Abstract

As a deity divided into male and female halves, Ardhanārīśvara has garnered significant attention. Notable academic works center on its visual depictions, its place within poetry and mythological narratives, as well as its philosophical framings. However, a survey of scholarship indicates interrelated issues involving the omission of content concerning the figure in living contexts. In this connection, on chiefly hypothetical or theoretical grounds, Ardhanārīśvara has been framed as uniquely significant to people whose gender identities and/or sexual orientations exist beyond cisgender and/or heterosexual frameworks; work directly engaging associated populations regarding their relationship to the deity is critically lacking. Moreover, information on the conceptualizations and utilizations of Ardhanārīśvara in and around its places of worship is virtually absent within published literature; when devotional sites are mentioned, they are simply acknowledged and receive no sustained consideration.

To account for these issues, three pertinent contexts were identified for examination within this project: Durgā Pūjā festivals observed in Kolkata (into which Ardhanārīśvara is integrated by transgender activists); affairs of the Kinnar Akhāḍā (a religious order mainly comprised of “third gender” membership that has named Ardhanārīśvara their patron god); and life centering on the Ardhanārīśvara temple of Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu (alongside associated sites). Each involves Ardhanārīśvara within ground realities and receives a dedicated chapter in this dissertation. However, while the impetus for this project was a desire to address the lacunas and shortcomings noted above, it does more than fill holes and ameliorate deficiencies. In addition to contributing to areas of prior scholarly focus and those of cursory attention, new ground is covered through tracing and analyzing active developments within the ongoing history of Ardhanārīśvara. In doing so, it highlights invocations of both tradition and innovation while showcasing a deity strategically engaged, embraced, and employed as a means of securing primarily worldly ends.