Goddess Parvati name means mountain as the Sanskrit word for “Parvati” is “parvat”. She is the consort of Lord Shiva and mother to Lord Kartikeya and Lord Ganesha. She is the reincarnation of Sati who was the first wife of Lord Shiva. There is quite an interesting story regarding the birth and marriage of Goddess Parvati.
Lord Shiva was married to Sati who was the daughter of Daksha. The aesthetic lifestyle of Lord Shiva was disliked by Daksha and he firmly disapproved of the marriage of his daughter to him. This anger manifested itself when he conducted a very big yagna or religious sacrifice where he invited all the Gods but purposefully forgot to call his daughter or her husband.
Knowing about this Lord Shiva asked his wife Sati not to go to the yagna but she uninvited only to be insulted and ridiculed there. Unable to stand the insult meted out to her husband she jumped into the fire of the yagna and died. Lord Shiva was livid with rage and destroyed and killed everything in his path including Daksha.
Lord Vishnu used his discus to cut the dead body of Sati into several pieces and this helped calm the anger of Lord Shiva. However he was greatly disturbed by the death of his wife and retreated into a cave to meditate.
It was during this time that the demons drove out the Gods from the heavens and the only option available to them was to seek the help of Lord Shiva. As he was not available they approached Mother Sakthi who informed them that Sati will be born as Goddess Parvati and the son from the union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati will be able to destroy the demons.
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| THE PARVATHI VALLEY |
She also tried bringing fruits for him but he remained steadfast in his meditation. There are stories that indicate that Goddess Parvati was shunned by him due to her dark skin. In a final attempt to win his love and affection, she decided to do penance in the forest.
She did the toughest of penance with no food and clothes to shelter her. She continued her penance in rain and sun and her determination finally moved Lord Brahma who promised to grant her a wish. She wished to become extremely beautiful so that Lord Shiva would love her. Lord Brahma granted her wish and she was blessed with immense beauty.
She walked inside the cave radiating feminine beauty and grace and Lord Shiva was enchanted with her. He fell in love with her and they got married. Lord Kartikeya was born out of their union and went on to destroy the demons as promised to the Gods.
Lord Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati and asked to safeguard the entrance of her abode. When Lord Shiva returned after fighting a battle with the asuras he was not allowed to enter as Lord Ganesha was not aware about him. In a fit of anger, Lord Shiva severed the head of Lord Ganesha and this greatly saddened Goddess Parvati. In a bid to pacify her he ordered his men to bring the head of the first living being that come across. They got the head of the elephant and thus was created Lord Ganesha.
Along with sons Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya and husband Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati is the perfect embodiment of a happy family.
