Parvati (deity)

Symbols: Conch; lotus

Culture: Hinduism

Mother: Mena

Father: Himavan

Siblings: Ganga

Children: Karttikeya; Ganesha

Parvati is an important goddess in the Hindu pantheon. She is another aspect of the great mother goddess Devi and Shakti, the female energy of the universe. In this role she is the goddess of love, domesticity, fertility, and devotion. Some Hindu myths claim Parvati is in fact the progenitor of all other goddesses.

She was born as the daughter of Himavan, god of the Himalayas, who is also known as Parvateshwara, lord of the mountains, and Mena. Her name means "she who dwells in the mountain," or "she who is of the mountain." Parvati’s sister is the goddess Ganga, who is a personification of the sacred river Ganges.

In time, she fell in love with the god Shiva, who is part of the triad of supreme Hindu deities. Mythology reveals that she is a reincarnation of Shiva’s wife Sati, who committed suicide when her husband was insulted. After a long struggle, Parvati finally convinces the ascetic Shiva to marry her. Parvati’s role in transforming Shiva into a more congenial family man is key to both their mythologies. She extends Shiva’s circle of influence and activity as a householder, and is seen as the perfect complement to his ascetic, world-denying aspect.

Parvati’s powers, deeds, and myths are closely tied in to her role as Shiva’s wife. As is the case with some other divine Hindu consorts, Parvati is also perceived as Shiva’s Shakti, an embodiment of his power, the creative power of the universe. As Shiva’s principal wife, they reside together in their mountain kingdom of Kailash. Stories are told about their lovemaking being so intense that it shook the cosmos and worried the gods. Parvati and Shiva had two children, the warrior god Kartikeya and the elephant-headed god of wisdom, Ganesha.

Parvati is described and shown as being beautiful, with light skin, but there are numerous stories and depictions that reveal she earlier had dark skin. She is shown dressed in red, seated on either a lion or tiger, indicating that she can control the wilder aspects of nature. There are usually mountains around her, reflecting her birthplace as well as her home with Shiva.

When shown with Shiva, Parvati has two hands, but when standing alone she has four. In these hands she may be holding a conch, mirror, crown, rosary, bell, discus, trident, a dish, or flowers. One of her hands might be in the Abhaya mudra (symbolic hand gesture), which means fear not, or the Varada mudra, which means beneficence.

The goddess is also shown intimately linked with her husband as Ardhanarishvara, the lord who is half woman, depicted as a composite male-female figure. Parvati is also known by 108 names, the most popular of which are Uma, Shakti, Amba, and Gauri.

In Mythology

The goddess’s courtship of Shiva is a popular myth. Parvati is a reincarnation of Shiva’s first wife Sati, born into mountain royalty. She was smitten by Shiva and tried to get him to notice her. But Shiva had retreated into a cave in the Himalayas, rejecting all worldly things and becoming an ascetic. Parvati took flowers and fruits to his cave every day hoping for a change in his behavior, but Shiva did not stir from his meditation.

The gods were eager for Shiva to get married, so they sent Kama, the god of lust, to shoot arrows of desire into Shiva’s heart. Unfortunately, instead of opening his eyes and falling in love with Parvati, Shiva opened his third eye, from which missiles of fire erupted and set Kama on fire, reducing him to ash. With Kama dead, there would no more desire in this world and by extension, no renewal or regeneration, no spring to follow winter.

The worried gods turned to Parvati for help and realized she was not an ordinary woman. She was the mother goddess, Shiva’s feminine counterpart, who celebrated everything that Kama stood for. Parvati was determined to turn Shiva the ascetic into a householder, and her method surprised even the gods. She put herself in an extended meditative state, where she did not eat, sleep or move; she only thought of Shiva. She generated so much concentrated energy that Shiva’s mediation got disturbed and he could not help but step out of his cave and come to her. Shiva asked her what boon she wanted, and Parvati said she wanted him to be her husband. Shiva could not refuse. Because of her actions, Parvati is often said to be an extreme example of the ideal devotee and the ideal imperturbable Hindu wife.

Another version of the myth says that the gods were eager for Shiva and Parvati to marry so that they could produce a god that would be able to conquer evil. That god was their son, Kartikeya.

Origins and Cults

Parvati’s worship dates back centuries, but written accounts start appearing from the sixth century BCE. By 400 BCE, she had started regularly being mentioned as Shiva’s wife. Both of the famous epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, state this.

As a family goddess, Parvati is the one Hindus turn to for help with marriage, fertility, and parenting. Teej is a popular festival in northern and western India. It celebrates Parvati’s marriage to Shiva and welcomes the monsoon season. Single women sing devotional songs, pray, and sometimes fast in the hope of finding a good husband, while some married women also choose to do the same for the wellbeing of their husbands.

There are innumerable temples featuring Parvati and Shiva all over India and southeast Asia, and numerous ones dedicated to Parvati or her various other aspects. There’s a temple dedicated to Parvati in the famous Khajuraho temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site; the complex dates back to the tenth century BCE. Other major sites associated with Parvati are Kashi, Kedarnath, and Gaya.

At the Attukal Bhagavathy temple in Kerala, Parvati is worshipped as the goddess Kannaki. Every year, over one million women gather there to celebrate the Attukal Pongal festival, leading the Guinness Book of Records to call it the largest gathering of women for a religious event.

Bibliography

Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987. Print.

"New record for Kerala all-women’s temple." Rediff.com. PTI, 17 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.

Pattanaik, Devdutt. Myth = Mithya: Decoding Hindu Mythology. New Delhi: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Williams, George. Handbook of Hindu Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.