Pārvatī

Pārvatī is the eternal Paraśakti, the supreme divine power of Bhagavān Śiva. She is also known as Umā, Girijā, Aparṇā, Gaurī, Śailajā and Ambikā. She chose to be born as the daughter of Himavān and Menā so that she could become Śiva’s wife again, after her earlier birth as Satī.

She is the mother of Kārttikeya and Gaṇeśa. Her tapas as Aparṇā went beyond all other austerities. Her presence on Kailāsa, as the ardhanārī (the half of Śiva’s form that is Śakti), makes Bhagavān Śiva rūpavān (possessed of form). Without her he is nirākāra (without form) and nirguṇa (beyond the guṇas).

Her nature

Pārvatī is Paraśakti, the highest power that creates and sustains the cosmos. She cannot be separated from Śiva, as fire cannot be separated from its heat. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa teaches this again and again. During the dispute over the dice game Pārvatī says: “I am Śiva. Śiva always lives in me. By what force of speech do you speak of a difference between Śiva and Pārvatī?”

The pīṭhikā (base) of the Śivaliṅga is called the form of Viṣṇu in one reading. In the deeper reading of the Kedāra Khaṇḍa, it is Pārvatī-Prakṛti, the ground of all existence on which the liṅga of Śiva stands. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 34)

She stands in three relations to Śiva at the same time. She is his Śakti, his inseparable power to create. She is his ardhanārī, the left half of his form that is both male and female. And she is his pativratā (devoted wife). All three are aspects of the same reality, seen from different sides.

Names and epithets

  • Pārvatī: daughter of Parvata, the mountain Himavān.
  • Girijā: born of the mountain.
  • Umā: from the cry “U-mā!” (“O mother, don’t!”) that Menā made to hold her back from tapas.
  • Aparṇā: she who ate no leaf, during her hardest tapas.
  • Gaurī: the golden-complexioned one, the fair one.
  • Ambikā: the great mother.
  • Śailajā: daughter of the mountain.
  • Śivā: the auspicious feminine partner of Śiva.
  • Bhavānī: she who is the source of all becoming.
  • Śabarī: the tribal huntress, the form she took to win Śiva back.

Her earlier life as Satī in the Satī Khaṇḍa

The Satī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa gives the fullest Śaiva account of Pārvatī’s earlier life as Satī. In this account Satī is not only a devoted wife who met a sad end. She is Śivā, the Parā-Bhaṭṭārikā herself. She agreed to be born as Dakṣa’s daughter on one condition (pratijñā): she would give up the body the moment Dakṣa showed her disrespect. Her self-immolation at Dakṣa’s yajña, after he insulted Śiva in public, was the keeping of this promise made before her birth.

The Satī Khaṇḍa ends: “Śiva mourned for her for a long time. When the devas prayed again, that same Śivā Parā-Bhaṭṭārikā was born as Pārvatī, daughter of Himavat and Menā, performed her intense tapas, and married Śiva again.” (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43)

Her previous birth as Satī

Pārvatī’s birth as the daughter of Himavān is the continuation of her earlier life as Satī. Satī was the daughter of Dakṣa. She married Śiva, and later gave up her life when Dakṣa insulted Śiva at his great yajña. The plan for her new birth began with the need for Kārttikeya. The world needed a son of Śiva to kill Tāraka. This needed Śiva to be united with her. So Satī had to be born again and win Śiva’s heart again through tapas. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20)

Her birth in the Kaumārika account

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa gives the fullest account of Pārvatī’s birth. The asura Tāraka had conquered the three worlds, and the devas were humbled. Brahmā then told them the one way. Satī-devī must be born again as the daughter of Himavān. From her union with Śiva a child would be born who would kill Tāraka.

Brahmā called Rātri, the devī of night and his own first-born creation. He sent her with a clear task. She was to enter Menā’s womb and become the vehicle for Satī’s new birth. Rātri entered through Menā’s face at the brāhmī-muhūrta, the holy hour before dawn when sattva-guṇa is highest. Because Rātri’s dark nature entered the womb, Pārvatī would be born dark-skinned. This was part of the plan. Her dark colour would make Śiva at first turn her away, and this would lead her to do hard tapas.

Pārvatī was born at the brāhmī-muhūrta. Wonderful signs of good fortune filled all creation at that moment. All creatures were filled with joy. The minds of cruel beings grew gentle. The stars shone brighter. Forgotten śāstras came back to memory. The devas in the sky showered flowers on Himavān’s home. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

Childhood

Pārvatī grew into a girl, playing with divine companions and with mountain companions. They included gandharva-kanyās and the daughters of the kinnaras and munis of the mountains. From birth she bore divine marks. Her right hand was always raised in abhaya-mudrā (the gesture of fearlessness). Nārada later explained that it was not raised for any special reason. It was raised because it always gives abhaya (freedom from fear) to all beings. She grew up in Himavān’s mountain palace, among his peaks, rivers and forests. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

Nārada arranges the match: service at Śiva’s āśrama

When Pārvatī was old enough to marry, Indra called Nārada to arrange her betrothal to Śiva. Nārada went to Himavān’s home. He praised Himavān’s service to the cosmos and looked carefully at Pārvatī, who clung shyly to her father’s neck. Nārada explained the meaning of her raised right hand. He said she was the wife of Maheśvara, the protector of the world (Jagat-pāla).

Himavān asked about the man who would be her husband. Nārada gave a deliberately puzzling description of Śiva. He said that Śiva was naked, poor, surrounded by cruel companions, and quick to anger. Himavān was shattered and Menā wept. Then Nārada showed the hidden truth behind each seeming fault. Śiva is digambara (sky-clothed) because he is all-pervading. He is śūlin (holder of the trident, the three guṇas). He is bhūtapati (master of the bhūtas, the liberated). Himavān’s grief turned to joy.

Nārada’s advice was clear: “Send Pārvatī to attend upon Śiva as his sevikā (servant), with flowers, fruits and water.” Himavān agreed and told Pārvatī to do so. She went to Śiva’s tapovana (forest of tapas) with her sakhīs (companions). She began to serve him with pūjā. She brought flowers, picked fruits, carried water, and looked after all the needs of his āśrama with care and devotion. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 23)

The name Umā in the Kaumārika account

Śiva burned Manmatha and withdrew to Kailāsa. He felt lajjā (shame, awkwardness) at having been moved by the devas’ scheme. Pārvatī had been serving him regularly, and now he was gone. She was lost and confused. She walked back and forth, blaming herself strongly. Himavān saw her on his peak, weeping quietly, and gently took her home. Her parents asked what had happened.

Pārvatī spoke through her sakhīs: “What use is this unlucky body? I will either give up this body or win the husband I want. If what I wish is out of reach, tapas alone is left as my sādhana (practice). So, with various niyamas (vows), I will dry up this body. If you have karuṇā (compassion) for me, give me permission.”

Hearing this, her parents cried out without thinking: “U-mā!” This means “O! Do not!”, and it came from love and a wish to hold her back. From this cry of “Umā” the devī received that as one of her holy names. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 24–25)

Tapas as Aparṇā: the four hundred years

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa gives the fullest account of Pārvatī’s tapas. Her parents gave their permission, though they did not want to. She put on clothes of bark and began her austerities. The tapas went on for four centuries.

  • The first hundred years: she lived on pāṭala (trumpet-flower) leaves alone.
  • The second hundred years: she ate only fallen leaves, whatever fell from the trees by itself, and nothing that was plucked.
  • The third hundred years: she lived on water alone.
  • The last hundred years: she stood on the single toe of one foot, perfectly still. She ate nothing, and did not even drink water. This is the state in which she won the name Aparṇā, the one without a leaf.

During this tapas, ṛṣis came at different times to test and examine her. The text records one brahmacārī who came to offer her a pool of water for ritual bathing. He refused to take back the water from her right hand. He said it was now impure from the world’s pāpa (sin), though he was really testing her purity. Then he accepted water poured from her left hand. He knew that her right hand was the hand that gives abhaya, and that her purity was such that even water from the right hand was spotless. His refusal was a test, and Pārvatī passed it. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25)

The brahmacārī test: her defence of Śiva

At the end of her tapas, Śiva himself came to the tapas-vana disguised as a brahmacārī (a young student). He spoke with Pārvatī and tested her resolve. He listed the many seeming faults of Śiva. He said that Śiva was naked, smeared with ash, living in cremation grounds, surrounded by ghosts and fearful creatures, of unknown family and without wealth.

Pārvatī answered each charge fully. Her answers matched the hidden meanings that Nārada had given to her father, but now she spoke them herself, with her own conviction.

  • Digambara (naked): the sky itself is his garment. He is all-pervading and cannot be dressed in anything less than the cosmos.
  • Bhūti (ash): the vibhūtis, the special manifestations described in the śruti, are what he wears. Ash is the sign of what he truly wears.
  • Bhūtapati (master of the bhūtas): the bhūtas include the liberated. He is the master of all liberated beings.
  • Śmaśāna (cremation ground): the cremation ground is saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death) itself. He lives there out of dayā (compassion) for those who seek liberation.

The brahmacārī pointed to Śiva’s inauspicious nature and told her to choose someone else. Pārvatī turned to leave. She said she would close her ears and not hear one more syllable against Śiva. At that moment Śiva caught her by her garment and showed himself in his true form. Pārvatī knew him and bowed in reverence. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25)

The svayaṃvara: the assembly of all the worlds

Śiva announced the svayaṃvara (the bride’s own choice of husband). All three worlds came together. Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Indra, all the loka-pālas, all the ṛṣis, gandharvas, apsarasas and daityas gathered. It was an occasion of the highest importance for the cosmos, because it was the svayaṃvara of the jagadambā (mother of the world).

Pārvatī came in a golden vimāna (flying car), wearing the vaijayantī garland. Śiva appeared among the assembly as a small śiśu (infant), standing before her. No one there knew his form. A sudden stillness fell on the whole gathering.

  • Indra’s arm, which held the vajra, froze, and he could not move it.
  • All the loka-pālas found their weapons stilled in their hands.
  • Pūṣan’s teeth fell out.
  • Bhaga lost his sight.
  • All the devas stood frozen where they were.

This stillness showed those with understanding who the śiśu was. Brahmā closed his eyes in meditation and knew who was there. He urged the devas to bow: “This is the ruler of all worlds. He alone is worthy of her garland. Submit. Bow.” The daityas fled in all directions, struck by Śiva’s huṃkāra (a sound of cosmic power).

Śiva then showed his true divine form. He gave all those present divya-cakṣu (divine sight) so that they could see him. Pārvatī came down from her vimāna and placed the vaijayantī garland at the feet of Śiva. The svayaṃvara was ended not as a choice among suitors but as the recognition of Paraśakti before Parameśvara. All the worlds rang with the cry “Jaya Śaṃkara!” (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25)

The marriage of Śiva and Gaurī in the Kaumārika account

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells the marriage of Śiva and Gaurī in great detail (Chapter 26). The Saptarṣis (the Seven Ṛṣis) went to Himavān as the formal envoys with the proposal. On the auspicious day the whole cosmic order gathered. All the devas, gandharvas, apsarasas, ṛṣis, nāgas and gaṇas came. Brahmā himself made a splendid city of one hundred yojanas for the occasion. Viṣṇu acted as the bride’s brother and performed the kanyādāna (the giving of the bride). When the question of Śiva’s gotra came up, Viṣṇu said it was “Ātman”, because Śiva has no lineage and is the Self of all. The lājāhoma (an offering of puffed rice into the sacred fire) was done, and Pārvatī and Śiva were joined in marriage. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 26)

The birth of Gaṇeśa and Pārvatī’s departure for tapas

After the marriage, as the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa records in Chapter 27, Pārvatī made Gaṇeśa from the unguent (nalugu piṇḍi) she gathered from her own body while bathing. She gave him life with her own śakti. Śiva named the child and said what his work in the cosmos would be. Gaṇeśa would remove obstacles for people who follow dharma and make obstacles for those who follow adharma.

Then the account turns. Śiva, speaking frankly, called Pārvatī Kālī, the dark one, and also Kṛṣṇā, the black-complexioned. He was speaking of the dark colour she had had from birth, as a result of Rātri’s entry into her mother’s womb. Pārvatī was deeply hurt, and her pride was stung. She decided to do tapas to lose her dark colour and gain a golden form. She took her infant son Gaṇeśa and went to the Himādri, the great peaks of the Himālaya, to do austerities. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27)

Pārvatī’s tapas on the Himādri and the daitya Ādi

The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa tells of Pārvatī’s tapas on the Himādri in Chapters 28–29. During this time a daitya named Ādi had received a vara from Brahmā. It gave him the power to take the exact form of any person. He took the form of Pārvatī and went to Śiva. He meant to kill Śiva by coming into his presence in the trusted form of his wife and then striking him when he was off guard.

But Śiva sees through all appearances, and he was not deceived. He knew the daitya inside the false form and destroyed him. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 28–29)

Service at Kailāsa in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa account

In the Kedāra Khaṇḍa, the ṛṣis advised Himavān about the need of the cosmos. He brought Pārvatī to Kailāsa to serve Śiva as an attendant. In this time she served the one she loved with devotion, while he kept an attitude of calm renunciation. This is itself a teaching about the relation of Śakti and Śiva in the manifest cosmos. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20)

The test and the betrothal

Śiva came to her disguised as a young vāṭu (a young brāhmaṇa student) and criticised himself at length to her face. Pārvatī stayed unmoved. She said she would not hear a syllable of criticism against Śiva. She said she had chosen him knowing fully what the world might say of him, and that she wanted no other husband. When Śiva dropped the disguise and showed himself, the betrothal was settled at once. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

The divine marriage

The wedding took place at Himavān’s maṇḍapa (wedding hall), a structure of ten thousand yojanas built by Viśvakarman. All the devas, ṛṣis, gandharvas and apsarasas came, together with the whole company of Śiva’s fearsome gaṇas. Brahmā led the rites. During the ceremony, when Pārvatī bowed, Brahmā by accident saw her feet and was overcome. The Vālakhilyas were born from his fallen retas (seed). The four days of celebration that followed shook all the worlds with music and joy. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 23–26)

Pārvatī as a mother

Pārvatī is the mother of the two most important sons of Śiva.

Gaṇeśa. The Kedāra Khaṇḍa presents Gaṇeśa as the son of Māyā (Prakṛti), whom Pārvatī embodies. After Gaṇeśa’s first head was cut off, the mother aspect of Māyā and Paraśakti spoke to Śiva. Her prayer led to his being restored with the head of an elephant. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 10)

Kārttikeya. Pārvatī’s body could not hold Śiva’s retas, because of its cosmic force. It passed through Agni, the devas and the Kṛttikā women. At last it took form in the sands of the Gaṅgā as Kārttikeya. Pārvatī’s milk flowed of itself at his birth. She went to the Gaṅgā to take him in her arms as her own. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 27)

The dice game and the disguise as Śabarī

The best-known event of Pārvatī’s life on Kailāsa after the marriage is the dice game. Pārvatī played against Śiva and won, but Śiva said he had not lost. Nārada took Śiva’s side, and so did Bhṛṅgī. Pārvatī was furious. She gave Bhṛṅgī a śāpa (a curse) that he would be nirmāṃsa (all bones, with no flesh). She took off Śiva’s ornaments, including Vāsuki. She faced his third eye without flinching. Śiva left for the forest. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 34)

To win him back, Pārvatī took the form of a Śabarī, a beautiful tribal huntress, and found Śiva in meditation. Her beauty broke even Śiva’s samādhi. She played a game of coming near and drawing back, which kept Śiva in a state of longing pursuit. In the end she brought him to Himavān, who was asked for her hand. The reconciliation was completed when Bṛhaspati performed Śiva’s abhiṣeka (ritual bathing) at Gandhamādana. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 35)

What Pārvatī shows about Śiva

Pārvatī’s role in the Kedāra Khaṇḍa makes one steady statement. Śiva alone is nirguṇa, nirākāra and nirviśeṣa (without distinctions). But in that state he cannot be reached by creation or by devotees. Pārvatī’s presence as Paraśakti makes him rūpavān, with form, near and lovable. Nārada says at the wedding: “By her grace alone, Śiva who is formless has taken form.” The Śaiva teaching of non-duality is that Śiva and Śakti are one, and appear as two for the sake of devotion and creation.

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa of the Rudra Saṃhitā gives a separate and detailed account of the events that led to the wedding of Śiva and Pārvatī. It has 55 adhyāyas.

Nārada’s teaching and the Pañcākṣarī

The Pārvatī Khaṇḍa begins with Nārada visiting Pārvatī, who was still a young girl at Himavān’s home. He initiated her into the Pañcākṣarī mantra (Namaḥ Śivāya). This teaching started her resolve to win Śiva through tapas. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 14–15)

The three thousand years of tapas

In the Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Pārvatī’s tapas lasted three thousand years, at Gaurīśikhara, a peak in the Himālaya. The length and strength of her austerity had great effects on the cosmos. The heat of her tapas spread through all three worlds and scorched even the devas in their lokas. Animals that hunt and animals that are hunted lost their hatred for each other and sat in peace together near her āśrama. All of nature was changed by her presence.

She received the name Aparṇā during this tapas. She cut down her food little by little, from leaves (parṇa) to nothing, and in the end ate not even one leaf. The ṛṣis who saw her austerity gave her this name to mark her great self-control. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 21–24)

The devas could not bear the cosmic heat of her tapas, and they asked Śiva to respond. Śiva agreed to their request and began the course of events that led to the wedding.

The Saptarṣis test her

Before coming himself, Śiva sent the Saptarṣis to test Pārvatī’s resolve. They came to the place of her tapas and set her a two-part challenge. First they spoke ill of Nārada, who had first advised her to do tapas. Then they spoke ill of Śiva at length. They listed every seeming fault in the harshest words and urged her to choose a more suitable husband.

Pārvatī answered at once and without wavering. She gave a full defence of Śiva and explained that each seeming fault was a mark of his supreme nature. She sent the ṛṣis away with firm finality. She would not hear one more syllable against Śiva. The Saptarṣis were satisfied that her devotion was true and unshakeable, and they reported to Śiva. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 25)

The brahmacārī test and the revelation

Śiva himself then came, disguised as an old jaṭā-brahmacārī (a brahmacārī with matted hair). Pārvatī received him with hospitality. Her sakhī Vijayā told the brahmacārī the whole story of her tapas. The brahmacārī then began a long and thorough criticism of Śiva. It covered his looks, his companions, his home, his family and his character. He also praised Viṣṇu as a more worthy husband.

As the criticism went on, Pārvatī lost her calm and defended Śiva with passion. She answered every charge with its true meaning. The digambara is all-pervading. The ash is the power of vibration. His companions are the liberated. The śmaśāna is saṃsāra itself. When the brahmacārī kept on, she said she would not hear one more syllable against Śiva and turned to leave in anger.

At that moment Śiva caught her garment and stopped her, and as she turned, the disguise fell away. Śiva showed himself in his true form. Pārvatī stood speechless.

Śiva said: “I am your servant. You have shown that your devotion to me is not the product of desire or ignorance but of true jñāna (knowledge). I accept you.” (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 26–28)

Her wish for proper wedding rites

After the revelation, Pārvatī did not accept union at once. She made a clear request. She asked Śiva to come formally to Himavān’s house and ask for her hand by the proper rules of laukika-dharma (the customs of the world). She insisted that, as a lesson for the world and for all later generations, this wedding must follow proper Vedic form.

Śiva at first hesitated, saying that great beings do not beg for what is already theirs. Pārvatī held firm, gently and clearly. Śiva agreed, and both went back to their own homes to prepare. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 29)

Kanyādāna and the question of gotra

At the wedding, when the formal kanyādāna was to be done, Himavān asked the usual question: “Tell us your gotra, kula and name.” Śiva fell silent. He has no gotra. He is the source of all gotras and comes before all lineages.

In the awkward silence, Nārada began to play his vīṇā. When he was asked to stop, Nārada explained that Śiva’s gotra is Nāda, the first sound. Nāda is Śiva, and Śiva is Nāda. The playing of the vīṇā was itself the declaration of Śiva’s lineage.

Himavān put Pārvatī’s hand in Śiva’s hand. Śiva took it with Vedic mantras. Joy rose in all three worlds. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 48)

The teaching on pativratā-dharma

Before Pārvatī left her parents’ home, a brāhmaṇa woman gave her a formal teaching on pativratā-dharma, the full duties of a devoted wife. Pārvatī received it with full humility and attention, and set the example for all brides who leave their homes. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 54)

Departure for Kailāsa

All the beings at Himavān’s house were sad at the farewell. Even Śiva wept. Menā fainted. The whole gathering of divine women, ṛṣis, mountains and rivers wept at Pārvatī’s leaving. She said goodbye to each being with tenderness.

She got into her palanquin. Himavān walked with the procession to the garden outside the city, where the devas and gaṇas were waiting. He bowed before Śiva and returned. Śiva and Pārvatī left together for Kailāsa, where they would live in eternal union. (Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 53–55)

Varas given to Kṛṣṇa and Upamanyu, Anuśāsana Parva (Chapters 14–15)

In the Anuśāsana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Pārvatī (called Umā there) appears again and again beside Śiva, as a witness and as one who gives varas in the same divine vision. Śiva came disguised as Indra on Airāvata to test the bhakti of Upamanyu. When the disguise fell away, it was Śiva with Pārvatī who was seen. Airāvata became the bull Nandin, and Pārvatī sat beside Mahādeva in his full form of eighteen arms. Pleased with Upamanyu’s stotra, “Pārvatī-sahita Vṛṣabhadhvaja Mahādeva” (Mahādeva with Pārvatī, whose banner is the bull) told the devas who had gathered to look at Upamanyu’s supreme bhakti before he gave his varas. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 14)

Later Kṛṣṇa did his own six months of tapas at the same āśrama. He wanted a son for his queen Jāmbavatī. He also saw Śiva and Pārvatī together, surrounded by eleven hundred Rudra-gaṇas. In Chapter 15, Śiva gave Kṛṣṇa eight varas, including dharma-dṛḍhatā (firmness in dharma) and ten thousand sons. Then Pārvatī herself gave eight more:

  • freedom from anger toward brāhmaṇas,
  • his father’s grace,
  • a hundred sons,
  • supreme enjoyment,
  • prīti (love) within his family,
  • his mother’s grace,
  • śama (calm), and
  • sāmarthya (ability).

Without being asked, she added more. She said that Kṛṣṇa would never hear a falsehood from her. She said he would have sixteen thousand wives with undying love for one another, a body whose beauty would not fade, and seven thousand guests fed daily in his house. After giving these, Śiva and Pārvatī vanished together with their gaṇas.

In a further episode, Pārvatī (as Umā) appears with Śiva to bless the ṛṣi Taṇḍi with a son who was to become a sūtrakartā (an author of sūtras). (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 14–16)

The Umā-Maheśvara Saṃvāda (Chapters 140–146)

Later in the Anuśāsana Parva, Pārvatī (Umā) is the one who asks the questions in a great dialogue on dharma-śāstra, which Nārada tells. On Himavat, she playfully covered Śiva’s eyes, which are the sun and the moon. The whole cosmos fell into darkness. Śiva opened his third eye, and its tejas burned her own father Himavat to ashes. Then Śiva restored him, out of love for her. Her questions about Śiva’s iconography (his four faces, his blue throat, his bull as vāhana, and his love for the śmaśāna) led into Śiva’s full teaching of dharma over five chapters. It covers the five dharmas of the householder, the four stages of saṃnyāsa, the vow of tapas in vānaprastha, the changing of varṇa, the three bonds of the mind (action, speech and thought), and the fruits of dāna and karma.

In Chapter 146, Śiva turned the roles round and asked Umā to teach him strī-dharma (the dharma of women). He said that she talks daily with the great pativratās Sāvitrī, Śacī, Dhūmorṇā, Buddhi, Gaurī, Suvarcalā, Rohiṇī, Svāhā and Aditi. Umā first passed the question to the personified holy rivers, led by Gaṅgā. They in turn said that Gaṅgā was the one best fitted to answer. Umā then gave the full teaching on the wife as sahadharmacāriṇī (one who walks with her husband in dharma) and pati-devatā (one for whom the husband is a deva). It ends with the declaration that for women the husband alone is deva, kin and refuge. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 140–146)

Sources

  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapters 22–29
  • Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kedāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 20–26, 34–35
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Satī Khaṇḍa, Chapter 43
  • Śiva Purāṇa, Rudra Saṃhitā, Pārvatī Khaṇḍa, Chapters 14–15, 21–24, 25, 26–28, 29, 48, 53–55
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 39
  • Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 14–15, 140–146