The Story of Shiva and Parvati

Parvati and Shiva
After the death of Sati, the goddess Shakti incarnated onto the Earth again as the daughter
of King Himavat and Queen Mena. After her birth as Parvati, the sage Narad Muni declared that
this infant princess was destined to marry Shiva. All while growing up, Parvati would fantasize
about Shiva and how she was meant to be his wife. When the time came that Parvati was of a
marriageable age, she traveled to the Himalayas in order to perform penance to appease Shiva.
But Shiva was still grieving for his lost wife, Sati, and would not leave his meditation. Yet, he
was unaware that Parvati was the very incarnation of Sati, since they each embody Adi
Parashakti. So Parvati continued her penance, only allowing herself to eat roots and leaves while
bearing the climates of the mountains without any clothing. So great was Parvati’s suffering in
order to win Shiva’s heart, that she soon grew very thin, but still she continued to praise Shiva
and follow in his footsteps of asceticism.
Meanwhile, the gods and humans were being terrorized by the asura Taraka. The gods
went to Brahma for help and he responded that only the son of Shiva could defeat Taraka. This
caused the gods to step in and assist Parvati in drawing Shiva out of his meditation. They sent
Kama, the god of desire, to Mount Kailash where Shiva stayed. Once there, Kama shot one of his
divine arrows into Shiva in order to rouse desire in him for Parvati. However, this only enraged
Shiva, causing him to open his third eye and annihilate Kama into ash.
Parvati continued her severe penance for around 5,000 years and had stopped eating and
drinking altogether, becoming skeletal in appearance. Her body had been at the mercy of the
winds, the cold, the searing heat, and yet, Parvati remained. So determined was she to be with
Shiva, that her penance equaled that of the Mahayogi Shiva himself. From this great penance,
Parvati came to remember her past life as Sati, and thus realized that she was the incarnation of
Shakti. The energy she created from her penance grew so strong that it reached all the way to
Shiva, who stirred from his meditation. Noticing Parvati, he became immensely impressed by the
princess and he too noticed that she was his loft wife. He gathered himself up and decided to go
test Parvati’s devotion to him.
Under the guise of an elderly brahmin, Shiva approached Parvati and asked her, “Why
are you performing such severe penance, my dear? What do you wish to obtain?” To this, Parvati
replied that she wished to marry Lord Shiva. This caused Shiva to cringe, for he realized all this
suffering was for him. He then asked “Why would such a beautiful woman like you want to
marry someone who covers himself in ash and wears a tiger skin?”
At that question, Parvati became enraged and snapped, “What do you know about him? I
am the reincarnation of goddess Sati, his other half. We are incomplete without each other.”
Knowing that her heart was true, Shiva revealed himself to Parvati and tearfully reunited
with one another, agreeing to marry. He took Parvati into his arms and cleaned her body with the
water of the Ganges flowing from his hair, causing her to emerge as beautiful and radiant as the
Moon, and earning her the name Mahagauri.
At the day of her wedding, Parvati awaited Shiva at her palace in the company of her
family. But when Shiva arrived, he appeared in a terrorizing form with his body smeared in ash
and snakes all around his neck and hair. Accompanying him was a whole host of gods, spirits,
ascetics, sages, goblins, ganas, and aghoris. Upon seeing this, Parvati’s parents are left in shock
and horror, with many other members fainting out of pure terror. In order to help her family and
save Shiva from embarrassment, Parvati takes the fierce form of her aspect Chandraghanta and
approaches Shiva. Calmly, Chandraghanta persuades Shiva to instead take the form of a
handsome prince, to which Shiva obliges. The two of them have a grand wedding and happily
remain together at Mount Kailash.

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Parvati and Shiva

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