‘Ardhanareeshwara’ – The Lord Who is Half Woman: Breaking the Gender Binary through Indian Philosophy and Contemporary Gender Studies

Abstract Ardhanareeshwara, the composite form of Shiva and Parvati, embodies the inseparability of masculine and feminine principles, challenging fixed gender binaries. This paper examines the representation of Ardhanareeshwara in the Kerala Mural Painting tradition through the intersecting lenses of indigenous aesthetic frameworks and contemporary gender theory. The study traces the mythological and philosophical foundations of this form by drawing on textual sources alongside classical treatises on art and aesthetics. A close reading of the Kerala mural depiction of Ardhanareeshwara examines posture, attributes, colour, ornamentation, and stylistic conventions. The analysis uses semiotic theory, indigenous aesthetic frameworks (abhinaya, dhvani, rasa), and theories of performativity to show how Ardhanareeshwara enacts gender as relational, fluid, and embodied. From a decolonial and intersectional perspective, the paper shows how colonial frameworks systematically marginalized indigenous conceptions of gender. Kerala mural representation of Ardhanareeshwara, thus, offers an indigenous model for understanding gender, embodiment, and cosmology, providing insights that enrich global discussions on identity, emotion, and visual culture.