kāvyakaṇṭha vāsiṣṭha śrī gaṇapati muni viracitam umāsahasram
Uma Sahasram
ekaviṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - anuṣṭubvṛttam
The twenty-first Stabaka, entitled **Ardhanārīśvaraḥ — “The Lord whose form is half Woman”**, is a vivid meditation on the single body shared by Śiva and Umā. Śrī Gaṇapati Muni develops the image through a sequence of finely balanced contrasts: on one side are anklets, soft arms, jewelled ornaments, flowing hair and the nourishing breast of the Mother; on the other are serpents, powerful arms, blazing matted locks and the fierce marks of Śiva. Skanda and Gaṇapati appear naturally within this family imagery, while the two halves remain visibly distinct yet inseparably one. The title is therefore fully justified, for the entire Stabaka is built around the **simultaneous difference and essential unity of Śiva and Śakti in the Ardhanārīśvara form**.
The verses gradually move beyond iconographic description into a deeper theological statement. Umā can nourish the three worlds with a single breast and contain the universe even within half of Her body; Śiva and Śakti are perfectly suited to one another because neither is complete in manifestation without the other. Muni finally declares that what appears as Śiva’s portion and Umā’s portion is, in truth, **one undivided Self**. Even more intimate is the assertion that She is Śiva’s very life and He is Hers. Thus Ardhanārīśvara becomes not merely a beautiful composite image, but a profound symbol of the indivisibility of **Consciousness and Power, Puruṣa and Śakti, transcendence and manifestation**.
Muni’s poetic craftsmanship is especially striking in the compact **Anuṣṭubh metre**, where verse after verse is structured through elegant *ekataḥ–anyataḥ* contrasts—“on one side… on the other.” This creates an almost visual procession before the reader’s eyes, while humour, tenderness, theology and iconographic precision remain perfectly balanced. The Stabaka shows his mastery of **śilpa-like description, symmetry, contrast, family imagery and non-dual symbolism**. Its concluding prayer naturally turns the composite form inward: may that one reality, appearing as woman and man yet fundamentally undivided, become firmly established in the devotee’s heart.
ṣaṣṭhaṃ śatakam
ekaviṃśaḥ stabakaḥ - anuṣṭubvṛttam
ardhanārīśvaraḥ
itaḥ pītvā kucaṃ skande prasāritakare tataḥ ।
jayati smitamudbhūtaṃ śivayorekadehayoḥ ॥ 501 ॥
ekato maṇimañjīrakvāṇāhūtasitacchadam ।
anyato nūpurāhīndraphūtkārakṛtatadbhayam ॥ 502 ॥
gīrvāṇapṛtanāpālaṃ bālaṃ lālayadekataḥ ।
utsaṅge gaṇasamrājamirbhakaṃ bibhradanyataḥ ॥ 503 ॥
viḍambitabrahmacārikokaikastanamekataḥ ।
kavāṭārdhanibhaṃ bibhradvakṣaḥ kevalamanyataḥ ॥ 504 ॥
senānyā''svāditastanyamanuphūtkurvataikataḥ ।
phūtkāramukharaṃ nāgamugraṃ jāgratamanyataḥ ॥ 505 ॥
ekato dorlatāṃ bibhran mṛṇālaśrīviḍambinīm ।
śakraśuṇḍālaśuṇḍābhaṃ caṇḍaṃ dordaṇḍamanyataḥ ॥ 506 ॥
kutrāpyavidyamāne'pi vandanīye tadā tadā ।
parasparakarasparśalobhato vihitāñjali ॥ 507 ॥
śakranīlasavarṇatvād bhāgayorubhayorapi ।
ūrdhvādharāṅgasāpekṣasandhijñānagalasthalam ॥ 508 ॥
ekataḥ kairavaśreṇīnidrāmocanalocanam ।
anyataḥ kamalāvāsakṣaṇādhāyakavīkṣaṇam ॥ 509 ॥
ekataścakṣuṣā cārutāreṇādhītavibhramam ।
anyataḥ pāṇipāthoje khelato mṛgabālataḥ ॥ 510 ॥
ekato bhālaphalake kāśmīreṇa viśeṣitam ।
anyato'rdhekṣaṇenaiva ratibhrūvibhramadruhā ॥ 511 ॥
ekataḥ śītalālokaṃ sādhulokaśivaṅkaram ।
anyataḥ prajvalatprekṣaṃ duṣṭagoṣṭhībhayaṅkaram ॥ 512 ॥
ekato maṇitāṭaṅkaprabhādhautakapolakam ।
anyataḥ kuṇḍalībhūtakuṇḍalībhūtakuṇḍali ॥ 513 ॥
ekataḥ kuntalān bibhradindranīlopamadyutīn ।
anyataḥ pāvakajvālāpāṭalāṃśucchaṭā jaṭāḥ ॥ 514 ॥
ekataḥ keśapāśena kīrṇenorasi bhāsuram ।
anyato lambamānasya bhogino haratā śriyam ॥ 515 ॥
avataṃsitamamlānapārijātasrajaikataḥ ।
vimalollolamālinyā vibudhāpagayā'nyataḥ ॥ 516 ॥
raupyācalakṛtāvāsaṃ prāpyaṃ yuktena cetasā ।
vastu rāmāpumākāraṃ hṛdi sannidadhātu me ॥ 517 ॥
kāntārdhavigrahe mātarjaṭārdhāścikurāstava ।
dadhatyadabhrasandhyābhrayuktakālābhravibhramam ॥ 518 ॥
dampatyoryuvayoreṣa lopo yannāsti śailaje ।
vāmaṃ pārśvaṃ vibhoḥ śetuṃ dātuṃ te dakṣiṇaḥ karaḥ ॥ 519 ॥
loke strī stanayugmena puṣṇātyekaṃ sutaṃ na vā ।
stanenaikena śarvāṇi puṣṇāsi tvaṃ jagattrayam ॥ 520 ॥
khidyanti yoṣitaḥ kukṣau vahantyo'rbhakamekakam ।
ardhakukṣau dadhāsi tvaṃ trilokīmamba līlayā ॥ 521 ॥
anurūpā śivasya tvamanurūpaḥ śivastava ।
alaṅkāro'nurūpo vāmakalaṅko'rbhakaḥ śaśī ॥ 522 ॥
tavaiva tava dehāṃśo harasyaiva harasya yaḥ ।
prāṇāstu jagatāṃ dhātri harasya tvaṃ harastava ॥ 523 ॥
avibhaktaṃ bhavāni svaṃ bhavasya tava cobhayoḥ ।
sakṛtsakaruṇaṃ cetaḥ saṅkalpayatu naśśivam ॥ 524 ॥
bhavasya bhāgamutsṛjya bhavānī bhāgamātmanaḥ ।
bhajatvanuṣṭubhāmāsāṃ sṛṣṭānāṃ nārasiṃhinā ॥ 525 ॥