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{{short description|Composite form of Hindu deities Vishnu and Lakshmi}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
[[Image:Vishnou Népal Guimet 21107.jpg|thumb|Vaikuntha-Kamalaja, [[Nepal]], gilt copper and inlaid, 14th century, [[Guimet Museum]].]]
'''Vaikuntha-Kamalaja''' (or '''Lakshmi-Narayana''') is a composite [[androgynous]] form of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] god [[Vishnu]] and his consort [[Lakshmi]]. It is also known as '''Ardhanari Narayana''' and '''Vasudeva Kamalaja.''' Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is a rare form, mostly restricted to [[Nepal]] and the [[Kashmir]] region of [[India]].

Like [[Ardhanarishvara]], Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half is the male Vishnu, illustrating his traditional attributes. The icon symbolises the oneness or non-duality of male and female principles of the universe. Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is mentioned in few [[Tantra|Tantric]] and iconographical texts.

==Names==
The androgynous form of Vishnu is known by several names including: Vaikuntha Kamalaja,<ref name="pal"/><ref name="britishMuseum"/> ([[Vaikuntha]] is the abode of Vishnu, here name of the Vishnu side and Kamalaja is "she who is born of a lotus" – Lakshmi), [[Vaishnava]] Ardhanari ("the [[Ardhanari]] – "half-woman" of the Vaishnava sect, which is dedicated to Vishnu), Ardhanari-Narayana<ref name="sircar">{{cite book|last=Sircar|first=D. C.|title=Studies in the religious life of ancient and medieval India|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|year=1971|pages=221–8|chapter=Ardhanari-Narayana}}</ref> ("Narayana (Vishnu) who is half-female"), Ardhanari-Vishnu<ref name = "Varadpande"/> ("Vishnu who is half-woman"), Ardha-Lakshmi-Narayana<ref name="puri"/> ("Vishnu who is half-Lakshmi"), Vasudeva-Kamalaja ("Vishnu-Lakshmi"),<ref name = "Varadpande">{{cite book|last=Varadpande|first=M L |title=Mythology of Vishnu and his incarnations|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|year=2009|pages=171|isbn=978-81-212-1016-4}}</ref> Vasudeva Lakshmi ("Vishnu-Lakshmi")<ref name="kashmir"/><ref name="pande"/> and Ardha-Lakshmi-Hari ("Hari (Vishnu) who is half-Lakshmi").<ref name="pande">{{cite web|url=http://www.alkapande.com/paper1.htm |title=The Icon of Creation – Ardhanarisvara |last=Pande |first=Alka |access-date=4 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704072150/http://www.alkapande.com/paper1.htm |archive-date=4 July 2008 }}</ref><ref name="garg">{{cite book|editor= Garg, Ganga Ram|title=Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world|volume=3: Ar-Az|year=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company.|isbn=81-7022-376-8|page=597}}</ref>

==Development==
[[File:Stele of Lakshmi-Narayana, Nepal, 900s-1000s AD, stone - Dallas Museum of Art - DSC05076.jpg|thumb|180px|left|[[Statue of Laxmi-Narayan|Lakshminarayana statue from Nepal]], 10th-11th century ([[Lalitpur, Nepal]]).]]

The concept as well as iconography of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is derived from [[Ardhanarishvara]] – the popular androgynous form of the god [[Shiva]] and his consort Parvati.<ref name="pal">{{cite journal|last=Pal|first=Pratapaditya |year=1967|title=Vaiṣṇava Art from Nepal in the Museum|journal=Boston Museum Bulletin|publisher=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|volume=65|issue=340|pages=44–45|jstor=4171471}}</ref><ref name="britishMuseum"/><ref name="sircar"/> P. Pal suggests that the concept of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja originated in Eastern India and then migrated to Nepal, however according to Deo, the concept originated in medieval Nepal, which D. C. Sircar refutes citing an 11th-century Gaya inscription.<ref name="sircar"/> A late 11th century inscription of the local ruler Yakshapala in the Shitala Gaya Temple in [[Gaya, India|Gaya]], India says that Yakshapala built the temple to house a number of deities, including ''Kamalardhangina-Narayana'', "Narayana (Vishnu) whose half body is Kamala ("Lakshmi").<ref name="sircar"/> According to another theory, [[Kashmir]] was the birthplace of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja.<ref name="kashmir">{{cite book|last=Malla|first=Bansi Lal|title=Vaiṣṇava art and iconography of Kashmir|publisher=Abhinav Publications|year=1996|pages=45–9|chapter=Vasudeva-Laksmi|isbn=81-7017-305-1}}</ref> Although relevant Indian texts and icons of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja are found in Nepal, hardly any exist in India except [[Kashmir]].<ref name="pal"/><ref name = "Varadpande"/> Some notable Indian icons of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja are found at Bijbehara (late 10th–11th century), [[Anantnag]], Kashmir; [[Jaintipur]], Haryana; [[Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh|Baijnath Temple]], Himachal Pradesh (1204 CE) and the ''Sayana Thakura'' icon of [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]], [[Puri]].<ref name="puri">{{cite book|last=Miśra|first=Narayan |title=Annals and antiquities of the temple of Jagannātha|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=2007|pages=18|isbn=978-81-7625-747-3}}</ref><ref name="kashmir"/><ref name="baijnath"/>

Vaikuntha-Kamalaja icons are found in Nepal since 13th century.<ref name = "Varadpande"/> The earliest known Nepali depiction of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is in a 1263 AD ''pata'' (cloth panel), now in the [[Ramakrishna Mission]] Institute of Culture, [[Kolkata]], India.<ref name="britishMuseum"/> Some Nepali bronze sculptures of Vaikuntha-Kamalaja are housed in some museums.<ref name="britishMuseum"/> Notable among Vaikuntha-Kamalaja icons are icons in Indreshvar Temple, [[Panauti]]; Narayan Temple, [[Patan, Lalitpur|Patan]] and Saraswati Temple, [[Sankhu]].<ref name = "Varadpande"/>

While Ardhanarishvara's legends and iconography are recalled in the [[Puranic]] scriptures, Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is not mentioned in them.<ref name="sircar"/> The Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is hinted implicitly in many [[Pancharatra]] treatises and Tantric texts.<ref name="pal"/> Tantric iconographic texts like Saradatilaka (10th–11th century-in a ''dhyana [[mantra]]'' -a mantra mentioning a deity's iconic form), the 17th century [[Tantrasara]] of Krishnananda (in a ''dhyana [[mantra]]'') as well as the 16th century [[Shilparatna]] mentions the iconography of this androgynous form of Vishnu.<ref name="pal"/><ref name="britishMuseum"/><ref name="sircar"/>

==Iconography and symbolism==
[[File:Vaikuntha Kamalaja (Podar Haveli Museum).jpg|thumb|North Indian-style mural of Vaikuntha Kamalaja in Podar Haveli Museum, [[Nawalgarh, Rajasthan]].
]]
As explained in Saradatilaka and Tantrasara, Vaikuntha-Kamalaja, like Ardhanarishvara, symbolise the oneness or non-duality of male and female principles of the universe.<ref name="pal"/><ref name="britishMuseum"/><ref name="puri"/> The Shilparatna specifically talks about the oneness of Vishnu and Lakshmi.<ref name="puri"/> It also denotes the combination of ''Sat'' (truth) and ''Cit'' (consciousness), producing ''ananda'' (bliss) (See [[Satcitananda]]).<ref name="garg"/> Like Ardhanarishvara, the left half is female signifying Lakshmi, the right is the male Vishnu. The icon is depicted standing on a lotus pedestal or may be seated on the [[Garuda]] or Garuda (the [[vahana]] – mount – of Vishnu) as well as a tortoise or [[Kurma]], often associated with Vishnu, but aligned with Lakshmi as her mount in this particular iconography. Sometimes, the Garuda and the tortoise may be depicted kneeling to the deity on male and female side respectively of the standing deity. Vaikuntha-Kamalaja is eight-armed, has a fuller female breast and a longer floral-patterned waist-garment on the left, while the male half wears a plain shorter waist-garment up to the knee or a same length garment but with a different design. The Vishnu half holds the four traditional attributes of Vishnu: [[Sudarshana chakra|chakra]](discus), [[shankha]] (conch), gada (mace) and lotus. The female half holds a ''[[kalasha]]'' (coconut-mango leaves atop a pot) or ''kumbha'' (water-pot) filled with gems, mirror, manuscript or book and a lotus. The goddess side may also hold a bell or a rosary. The manuscript and mirror are never associated with Lakshmi's iconography, however they are traditionally associated with other goddesses, suggesting their influence on the iconography of female side. The manuscript is the attribute of goddess [[Sarasvati]], while the mirror is the traditional attribute of [[Parvati]], especially in Ardhanarishvara icons. The necklace, anklets, waist-belt are common on both sides; the ear-rings, shape of the crown and arm ornaments differ.<ref name="pal"/><ref name="britishMuseum">{{cite journal|last=Pal|first=Pratapaditya|date=Winter 1964–1965|title=Notes on Five Sculptures from Nepal|journal=[[British Museum Quarterly|The British Museum Quarterly]]|publisher=[[British Museum]]|volume=29|issue=1/2|pages=32–33|doi=10.2307/4422882|jstor=4422882}}</ref><ref name="sircar"/><ref name="baijnath">{{cite web|url=http://www.baijnathtemple.com/sculpture1.htm|title=ARDH LAXMI-NARAYAN: Sculptures in Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh|access-date=30 May 2011}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ardhanarishvara]]
* [[Jumadi]]
* [[Lakshmi Narayana]]
* [[Harishankari]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Vaikuṇṭha Kamalaja}}
*[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/same-sex_desire_and_gender/gender_identity.aspx#1 Gender identity: Gods beyond gender] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619233633/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/same-sex_desire_and_gender/gender_identity.aspx#1 |date=19 June 2017 }} at the [[British Museum]]
*[http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/vaikuntha-kamalaja-22371 Vaikuntha Kamalaja] at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]

[[Category:Forms of Vishnu]]
[[Category:Hindu deities]]
[[Category:Androgynous and hermaphroditic deities]]
[[Category:Intersex topics in religion and mythology]]
[[Category:Forms of Lakshmi]]

Vaikuntha Kamalaja - Revision history

ArielGrace8803: Created the stub w/ infobox