Difference between revisions of "Parvati" - New World Encyclopedia
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Parvati is the daughter of''[[Himavat]]'', the personification of the [[Himalaya]] mountains, and the [[apsaras]] [[Mena|Menā]]. Her origin as daughter of the Himalayas, as well as her name and many epithets which connect her to the mountains (such as Girisa: "mistress of the mountains"), suggest that she may have originated from a non-Aryan tribal goddess who dwelled in the mountains. However, Parvati's mythology does not describe her as goddess of mountain ranges or of the wild in general. <ref>Kinsley, 41.</ref> Rather, Parvati's primary function is as the wife of Shiva, the civilizing, domesticating force who compliments his wild asceticism. | Parvati is the daughter of''[[Himavat]]'', the personification of the [[Himalaya]] mountains, and the [[apsaras]] [[Mena|Menā]]. Her origin as daughter of the Himalayas, as well as her name and many epithets which connect her to the mountains (such as Girisa: "mistress of the mountains"), suggest that she may have originated from a non-Aryan tribal goddess who dwelled in the mountains. However, Parvati's mythology does not describe her as goddess of mountain ranges or of the wild in general. <ref>Kinsley, 41.</ref> Rather, Parvati's primary function is as the wife of Shiva, the civilizing, domesticating force who compliments his wild asceticism. | ||
| − | + | [[Kalidasa]]'s epic ''Kumarasambhavam'' details with matchlessly lyrical beauty the story of the maiden Parvati, whose very existence was necessitated by the fact that Shiva needed a consort to bear his child. A demon by the name of Taraka had been granted a boon that he would be invincible to any creature except for a child of Shiva. Because of Shiva's asceticism, the gods have to make an active search to find a woman capable of pulling Shiva out of his renunciation and into a sexual encounter. Sati is said to have consented to have been reborn in order to help the gods, and so she takes birth as Parvati, who is dark in complexion and very beautiful. Much like Sati, she takes a great interest in Shiva from a young age. This possibility is bolstered by the fact that a rishi predicts that she will marry a naked yogi, and her parents are honored by the news. | |
| − | Parvati makes some initial attempts to attract Shiva's attention, but the god is too deeply immersed in his ascetic practices. The gods send [[Kama]], the god of love, to stimulate Shiva's lust. Kama uses scents and sounds from the springtime in order to set Shiva into a swoon, but Shiva scorches him with the fire from his middle eye. Although the gods mourn Kama's incineration, his work was not without its effects, and Shiva winds up falling in love with Parvati, nonetheless. After Parvati surpasses all of the great sages in her austerities, and accumulates so much ascetic heat that she impells the gods to go to Shiva persuade him to marry her. Despite attempts made by agents of Shiva to trick her devotion, Parvati remains faithful to Shiva, and so Shiva agrees to marry her. At this point, Shiva reconstitutes Kama's wife in bodily form at the request of his wife, Rati. | + | Parvati makes some initial attempts to attract Shiva's attention, but the god is too deeply immersed in his ascetic practices. The gods send [[Kama]], the god of love, to stimulate Shiva's lust. Kama uses scents and sounds from the springtime in order to set Shiva into a swoon, but Shiva scorches him with the fire from his middle eye. Although the gods mourn Kama's incineration, his work was not without its effects, and Shiva winds up falling in love with Parvati, nonetheless. After Parvati surpasses all of the great sages in her austerities, and accumulates so much ascetic heat that she impells the gods to go to Shiva persuade him to marry her. Despite attempts made by agents of Shiva to trick her devotion, Parvati remains faithful to Shiva, and so Shiva agrees to marry her. At this point, Shiva reconstitutes Kama's wife in bodily form at the request of his wife, Rati, and in some versions Parvati herself. |
During the wedding, the parents of the bride are once again disgusted with the outrageous looks and behaviour Shiva during the wedding. Afterward, Shiva and Parvati depart to Mount Kailasa, becoming immersed in long periods of lovemaking. The gods are perturbed by this, as they fear the potential power of the child of such powerful divine beings. The gods interrupt Shiva and Parvati's tryst and, as a result, Shiva ejaculates outside of Parvati. The semen, fiery from Shiva's intense ascetic heat, is passed from one container to another, beofre it is finally contained in the Ganges river, where it forms into the child Kartikeya, who Parvati raises as her own. Kartikeyaa goes on to defeat the demon Taraka, therby saving the world. | During the wedding, the parents of the bride are once again disgusted with the outrageous looks and behaviour Shiva during the wedding. Afterward, Shiva and Parvati depart to Mount Kailasa, becoming immersed in long periods of lovemaking. The gods are perturbed by this, as they fear the potential power of the child of such powerful divine beings. The gods interrupt Shiva and Parvati's tryst and, as a result, Shiva ejaculates outside of Parvati. The semen, fiery from Shiva's intense ascetic heat, is passed from one container to another, beofre it is finally contained in the Ganges river, where it forms into the child Kartikeya, who Parvati raises as her own. Kartikeyaa goes on to defeat the demon Taraka, therby saving the world. | ||
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===Appearance=== | ===Appearance=== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parvati is usually depicted as a beautiful, dark-skinned woman. She is often seated on a large cat, usually a lion or tiger, which symbolizes her ability to tame the wild aspect of nature. Sarasvati is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to her earlier history as a water goddess. She is adorned heavily with jewellery, including anklets and bracelets. When pictured with a weapon, she carries a trishul (trident), conch, Chakram (discus), or a crossbow. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parvati is often pictured alongside her husband Shiva, with whom she shares a loving, intimate embrace. Parvati and her husband are often depicted even more intimately linked as [[Ardhanarisvara]] — the "Lord who is half woman". Statues and pictures of this deity are differentiation into male and female halves along the central vertical axis, the male half being Shiva and the female half Parvati. This particular form of depiction solidifies the biological fact that male and female are inseperable in the process of creating life, and in the case of Shiva and Parvati, the universe itself. Shiva and Parvati are also pictured with their sons Kartikeya and Ganesha, together forming the archetype for harmonious family life. | ||
===Symbolism=== | ===Symbolism=== | ||
| − | + | Parvati symbolises many noble virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition. Just as Shiva is at once the presiding deity of destruction and regeneration, the couple jointly symbolise at once both the power of renunciation and asceticism and the blessings of marital felicity and domestic life. Parvati thus symbolises many different virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition: fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism and power. | |
| − | |||
| − | Parvati symbolises many noble virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition. Just as Shiva is at once the presiding deity of destruction and regeneration, the couple jointly symbolise at once both the power of renunciation and asceticism and the blessings of marital felicity. | ||
| − | Parvati | + | Parvati and Shiva's association is primarily symbolic of tension between the archetypal ascetic and householder. Parvati, a symbol of domesticity, lures Shiva, the archetypal ascetic who is without family or lineage, into the world of marriage, sexuality and reproduction. Thus, Parvati represents the beauty and allure of the civilized world in contrast to the mountains and wilderness which define Shiva. |
==Worship== | ==Worship== | ||
Revision as of 17:53, 12 July 2007
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Pārvatī (Sanskrit: पार्वती), sometimes spelled Parvathi or Parvathy, is the Hindu goddess best known for her domestic role alongside her husband Shiva, the ascetic god of destruction. Her name derives from Parvata, one of many Sanskrit words for "mountain"; "Parvati", then, translates to "She of the mountains" and refers to Parvati's status as daughter of Himavan, lord of the mountains. Parvati's numerous epithets include Uma, Lalitha, Gowri, Shivakamini, Aparna, the maternal epithet Mataji, and many hundreds of others.
Parvati is the mother of the famous gods Ganesha and Kartikeya. In many interpretations of the scriptures, Parvati is also regarded as a representation of Shakti or Durga, albeit the gentle aspect of that goddess because she is a mother goddess otherwise known as Devi. She has also been connected to Kali. Many of the believers of Shakta philosophy also consider her to be the ultimate Divine.
Mythology
Early Conceptions: Satī
Parvati originally appears as the goddess Sati, the first wife of Shiva who turns out to be an earlier incarnation of Parvati. Sati is the daughter of Daksa, whose existence revolves around making Shiva her husband. She was given this impetus by Brahma, the creator god. Earlier on in mythological history, Shiva had laughed reproachfully at when he had been stricked by incestuous lust for his own daughter. In order to exact some revenge, Brahma saw to it that Shiva would be seduced by sexual passion. Other texts, such as the Rudra-Samhita, show a more temperate Brahma suggesting that Shiva must become active in the creative world through Parvati so as to ensure the physical world will be imbued with auspiciousness.
Unfortunately for Parvati, Shiva is steeped in asceticism and is therefore difficult to convert to domestic life. However, through her own appeals to asceticism and devotion, she is able to attract Shiva's attention. She asks Shiva to marry him, and he agrees, having discovered a newfound desire for her. The marriage is traditional, despite Shiva's general impatience, with Brahma overseeing as the priest. Meanwhile, Daksa begins to express trepidations with Shiva's renunciate appearance and habits, and conflict develops between Sita's father and his future son-in-law. Afterward, Siva and Sati enjoy one another's company on Mount Kailash, while Daksa organizes a great sacrifice to which all divine beings are invited, save for Siva and Sati. Furious with her father's nagging disapproval of Shiva, Sati kills herself. This mythological event provided grounds for ancient Hindus to explain the custom of sati (suttee), a practice named for the goddess in which females would throw themselves upon the funeral pyre of their deceased husband.
Upon hearing of Sati's death, Shiva is furious and creates a variety of fierce beings including the deomn Virabhadra. These demons defeat the various divinities assembled at Daksa's grand sacrifice, and kill Daksa himself. Shiva then enters the sacrifice himself, and it proceeds without further issue. In alternative versions of the story, Shiva carries Sati's lifeless body all over the universe, causing various cosmic disturbances along the way. Vishnu follows Shiva throughout his tragic journey, slicing off parts of Sati's corpse which become sacred places, or pithas, wherever they land on earth. Thus, with these centres of worship established, Sati has made the inacessible, hidden divine represented by Shiva accessible to the physical world. Once all the parts of Sati's body are dispersed, Shiva returns to solitude ih his mountain abode.
Later Conceptions
Parvati is the daughter ofHimavat, the personification of the Himalaya mountains, and the apsaras Menā. Her origin as daughter of the Himalayas, as well as her name and many epithets which connect her to the mountains (such as Girisa: "mistress of the mountains"), suggest that she may have originated from a non-Aryan tribal goddess who dwelled in the mountains. However, Parvati's mythology does not describe her as goddess of mountain ranges or of the wild in general. [1] Rather, Parvati's primary function is as the wife of Shiva, the civilizing, domesticating force who compliments his wild asceticism.
Kalidasa's epic Kumarasambhavam details with matchlessly lyrical beauty the story of the maiden Parvati, whose very existence was necessitated by the fact that Shiva needed a consort to bear his child. A demon by the name of Taraka had been granted a boon that he would be invincible to any creature except for a child of Shiva. Because of Shiva's asceticism, the gods have to make an active search to find a woman capable of pulling Shiva out of his renunciation and into a sexual encounter. Sati is said to have consented to have been reborn in order to help the gods, and so she takes birth as Parvati, who is dark in complexion and very beautiful. Much like Sati, she takes a great interest in Shiva from a young age. This possibility is bolstered by the fact that a rishi predicts that she will marry a naked yogi, and her parents are honored by the news.
Parvati makes some initial attempts to attract Shiva's attention, but the god is too deeply immersed in his ascetic practices. The gods send Kama, the god of love, to stimulate Shiva's lust. Kama uses scents and sounds from the springtime in order to set Shiva into a swoon, but Shiva scorches him with the fire from his middle eye. Although the gods mourn Kama's incineration, his work was not without its effects, and Shiva winds up falling in love with Parvati, nonetheless. After Parvati surpasses all of the great sages in her austerities, and accumulates so much ascetic heat that she impells the gods to go to Shiva persuade him to marry her. Despite attempts made by agents of Shiva to trick her devotion, Parvati remains faithful to Shiva, and so Shiva agrees to marry her. At this point, Shiva reconstitutes Kama's wife in bodily form at the request of his wife, Rati, and in some versions Parvati herself.
During the wedding, the parents of the bride are once again disgusted with the outrageous looks and behaviour Shiva during the wedding. Afterward, Shiva and Parvati depart to Mount Kailasa, becoming immersed in long periods of lovemaking. The gods are perturbed by this, as they fear the potential power of the child of such powerful divine beings. The gods interrupt Shiva and Parvati's tryst and, as a result, Shiva ejaculates outside of Parvati. The semen, fiery from Shiva's intense ascetic heat, is passed from one container to another, beofre it is finally contained in the Ganges river, where it forms into the child Kartikeya, who Parvati raises as her own. Kartikeyaa goes on to defeat the demon Taraka, therby saving the world.
Parvati bears raises a second child, the popular elephant-headed deity Ganesha. After Shiva leaves his wife Parvati for an extended period of time in order to meditate upon Mount Kailasa, she suffers from intense loneliness. Longing for a son, she rubs an unguent upon the surface of her skin and from the scurf that had collected beneath her she brings forth a being in the shape of a young man, Ganesha. She quickly orders him to stand guard at the door of her private chamber while she bathes. Eventually, Shiva returns from his meditation and attempts to access Parvati's private chamber. Ganesha refuses to let him in and a struggle ensued, after which Shiva beheads Ganesha. Hearing the commotion, Parvati emerged from her bath and informed Shiva that he had just killed her child, and threatens to destroy the universe if the situation is not expediently rectified. Shiva promptly sends his servants to the North, the holy direction, so that they could find a new head for Ganesha. Eventually, the servants found an elephant and cut off its head, which they placed upon Ganesh's shoulders upon their return. When Ganesh came back to consciousness, Shiva adopted him as his own.
Although myths about Parvati typically highlight her milder aspects, occassionally she shows a her darker, more violent side, as is illustrated in the story of Ganesha's birth. In a number of myths in which demons threaten the cosmos, Parvati is asked for help by the gods to battle them. When Parvati grows angry at the prospect of war, a goddess often identified as Kali is born from her wrath for purposes of eviscerating the demons.
Attributes
Appearance
Parvati is usually depicted as a beautiful, dark-skinned woman. She is often seated on a large cat, usually a lion or tiger, which symbolizes her ability to tame the wild aspect of nature. Sarasvati is usually depicted near a flowing river, which may be related to her earlier history as a water goddess. She is adorned heavily with jewellery, including anklets and bracelets. When pictured with a weapon, she carries a trishul (trident), conch, Chakram (discus), or a crossbow.
Parvati is often pictured alongside her husband Shiva, with whom she shares a loving, intimate embrace. Parvati and her husband are often depicted even more intimately linked as Ardhanarisvara — the "Lord who is half woman". Statues and pictures of this deity are differentiation into male and female halves along the central vertical axis, the male half being Shiva and the female half Parvati. This particular form of depiction solidifies the biological fact that male and female are inseperable in the process of creating life, and in the case of Shiva and Parvati, the universe itself. Shiva and Parvati are also pictured with their sons Kartikeya and Ganesha, together forming the archetype for harmonious family life.
Symbolism
Parvati symbolises many noble virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition. Just as Shiva is at once the presiding deity of destruction and regeneration, the couple jointly symbolise at once both the power of renunciation and asceticism and the blessings of marital felicity and domestic life. Parvati thus symbolises many different virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition: fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism and power.
Parvati and Shiva's association is primarily symbolic of tension between the archetypal ascetic and householder. Parvati, a symbol of domesticity, lures Shiva, the archetypal ascetic who is without family or lineage, into the world of marriage, sexuality and reproduction. Thus, Parvati represents the beauty and allure of the civilized world in contrast to the mountains and wilderness which define Shiva.
Worship
Some of the famous temples where Parvathi forms are predominantly worshipped include,
- Meenakshi temple at Madurai
- Kamakshi Amman temple at Kanchipuram
- Akilandeswari temple at Thiruvanaikaval
- Shiv-parvati.jpg
Shiva-Parvati
- Shiva parvati01.jpg
Shiva and Parvati with Ganesh
- Shiva-parvati2.jpg
The divine couple as a symbol of fertility and marital felicity
Shiva, Parvati, Nandi at Halebidu
- British Museum Lalita.jpg
Parvati as Lalita with Ganesha and Skanda, in the British Museum
Shiva and Parvati, a painting from Smithsonian Institute
Notes
- ↑ Kinsley, 41.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0520063396
- Mitchell, A.G. Hindu Gods and Goddesses. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1982. ISBN 011290372X
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