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The goddess Parvati is
the 'lover of life' who
brings her power and prowess
into the world as she infuses it with her magic.
The Story of Parvati
Even as a young girl Parvati was
in love with Shiva. But
Shiva, the god of War, was
grieving the death of the woman
he loved and had turned his back on the
world and all its pleasures. He
now lived in a dark cave and
spent his days in meditation.
Determined to win his affection,
Parvati would visit his cave each
day to bring him fruit and to
sweep the floor of the cave and
decorate it with flowers. But
Shiva spurned her efforts.
Parvati remained determined. She decided to go into the
mountains and become an ascetic
herself, thinking perhaps this
would win his love.
Living in the forest with
nothing to eat and with no
clothes to protect her tender
body from the fierce weather,
Parvati completely mastered her
physical needs. Soon she was
able to match Shiva’s awesome
powers by creating incredible
energy in her yoga
meditations—enough energy to
attract the attention of
Brahma, the supreme deity of the
Hindu pantheon.
Brahma took pity on Parvati and
asked what she wanted. Ashamed
of her dark skin, she told him
she wanted golden skin and he
granted her wish. When Shiva saw her
and realized how beautiful and
powerful she had become, he was
unable to resist her. The two were
soon married in a sacred
ritual performed by the gods.
Parvati wanted a child. But Shiva
didn't want to be bothered with
offspring so he spitefully gave
her a scrap of cloth and told
her to make a doll and cuddle it
instead.
Hurt by his remark she
withdrew to a cave to meditate
and get control of her emotions.
Grasping the cloth to her
breast, Parvati’s tears dropped
on it and the cloth grew into
the form of Ganesha, her son.
She assigned her newly created
son to guard over her cave and
to keep out all strangers.
In
the meantime Shiva began to
regret his impulsive act and
came to find Parvati and
apologize. Ganesha didn’t
recognize him and blocked his
way.
Shiva flew into a rage and
beheaded Ganesha.
Parvati’s
grief was so intense that Shiva
promised to find Ganesha another
head. Shiva could only find an
elephant's head, which probably
seemed a bit suspicious to
Parvati, but there was nothing
she could do.
Thus Ganesha was
reborn as half human, half
elephant. He became the Keeper
of the Threshold and the God of
Good Fortune, an obstacle to all
that is undesirable.
The union with Parvati
inspired Shiva to once again
become concerned for the world.
The learning that
he had gathered in his
meditations ensured that his
spiritual energy was channeled for the good of
all mankind.
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