This image represents the ancient Hindu concept of the essential interdependence of the masculine and feminine aspects of the universe. The figure is half-man, half-woman, with Parvati, on the viewer's right, with breast, waist, and feminine hair, holding a mirror, and Shiva, on the left, with male characteristics and his iconic Nandi bull. In Shaivism, this figure symbolizes the transcendence of all duality, including gender. Energy and power (Shakti and Parvati) are unified and inseparable from the soul and awareness (Brahman and Shiva).
