Parvati – Goddess of Love & Devotion – Hindu Goddess

The
Indian tradition is rich with goddesses. So varied
are her manifestations and names that every village
and every scripture, every art and artist create
their own unique image of her. While sometimes
she is a consort, at other times she is a fertility
goddess; at times she is a benevolent figure yet
at others she is horrific and malevolent. The
tradition is especially replete with a number
of goddesses who are associated with Shiva. But
the one that is artistically and lovingly the
most celebrated is Parvati. Unlike Durga and Kali
who assume their own independent religious status
in the Hindu pantheon and are worshipped and venerated
ritually, Parvati engages the greater attention
of poets and painters, musicians and dancers.
Numerous are her aspects, varied are her persona,
multiple are her attributes and many her names.
Of all the mythic beings in the Hindu pantheon
she is perhaps the most loved and undoubtedly
the most giving of her love. In her we have the
true celebration of Hindu womanhood. Of unsurpassed
sensual beauty, her endowment is not merely physical
but spiritual, not narcissistic but meant as an
offering. In her, it can be said that we have
the grand personification of the Hindu expression,
as well as the concept of beauty.

In classical mythology the raison
d’кtre of Parvati’s birth is to lure Shiva into
marriage and thus into the wider circle of married
life from which he is aloof as a lone ascetic,
living in the wilds of the mountains. The goddess
represents the complementary pole to the ascetic,
world-denying tradition in the Hindu ethos. In
her role as maiden, wife, and later as a mother,
she extends Shiva’s circle of activity into the
realm of the householder, where his stored-up
energy is released in positive ways.

Much as in the Christian art of
Medieval Europe, it is woman the Mother, the Madonna
suckling a babe who has been painted with reverence,
in the Indian Diaspora it is woman the beloved
who has been painted with love and passion. The
female friends of Krishna with their warm sensuous
faces, eyes filled with passion, and delicate
sensitive fingers, represent not the beauty of
a particular woman, but the beauty of entire womanhood.
In fact, she is there as the incarnation of all
the beauty of the world and as a representative
of the charm of her sex.

Parvati’s name, which means “she
who dwells in the mountains” or “she who is of
the mountain, identify her with mountainous regions.
She was the daughter of Himavat (Lord of the mountains)
and his queen Mena. She is usually described as
very beautiful. She showed a keen interest in
Shiva from the outset, repeating his name to herself
and taking delight in hearing about his appearance
and deeds. While she is a child a sage comes to
her house and after examining the marks on her
body predicts that she will marry a naked yogi.
When it becomes clear that she is destined to
marry Shiva, her parents are usually described
as feeling honored. Parvati too is delighted.

At some point during Parvati’s
attempts to attract Shiva’s attention for the
purpose of marriage, the god of love, Kama, is
sent by the gods to awaken Shiva’s lust. When
he attracts Shiva’s attention with sounds and
scents of spring, and tries to perturb Shiva with
his intoxicating weapons, Shiva burns him to ashes
with the fire from his middle eye. But steadfast
in her devotion, Parvati persists in her quest
to win Shiva as her husband by setting out to
perform austerities.

One of the most effective ways
to achieve what a person wants in traditional
Hinduism is to perform tapas, “ascetic austerities.”
If one is persistent and heroic enough, one will
generate so much heat that the gods will be forced
to grant the ascetic his or her wish in order
to save themselves and the world from being scorched.
Parvati’s method of winning Shiva is thus a common
approach to fulfilling one’s desires. It is also
appropriate, however, in terms of demonstrating
to Shiva that she can compete with him in his
own realm, that she has the inner resources, control,
and fortitude to cut herself off from the world
and completely master her physical needs. By performing
tapas, Parvati abandons the world of the householder
and enters the realm of the world renouncer, namely
Shiva’s world. Most versions of the myth describe
her as outdoing all the great sages in her austerities.
She performs all the traditional mortifications,
such as sitting in the midst of four fires in
the middle of summer, remaining exposed to the
elements during the rainy season and during the
winter, living on leaves or air only, standing
on one leg for years, and so on. Eventually she
accumulates so much heat that the gods are made
uncomfortable and persuade Shiva to grant Parvati’s
wish, so that she will cease her efforts.

The marriage is duly arranged
and elaborately undertaken. Shiva’s marriage procession,
which includes most of the Hindu pantheon, is
often described at length. A common motif during
the marriage preparations is Mena’s outrage when
she actually sees Shiva for the first time. She
cannot believe that her beautiful daughter is
about to marry such an outrageous-looking character;
in some versions, Mena threatens suicide and faints
when told that the odd-looking figure in the marriage
procession is indeed her future son-in-law.

After
the two are married they depart to Mount Kailasha,
Shiva’s favorite dwelling place, and immerse themselves
completely in sexual dalliance, which continues
uninterruptedly for long periods of time. The
Love god Kama is resuscitated when Shiva embraces
Parvati and the sweat from her body mingles with
the ashes of the burned god.

Their lovemaking is so intense
that it shakes the cosmos, and the gods become
frightened. They are frightened at the prospect
of what a child will be like from the union of
two such potent deities. They fear the child’s
extraordinary powers. They thus plan to interrupt
Shiva and Parvati’s lovemaking. Vishnu goes with
his entourage of gods to Kailasha and waits patiently
outside the quarters of Shiva. Many years passed
and yet Shiva remained closeted with Parvati.
Vishnu spoke in a shrill and plaintive voice and
entreated Shiva to come out and listen to their
problem. When Shiva disregarded this, Agni (Fire)
disguised himself as a pigeon and entered the
bedchamber of Shiva. Parvati immediately sensed
that her privacy was violated. Shiva withdrew
and a drop of his semen fell on the ground. Agni
in the form of the dove ate the drop of semen.
Parvati however was disturbed and angry that the
gods had assembled and interrupted her erotic
pleasures, and cursed them that all their wives
would be barren. She was particularly enraged
at Agni for having eaten the seed of Shiva.

When Agni was unable to bear the
fiery seed he went to the banks of the Ganga.
At that moment, the wives of the seven sages had
come down to bathe. Six of the wives felt cold
and went towards Agni. Agni dropped the seed and
the seed entered the wives and they became pregnant.
When the sages found this out they admonished
their wives who placed the embryo on one of the
peaks of the Himalayas. Thus was born Kartikeya,
a lustrous child with six heads. Shiva and Parvati
were delighted at the birth of their son and it
added much joy to Parvati who had longed for a
child. We are sometimes told that her breasts
oozed milk in affection when she first saw the
child.

Parvati’s
maternal instincts were indeed the most powerful
emotions in her life. While Shiva exulted in his
romantic dalliance with her, the true mother in
her longed for a child. She would entreat Shiva
to beget her a son and make her a mother but the
ascetic Shiva would hear nothing of it. She reminded
Shiva that no ancestral rituals are performed
for a man who has no descendants. Shiva assured
her that he had no desire to be a grahastha, householder,
for such a state in life brings fetters. Parvati
was disheartened and seeing her in that state
Shiva pulled a thread out of her red dress and
made a son and gave it to her. Parvati held him
to her breast and he came to life. As he sucked
on her milk he smiled and Parvati, pleased, gave
the son to Shiva. Shiva was surprised that Parvati
had breathed life in a child made of fabric but
warned that the planet Saturn would prove inauspicious
for this child and as he spoke those words, the
child’s head fell to the ground. Parvati was overcome
with grief. Shiva tried unsuccessfully to put
the head back together. A voice in the sky said
that only the head of someone facing north would
stick to this child. Shiva deputed Nandi to find
such a person. Nandi soon found Indra’s elephant
Airavat lying with his head facing north and began
to cut it. Indra intervened but Nandi was eventually
successful, although in the struggle one of the
tusks of the elephant was broken. Nandi took the
head to Shiva and thus was born Ganesha. The gods
celebrated the birth and Parvati was pleased.

In a strange myth it is stated
that Parvati had a third child, Andhaka, and an
interesting legend is narrated behind his birth.
In jest Parvati closed Shiva’s eyes with her delicate
hands and at once a darkness engulfed the world.
The hands of the goddess were drenched in Shiva’s
fluid born of passion, and when this was heated
by the heat of Shiva’s third eye it grew into
a horrific child, blind and gruesome. But Parvati,
true to her nature, lovingly cared for this child
as well. But as Andhaka grew, he became a demon
lusting for his own mother, and was eventually
put to death by Shiva.

For the most part Shiva and Parvati’s
married and family life is portrayed as harmonious,
blissful and calm. In iconography the two are
typically shown sitting in happy, intimate embrace.
There were also many moments of philosophical
discourse between the two. While Shiva taught
Parvati the doctrine of Vedanta, Parvati responded
by teaching him the doctrines of Sankhya, for
if Shiva was the perfect teacher, Parvati too,
as a yogini was no less. Parvati was constantly
by Shiva’s side, encouraging, assisting and, participating
in every activity of his.

An important part of Shiva’s daily
routine was the preparation of bhang, his favorite
intoxicant. Parvati would lovingly collect the
best bhang leaves, crush them and then filter
the decoction through a clean muslin cloth. At
other times Parvati would help Shiva make a quilt
that would keep them warm in the cold nights at
Kailasha. At yet other times she would sit by
his feet massaging them while Shiva reclined under
a tree. Parvati’s greatest pleasure was to serve
Shiva and cater to his every need. Nothing was
more important to her than being useful to her
lord, tending to his every comfort and ensuring
that he would not lapse into his solitary, self-denying
ascetic ways. In these activities she combined
the roles of a caring wife and an affectionate
mother.

But Shiva and Parvati do argue
and insult each other from time to time. Bengali
accounts of Shiva and Parvati often describe Shiva
as an irresponsible, hemp-smoking husband who
cannot look after himself. Parvati is portrayed
as the long-suffering wife who often complains
from time to time to her mother but who always
remains steadfast to her husband.

But
Shiva too was passionate in his love for Parvati.
Of the many games they played the one of great
significance was the game of dice. Once it so
happened that Parvati was initially losing to
Shiva, but then gradually the tables turned and
Shiva lost everything he had staked in the game,
including the crescent moon, his necklace and
earrings. When Parvati demanded that Shiva give
everything he had staked, there was a fight between
the two, much to the anguish of their attendants.
Parvati removed Shiva’s snake, the crescent moon
and even his loincloth. The onlookers were put
to shame and Shiva too was enraged and opened
his third eye. Following this incident, the two
separated. Shiva retreated into the wilderness
and Parvati into her quarters. But she was tormented
by this separation and at the bidding of her companions
went in search of Shiva. She took the form of
a shabari, a tribal woman, and approached Shiva
who was deep in meditation. Shiva was attracted
towards the shabari but when he realized that
she was none other than Parvati, he realized his
mistake and united with her much to their joy.

On another occasion, Parvati feels
pique when Shiva calls her by the nickname Kali
(blackie), which Parvati takes as a slur on her
appearance. She resolves to rid herself of her
dark complexion and does so by performing austerities.
Having assumed a golden complexion, she then becomes
known by the name Gauri (the bright or golden
one). In some versions of the myth, her discarded,
dark complexion or sheath gives birth to or becomes
a warrior goddess who undertakes heroic feats
or combat against demons.

The presence of an alter ego or
a dark, violent side to Parvati is suggested in
several myths in which demons threaten the cosmos
and Parvati is asked to help the gods by defeating
the demon in question. Typically, when Parvati
grows angry at the prospect of war, a violent
goddess is born from her wrath and proceeds to
fight on Parvati’s behalf. This deity is often
identified as the bloodthirsty goddess Kali. For
the most part, however, the myths emphasize Parvati’s
milder side. So out of character is Parvati on
the battlefield that another goddess, it seems,
must be summoned to embody her wrath and dissociate
this fury from Parvati himself.

The
main theme of the Parvati cycle of myths is clear.
The association between Parvati and Shiva represents
the perennial tension in Hinduism between the
ascetic ideal and householder ideal. Parvati,
for the most part, represents the householder.
Her mission is to lure Shiva into the world of
marriage, sex, and children, to tempt him away
from asceticism, yoga, and otherwordly preoccupations.
In this role Parvati is cast as a figure who upholds
the order of dharma, who enhances life in the
world, who represents the beauty and attraction
of worldly, sexual life, who cherishes the house
and society rather than the forest, the mountains,
or the ascetic life. Parvati civilizes Shiva with
her presence; indeed, she domesticates him. Of
her role in relation to Shiva in the hymns of
Manikkavacakar, a ninth-century poet-saint from
South India, it has been said: “Shiva, the great
unpredictable ‘madman’, is rendered momentarily
sane (i.e. behaves in a socially acceptable manner)
when in the company of the goddess. . . Contact
with his properly cultured spouse seems to connect
him with ordinary social reality and temporarily
domesticates him.”

Throughout Hindu mythology it
is well known that one of Shiva’s principal functions
is the destruction of cosmos. In fact, Shiva has
about him a wild, unpredictable, destructive aspect
that is often mentioned. As the great cosmic dancer,
he periodically performs the tandava, an especially
violent dance. Wielding a broken battle-ax, he
dances so wildly that the cosmos is destroyed
completely. In descriptions of this dance, Shiva’s
whirling arms and flying locks are said to crash
into the heavenly bodies, knocking them off course
or destroying them utterly. The mountains shake
and the oceans heave as the world is destroyed
by his violent dancing. Parvati, in contrast,
is portrayed as a patient builder, one who follows
Shiva about, trying to soften the violent effects
of her husband. She is a great force for preservation
and reconstruction in the world and as such offsets
the violence of Shiva. A seventeenth century Tamil
work pictures Parvati as a patient child who creates
the worlds in the form of little houses. Shiva
is pictured as constantly frustrating her purpose
by destroying what she has so carefully built.

The
crazy old madman stands in front,

Dancing, destroying the beautiful little house

that You have built in play.

You don’t become angry, but every time (he destroys
It)

you build it again.

When Shiva does his violent tandava
dance, Parvati is described as calming him with
soft glances, or she is said to complement his
violence with a slow, creative step of her own.

Parvati’s goal in her relationship
with Shiva is nothing less than the domestication
of the lone, ascetic god whose behavior borders
on madness. Shiva is indifferent to social propriety,
does not care about offspring, declares woman
to be a hindrance to the spiritual life, and is
disdainful of the trappings of the householder’s
life. Parvati tries to involve him in the worldly
life of the householder by arguing that he should
observe conventions if he loves her and wants
her. She persuades him, for example, to marry
her according to the proper rituals, to observe
custom, instead of simply running off with her.
She is less successful, however, in getting him
to change his attire and ascetic habits. She often
complains of his nakedness and finds his ornaments
disgraceful. Usually prompted by her mother, Parvati
sometimes complains that she does not have a proper
house to live in. Shiva, as is well known, does
not have a house but prefers to live in caves,
on mountains, or in forests or to wander the world
as a homeless beggar. Many myths delight in Shiva’s
response to Parvati’s domestic pleas for a house.
When she complains that the rains will soon come
and that she has no house to protect her, Shiva
simply takes her to the high mountain peaks above
the clouds where it does not rain. Elsewhere,
he describes his “house” as the universe and argues
that an ascetic understands the whole world to
be his dwelling place. These philosophic arguments
never satisfy Parvati, but she rarely, if ever,
wins this argument and gains a house.

Shiva
is a god of excesses, both ascetic and sexual,
and Parvati plays the role of modifier. As a representative
of the householder ideal, she represents the ideal
of controlled sex, namely, married sex, which
is opposed to both asceticism and eroticism.

The theme of conflict, tension,
or opposition between the way of the ascetic and
the way of the householder in the mythology of
Parvati and Shiva yields to a vision of reconciliation,
interdependence, and symbiotic harmony in a series
of images that combine the two deities. Three
such images or themes are central to the mythology,
iconography, and philosophy of Parvati:

• The theme of Shiva-Shakti
• The image of Shiva as Ardhanareshwara
  (the Lord who is half woman)
• The image of the linga and
  yoni

Shiva Shakti

The idea that the great male gods
all possess an inherent power through which they
undertake creative activity is assumed in Hindu
philosophical thought. When this power, or Shakti,
is personified, it is always in the form of a
goddess. Parvati, quite naturally, assumes the
identity of Shiva’s Shakti. She is the force underlying
and impelling creation. In this active, creative
role she is identified with prakriti (nature),
whereas Shiva is identified with purusha (pure
spirit). As prakriti, Parvati represents the inherent
tendency of nature to express itself in concrete
forms and individual beings. In this task, however,
it is understood that Parvati must be set in motion
by Shiva himself. She is not seen as antagonistic
to him. Her role as his Shakti is always interpreted
as positive. Through Parvati, Shiva (the Absolute)
is able to express himself in the creation. Without
her he would remain inert, aloof, inactive. It
is only in association with her that Shiva is
able to realize or manifest his full potential.
Parvati as Shakti not only complements Shiva,
she completes him.

A variety of images and metaphors
are used to express this harmonious interdependence.
Shiva is said to be the male principle throughout
creation, Parvati the female principle; Shiva
is the sky, Parvati the earth; Shiva is subject,
Parvati object; Shiva is the ocean, Parvati the
seashore; Shiva is the sun, Parvati its light;
Parvati is all tastes and smells, Shiva the enjoyer
of all tastes and smells; Parvati is the embodiment
of all individual souls, Shiva the soul itself;
Parvati assumes every form that is worthy to be
thought of, Shiva thinks of all such forms; Shiva
is day, Parvati is night; Parvati is creation,
Shiva the creator; Parvati is speech, Shiva meaning;
and so on. In short, the two are actually one-different
aspects of ultimate reality-and as such are complementary,
and not antagonistic.

Ardhanareshwara

The meaning of Ardhanareshwara
form of Shiva is similar. The image shows a half-male,
half-female figure. The right side is Shiva and
is adorned with his ornaments; the left side is
Parvati and adorned with her ornaments.

In
the text of Shiva-Purana it is mentioned that
the god Brahma is unable to continue his task
of creation because the creatures that he has
produced do not multiply. He propitiates Shiva
and requests him to come to his aid. Shiva then
appears in his half-male, half-female form. The
hermaphrodite form splits into Shiva and Parvati,
and Parvati, at Brahma’s request, pervades the
creation with her female nature, which duly awakens
the male aspect of creation into fertile activity.

Without its female half, or female
nature, the godhead as Shiva is incomplete and
is unable to proceed with creation. To an even
greater extent than the Shiva-shakti idea, the
androgynous image of Shiva and Parvati emphasizes
that the two deities are absolutely necessary
to each other, and only in union can they satisfy
each other and fulfill themselves. In this form
the godhead transcends sexual particularity. God
is both male and female, both father and mother,
both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle,
both destructive and constructive, and so on.

Linga
and Yoni

The image of the linga in the
yoni, which is the most common image of the deity
in Shiva temples, similarly teaches the lesson
that the tension between Shiva and Parvati is
ultimately resolved in interdependence. Parvati
as a sexual entity succeeds in tempering both
Shiva’s excessive detachment from the world and
his excessive sexual vigor. In the form of the
yoni in particular, Parvati fulfills and completes
Shiva’s creative tendencies. As the great yogi
who accumulates immense sexual potency, he is
symbolized by the linga. This great potency is
creatively released in sexual or marital contact
with Parvati. The ubiquitous image of the linga
in the yoni symbolizes the creative release in
the ultimate erotic act of power stored through
asceticism. The erotic act is thus enhanced, made
more potent, fecund, and creative, by the stored
up power of Shiva’s asceticism.

Though most arts give Parvati
a religious aura, including a certain poetic truth,
there is also an expression of both the romantic
and motherly love of Parvati. Possessing a measured
grace and refinement about them, these representations
have a certain earthy charm and spontaneity. In
her this form, Parvati is not only more endearing
and accessible, but also belongs to the shrine
or the walls of the home. These are not mere icons
or visual poetry, but mythic beings reduced to
everyday reality. This real Parvati is the one
that the common man can relate to, worship and
celebrate, in his or her own personal way.

References and Further
Reading

• Dehejia, Harsha. Parvati Goddess of Love: Ahmedabad, 1999.
• Dehejia, Harsha. Parvatidarpana: Delhi, 1997.
• Dehejia, Vidya (ed.). Devi The Great Goddess: Ahmedabad.
• Dhal, Upendra Nath. Goddess Laksmi: Origin and Development: Delhi.
• Gandhi, Maneka. On the Mythology of Indian Plants: New Delhi.
• Gupta, Shakti M. Plant Myths and Traditions in India: New Delhi.
• Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses (Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition): Delhi, 1998.
• Pande, Mrinal. Devi (Tales of the Goddess in Our Time): New Delhi.

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