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दरभंगा में जन्मी, डॉक्टर परिवार में पली-बढ़ी। सरस्वती से साक्षात् वरदहस्त मां मिली। जीवन के अगले पड़ाव पर योग्य पति का सान्निध्य। अपने-आप में संपूर्णता लिए तूलिका गणपति मिश्रा किसी परिचय की आज मोहताज नहीं हैं। नारायणि नमोस्तुते में नारी की मुखर आवाज बनकर हमारे बीच डॉ. तूलिका को पाकर देशज टाइम्स के सुधी पाठक एक नववाद का अनुभव कर रहे हैं। यह सुखद अहसास भर है जब देशज के इतिहास में पहली बार अंग्रेजी का यह सारगर्भित आलेख, हमारे लिए एक अलग अनुभव एक साकारात्मक पहलु लेकर प्रस्तुत हैं तूलिका…

‘Ardh’ , ‘Naari’ and ‘Eeshwar’ meaning ‘half’, ‘woman’ and ‘God’ respectively when combined , makes, ‘the Lord who is half woman’. Lord, who is Shiva and his woman is his consort, Goddess Parvati- manifestation of Shakti; together manifesting and representing the generative and the constructive power and symbolising that the principles of masculinity and feminity cannot be split apart. Representing the unity of extreme opposites, the male here is ‘Purush’ symbolising the spiritual being as Shiva, and ‘Prakriti’, symbolising the instinctive being as Parvati, together becoming ‘Ardhnarishwar’, thus blending the two powerful forces harmoniously into one, producing the true rhythm of life.

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Shiva is the destroyer God and as Ardhnarishwar which is one of the 64 manifestations of Shiva, He destroys the old to give scope for renewal, cleansing and reconstruction. Parvati, the female counterpart, nourishes, cares and regenerates the renewed being and this oneness of gender definition, became the fundamental root of Advaitha The absorption of the female half of Himself created the half man and half-woman aspect of Lord Shiva reinvigorating the cosmic energy. This fusion and unity surpasses and transcends all the differences between the two sexes and elevates the already elevated Lord,beyond the gender discriminations. As Prakrtiti( female), Parvati is the surface, Purush (male ), Shiva is the substance; Prakriti is creative, energetic ,zestful, vigorous, strong, forceful and Purush is constant, consistent and undeviating; Shiva is infinite and Shakti, i.e Parvati renders the infinite into the finite form. Yet, both coexist and complement each other in their most sublime form. On Mahashivratri, the wedding anniversary of Shiv and Parvati, of Prakriti and Purush, and in the week specially dedicated for Women, I remind the female sexes to be mindful of their limitless capabilities since the power of creation, nurturing and suspension of immaterial lies with you. But in the 21st century in which many members of the female generation Z, who at times believe that women’s liberation is all about existing alone, I also urge them to be equally mindful of the powers of their male counterpart, who completes her, accentuates her capabilities, and makes her exquisitely feminine since Sex and Gender identity is always defined in relational terms and necessarily involves relationships with other individuals of the opposite sex. An individual is made of opposites and through union, these opposites resolve; until there is union of the opposite forces, until there is a tendency to accept the paradoxes, neither Purush, nor Prakriti can exist on its own. Mahashivratri reiterates the concept of Shiva, the Ardhnarishwar, that as inseparables, Male and Females are constructive and liberated, firm and flexible, bold and balanced emitting most creative cosmic energies because the actual potential lies not in individual powers but in the beautiful blending of these powers making this life meaningful and complete!
Dr. Tulika Mishra
Asst Professor,
Majan University College
Muscat, Oman