Himavān

Himavān is the Himālaya mountain range as a living person. He is the king of all mountains and is also called Himācala, Himādri, Parvata-rāja (king of mountains) and Giripati (lord of the hills). He is the husband of Menā and the father of Pārvatī, who is also called Girijā. Bhagavān Śiva himself came to him to ask for Pārvatī’s hand.

Identity and nature

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20, describes Himavān as the Himālaya, the greatest mountain range, standing as a king. He is very powerful and ancient. He has all the gifts of the mountains: endless mineral wealth, sacred forests, divine rivers that rise from his snowfields, and countless tīrthas (holy places) on his slopes. His court is full of siddhas, vidyādharas, gandharvas, apsarasas, yakṣas and all the beings who live in the mountain regions.

The ṛṣis (seers) speak to him with respect, and the devas come to him when they need to take counsel.

Wife Menā and the children

Himavān’s wife is Menā, a woman of great virtue and a loving mother. They have several daughters. The most famous is Pārvatī, also called Girijā. Some accounts also count the rivers that flow from the Himālaya as his daughters, including the Gaṅgā, who comes down from his highest peaks to make the earth pure. His son is Maināka, the flying mountain who hid beneath the ocean when Indra cut the wings of the mountains.

The devas ask for his help

The devas saw that Paraśakti had to be born as Himavān’s daughter to become the wife of Bhagavān Śiva. They went to Himavān and told him the crisis they faced. He listened and understood. He agreed to receive Śakti as his daughter, to send her to serve Bhagavān Śiva, and in the end to give her in marriage to Bhagavān Śiva for the good of the worlds. So Himavān is more than Pārvatī’s father. He took a willing part in the plan for the birth of Kārttikeya. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20)

Nārada’s visit in the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells how Himavān received Nārada and learned about Pārvatī’s coming marriage. When Pārvatī reached marriageable age, Nārada came to Himavān’s home on Indra’s instruction. Himavān welcomed him with arghya (water of welcome) and seated him on a golden throne. Nārada praised Himavān’s service to the world with warm words:

“O Parvata-rāja! You stand stretching across the north and south, guarding and holding up all creatures. Because of you, the great brāhmaṇas can do their tapas (austerity), japa (silent repetition of a name), vrata (vow) and snāna (holy bath). They build their path to the other world with your support. To some creatures you give the means for yajña (fire rituals). To others you give kanda-mūla-phala (roots and fruits). You are like householders who hold up countless beings as their āśraya (shelter). You hold up countless forms of life, and you bear cold, heat, rain and every hardship for them. This is the nature of a sādhu (a good person)!”

Menā then came with the young Pārvatī, who held shyly to her father’s neck. Nārada looked at her closely. He explained the meaning of her raised right hand: she always gives abhaya (freedom from fear) to all creatures. He named her as the wife of Jagat-pāla Maheśvara. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Himavān’s grief at the hidden meaning

Menā was worried and asked Nārada to describe the girl’s future husband. Nārada smiled and answered with a careful mix of truth and hidden meaning. He said her husband “has very bad marks: he goes naked, has no wealth, is always surrounded by cruel companions, and is angry.”

Himavān was shattered. In a faltering voice he spoke of how rare it is to find a proper wife, how rare a family life of dharma is, and how hard it is to find worthy children. He asked in great pain: “Why has my daughter not found an appropriate husband? Your hard words are making me foolish (mūḍha).” Menā wept too.

Then Nārada showed the true meaning behind each of the apparent faults:

• Śiva’s nakedness is his all-pervasiveness. The whole cosmos is his garment.
• His śūla (trident) shows that he holds the three guṇas.
• His bhūtas (companions) are the liberated.
• His śmaśāna (burning ground) is saṃsāra itself, where he lives out of dayā (compassion).

Himavān and Menā were filled with joy. Nārada ended: “This union with Śiva is itself the highest good fortune for your daughter.” (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Sending Pārvatī to serve Śiva

Nārada gave a plain instruction: “Send Pārvatī to attend upon Śiva, with flowers, fruits and water, as his sevikā (woman attendant).” Himavān now understood and was glad. He called Pārvatī and told her: “Go with your sakhīs (friends) and attend upon Bhagavān Śiva with pūjā.”

Pārvatī went to Śiva’s āśrama (hermitage) and began her service. She brought flowers, gathered fruits and carried water. She looked after every need of Śiva’s tapovana (forest of austerity) with care and devotion. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Pārvatī’s tapas and Himavān’s worry

Śiva burned Manmatha and went back to Kailāsa. Pārvatī came home in distress and said she would do tapas. Her parents cried out “Umā!”, and from that cry she received the holy name Umā. They tried to stop her. Himavān said: “Your body is too delicate for such austerity. Do not do this. What must come will come anyway.”

Pārvatī held to the principle of the śāstras that tapas alone is the way to gain all that one wants. In the end Himavān gave his permission. He watched his daughter go to do the most remarkable tapas of the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa. It lasted four hundred years and went from eating pāṭala leaves to fallen leaves to water, and at last to complete fasting while standing on one toe. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 24–25)

Himavān at the svayaṃvara

Śiva showed himself to Pārvatī and then announced the svayaṃvara (the bride’s own choice of husband). All three worlds gathered. Himavān, as Pārvatī’s father, was the host. He saw Pārvatī in a golden vimāna (flying chariot). He saw all the worlds freeze when Śiva appeared as a small child. He saw the daityas flee at Śiva’s huṃkāra (roar). At last he saw Pārvatī come down and place the vaijayantī garland at Śiva’s feet. In this way the svayaṃvara of Jagadambā, the Mother of the world, was completed before all the worlds. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25)

The wedding maṇḍapa and the question of kula

Himavān asked Viśvakarman to build the wedding maṇḍapa (hall) for his daughter. It measured ten thousand yojanas. It was made of the finest celestial materials and could hold all the guests at the divine wedding.

As the talks for the wedding went on, Himavān’s household asked the usual question: what is the groom’s kula (family line) and gotra (clan)? Nārada answered that Śiva has no kula, because he is the source of all kulas, and no gotra, because he is the source of all gotras. Himavān heard this and understood humbly that his future son-in-law is beyond all such groups. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 24–25)

Śiva asks for Pārvatī’s hand

After the quarrel over the game of dice, Pārvatī, in the form of Śabarī, brought Śiva to Himavān’s door. She told him to ask her father for her hand. Śiva is the highest ruler of all worlds, and all the devas bow to him. Yet he stood at Himavān’s gate and said humbly: “Girivara, give me this beautiful daughter of yours. I ask as one in need.”

Himavān was filled with joy and deep respect at the same moment. He burst into praise of Śiva, and he also understood the divine play that was taking place. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35)

Burned to ashes by Śiva’s third eye

The Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 140, gives this account in the Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda (the talk between Umā and Maheśvara). Pārvatī playfully covered the two eyes of Śiva, which are the sun and the moon, and the world fell into darkness. Śiva then opened his third eye. The tejas (fiery power) of that eye burned Himavān, the mountain, completely to ashes.

Pārvatī was in distress at what had happened to her father. Her grief moved Śiva to give Himavān back his natural form. Birds and flowering trees returned at once. This event led directly to the teaching on dharma that follows in the same chapters.

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa gives the fullest account of Himavān’s part in the wedding of Śiva and Pārvatī. In it he is an active and essential member of the events.

The formal wedding talks

Vasiṣṭha and the Saptarṣis came to Himavān’s palace as Śiva’s formal wedding envoys (vivāha-dūtas). Himavān received them with great honour. Vasiṣṭha gave a long teaching on the nature of Śiva as Parabrahman. He explained who Śiva truly is beneath his naked appearance. He told the story of Satī and Pārvatī, and he showed why marriage to Śiva was the highest possible fate for Pārvatī. He also told the accounts of King Anaraṇya and of Padmā and Pippalāda, to show the puṇya (merit) of giving a daughter to a great ṛṣi.

Himavān spoke with his brothers among the mountains, Meru, Mandara, Vindhya and others. All agreed that the marriage should go ahead. Then he gave his formal consent. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 32–36)

Preparations and the wedding maṇḍapa

Himavān took charge of all the preparations. He sent formal invitations to all the sacred mountains: Meru, Mandara, Maināka, Krauñca, Vindhya and Kailāsa. He also invited all the sacred rivers: Godāvarī, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, Gaṅgā and Narmadā. The whole sacred land of Bhārata was invited as guests.

He asked Viśvakarman to build the wedding maṇḍapa. It was a cosmic structure of ten thousand yojanas. It held made figures of all the devas and ṛṣis. Each distinguished guest had a separate divine residence. Inside it were copies of Satyaloka, Vaikuṇṭha and the palace of Indra. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 37–38)

Welcome of Śiva’s procession

The great procession came from Kailāsa with 1120 crore gaṇas (Śiva’s attendants) and their commanders. Himavān came forward to welcome Śiva with due honour. He saw Menā’s fear when she looked at Śiva’s appearance. He handled the moment calmly, as a host who understood the great meaning of what was happening. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 41–43)

The kanyādāna

The kanyādāna, the giving of a daughter in marriage, is the most sacred act a father can do. Himavān did this kanyādāna when the wedding reached its highest point. As custom requires, he asked the bridegroom: “Tell us your gotra, kula and name.”

Śiva stayed silent, because he has no gotra. He is the source of all gotras. In that silence Nārada began to play his vīṇā. When he was asked to stop, Nārada explained that Śiva’s gotra is Nāda, the first sound. The assembled mountains and ṛṣis advised Himavān to go on. He placed Pārvatī’s hand in the hand of Śiva. Śiva took it with Vedic mantras. At that moment joy rose in all three worlds. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 48)

The lājāhoma

During the wedding fire rituals, Himavān’s son Maināka performed the lāja-homa, the offering of puffed grain into the sacred fire. He did this as the representative of the bride’s family. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 49)

The farewell

After several days of celebration, the Saptarṣis told Himavān that it was time for Pārvatī to leave. He went with the procession to the garden outside the city, where the devas and gaṇas were waiting. Menā wept and fainted at the parting. At the edge of the garden Himavān bowed down before Śiva in respect and placed his daughter in the care of his new son-in-law. Then he went home, and Pārvatī left for Kailāsa. (Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 53–55)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 22–25
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 20–26, 35
• Śiva Purāṇa, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 32–36, 37–38, 41–43, 48, 49 and 53–55
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 140