Uma - Mahashvara

Shiva manifests himself in a large number of parallel existences with different names. As Maheshvara, he is inseparable from his partner Uma. As the personification of beauty and light, she leads Shiva and his destructive qualities out of his ascetic world and into the realm where his energy can unfold positively. The goddess herself is identified with the creative forces of the cosmos. As a couple, they symbolize the cosmic unity of spirit and object, of content and substance, of oneness and duality.The way Shiva leans his arm tenderly on Uma's shoulder and she nestles gracefully and lovingly against him makes the divine couple appear as an idealization of both spiritual union and human sensual love.