Ardhanarishvara (Composite of Shiva and Parvati), pre-Angkor period, 7th–8th century, Cambodia, Bronze, H. 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm), Sculpture, Shiva can be depicted as half male and half female to indicate the shakta-shakti relationship of the unified whole. The male half is unmoving but is given a manifest existence through the active female presence (prakrti).
Ardhanarishvara (Composite of Shiva and Parvati), pre-Angkor period, 7th–8th century, Cambodia, Bronze, H. 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm), Sculpture, Shiva can be depicted as half male and half female to indicate the shakta-shakti relationship of the unified whole. The male half is unmoving but is given a manifest existence through the active female presence (prakrti)