvara by devotees to attain union with Shiva upon dissolution of the world and thus attain salvation . The Ardhanarinateshvara Stotra composed by Adi Shankaracharya is a popular hymn dedicated to the deity. The Nayanar saints of Tamil Nadu exault the deity in hymns. While the 8th-century Nayanar saint Sundarar says that Shiva is always inseparable from the Mother Goddess, another 7th-century Nayanar saint Sambandar describes how

10600-434: Was a glorious king, the illustrious Yajnavarman, who, as if he were Anu, instructed all rulers of the earth in the duty of those who belong to the warrior caste; whose gait was like the play of a rutting elephant ; (and) through whose sacrifices (the goddess) Paulomi, always emaciated by separation from (the god Indra) who has a thousand eyes, invoked (by this king so constantly as to be perpetually absent from her), has had

10706-410: Was an Ardhanarishvara image, with one half as male Shiva and the other half as female Parvati. The inscription starts with Om, just prior to the first line, signifying its importance in 5th-century Hindu theology. Markham Kittoe, who visited the cave before 1847, stated that there were sculpture fragments scattered in the cave in a style that reminded him of early style. He wrote, "there must have been

10812-512: Was not yet fully completed. The precise identity of the Ajivikas is not well known, and it is even unclear if they were a divergent sect of the Buddhists or the Jains . Later, Ashoka built the caves of Lomas Rishi (without dated inscription, but posterior to Sudama on architectural grounds) and Karna Chopar (19th year of his reign), at a time when he had become a firm advocate of Buddhism, as known from

10918-572: Was perfected in the Gupta era. The Puranas and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, though very few temples are dedicated to this deity. The name Ardhanarishvara means "the Lord Who is half woman." Ardhanarishvara is also known by other names like Ardhanaranari ("the half man-woman"), Ardhanarisha ("the Lord who

11024-449: Was planned for Buddhist monks. However, Harry Falk has recently shown with a new reading that the cave was indeed dedicated to the Ajivikas. Traditional reading of the inscription: "In my 19th year of reign, I, King Priyadarsin , offered this cave of the very pleasant mountain of Khalatika, to serve as shelter during the rainy season." This reading of the inscription has been corrected by Harry Falk in 2007, who after cleaning

11130-446: Was quickly resolved, after which Parvati wished to stay eternally with Shiva in his body. The divine couple was thereafter fused as Ardhanarishvara. Another tale from North India also talks about Parvati's jealousy. Another woman, the river Ganga – often depicted flowing out of Shiva's locks – sat on his head, while Parvati (as Gauri) sat on his lap. To pacify Gauri, Shiva united with her as Ardhanarishvara. Only in tales associated with

11236-422: Was thought from E. Hultzsch's 1925 translation, that Ashoka's inscription from Karna Chopar Cave does not mention the Ajivikas, and seems rather to refer to the Buddhist practice of retirement (vassavasa) during the rainy season. In addition, the inverted swastika with upward arrow at the end of the inscription ( [REDACTED] [REDACTED] ) would be more of a Buddhist character. All this suggested that this cave

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