Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 11
सृष्टिक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of the Sequence of Creation
अर्द्धेन नारी पुरुषश्चार्द्धेन संततो मुने । स तस्यामसृजद्द्वंद्वं सर्वसाधनमुत्तमम्
arddhena nārī puruṣaścārddhena saṃtato mune | sa tasyāmasṛjaddvaṃdvaṃ sarvasādhanamuttamam
O sage, he was constituted as woman in one half and as man in the other. From her he then brought forth the pair of opposites—an excellent ordering, the supreme means by which all worldly life functions.
Sūta Gosvāmi (narrating to the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya)
Tattva Level: pati
Shiva Form: Ardhanārīśvara
Type: stotra
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: creative
Offering: pushpa
Cosmic Event: manifestation of dvandva (pairs of opposites) as the functional basis for worldly operation (pravṛtti) and continued creation.
FAQs
It teaches that creation operates through dvandva (paired opposites), while Shiva as Pati remains the integrated source—Shiva and Shakti as one reality manifesting as complementary halves for the world-process.
The Liṅga signifies the transcendent Pati beyond gender and duality, while Saguna worship may contemplate Ardhanārīśvara to understand that all manifestation arises from the inseparable Shiva–Shakti unity.
Meditate on Ardhanārīśvara while repeating the Pañcākṣarī (Om Namaḥ Śivāya), cultivating equanimity toward opposites (pleasure/pain, gain/loss) as a practical discipline of moving beyond dvandva.