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*Visalakshi temple at Banaras,Uttar Pradesh,India
*Visalakshi temple at Banaras,Uttar Pradesh,India
* [[Devipuram]] temple at Viskapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
* [[Devipuram]] temple at Viskapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

<gallery>
Image:Shiva and Uma 14th century.jpg|This [[14th century|14<sup>th</sup> century]] statue depicts [[Shiva]] (on the left) and Umā (on the right}. It is housed in the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]
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==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 14:59, 30 November 2007

For the Harry Potter character, see Parvati Patil.
Parvati
Devanagariपार्वती

Pārvatī (Sanskrit: पार्वती), sometimes spelled Parvathi or Parvathy, is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is nominally the second consort of Shiva, the Hindu God of destruction and rejuvenation. However, she is not different from Dakshayani or Satī, being the reincarnation of that former consort of Lord Shiva. She is also the mother of Ganesha and Skanda (Kartikeya).Some communities also believe her to be the sister of Lord Vishnu and many of the believers of Shakta philosophy also consider her as the ultimate Divine. 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 is regarded the daughter of the Himalayas and chief of all the elves and spirits who wander about the Earth. [citation needed]

Generally considered a benign goddess, Parvati when depicted alongside Shiva appears with two arms, but when alone, she is shown having four arms, and astride a tiger or lion.

Etymology

Parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for "mountain"; "Parvati" translates to "She of the mountains" and refers to Parvati being born the daughter of Himavan, lord of the mountains. Parvati's parents are Himavat, the personification of the Himalaya mountains, and the apsaras Menā.

She is also known by a number of other names, including Ambika (mother), Gauri (golden)[1], Shyama (dark complexioned), Bhairavi (awesome), Kali (black-colored), Umā [2], Lalita, Aparna, the maternal epithet Mataji, and many hundreds of others; the Lalita sahasranama contains an authoritative listing.

Symbolism

Shiva and Parvati, a painting from Smithsonian Institute

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. Kalidasa's epic Kumarasambhavam details with matchlessly lyrical beauty the story of the maiden Parvati; her devotions aimed at gaining the favour of Shiva; the subsequent annihilation of Kamadeva; the consequent fall of the universe into barren lifelessness; the subsequent nuptials, in these circumstances, of the partners of many previous births; the immaculate birth of Subrahmanya and the eventual resurrection of Kamadeva after intercession by Parvati to Shiva in his favour.

Parvati thus symbolises many different virtues esteemed by Hindu tradition: fertility, marital felicity, devotion to the spouse, asceticism and power. It is said in the Saundarya Lahari, a famous literary work on the goddess, that she is the source of all power in this universe and that because of her, Lord Shiva gets all his powers. She is occasionally depicted as half of Lord Shiva.

Ardhanarishvara. The sculpture's left is female and the right is male, depicting Shiva and his consort Parvati. The photo is taken at the Elephanta caves in island clusters off Bombay (Mumbai) city, India.

Parvati represents the householder ideal in the perennial tension in Hinduism in the household ideal and the ascetic ideal, reprsented by Shiva. [3] In classical Hindu mythology, the raison d’être of Parvati, and before that of Sati, is to lure Shiva into marriage and thus into a wider circle of worldly affairs. [4] Parvati civilizes Shiva, the "great unpredictable madman" with her presence. [5] When Shiva does his violent, destructive tandava dance, Parvati is described as calming him or complementing his violence by slow, creative steps of her own. [6] In many myths, Parvati is not as much as his complement as his rival, tricking, seducing or luring him away from his ascetic practices. [7] Again, Parvati subdues Shiiva's immense sexual vitality. In this context, a Hindu myth says: 'Shiva's linga fell on the earth and burnt everything before it like fire. Parvati took the form of a yoni and calmed it by holding the linga in her yoni'.

Three images or images are central to the mythology, iconography and philosophy of Parvati :

  1. The theme of Shiva-Shakti
  2. The image of Shiva as Ardhanarishvara (the Lord who is half woman)
  3. The image of the linga and the yoni

These images that combine the two deities - Shiva and Parvati, yield a vision of reconciliation, interdependence and harmonic harmony between the way of the ascetic and that of a householder.[8]

Rise to Prominence

The Parvati does not appeaer in Vedic literature. The Kena Upanishad (3.12) contains a goddess called Uma - Haimavati. [9] She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is of a mediator who reveals the knowelge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu and Indra boasting and posturing in the flush of a recent victory over a demon hoard. [10] But Kinsley notes: "it is little more than conjuture to identify her with the later goddess Satī-Pārvatī, although [..] later text that extol Śiva and Pārvatī retell the episode in such a way to leave no doubt that it was Śiva's spouse.." [11] Both textual and archaeological evidence suggests Sati-Parvati appears in epic period (400 BC - 400 AD). Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shiva's wife. [12] It is not until the plays of Kalidas (5th-6th centuries) and the Puranas (4th through the 13th centuries) that the myths of Sati-Parvati and Shiva acquire comprehensive details. [13]

Association with other goddessses

Ellora sculputures showing Shiva and Parvati

In several myths, the presence of a dark, violent side of this otherwise benign Parvati is suggested. When approached by the gods to defeat defeat, Parvati typiclly gets angry at the prospect of war and from her wrath emerges a violent goddess, which proceeds to fight on Parvati's behalf. This goddess is usually identified as the bloodthirsty Kali. [14] Kali is associated and identified with Parvati as Shiva's consort. [15]

In Skanda Purana, Parvati is said to have assumed a form of a warrior-goddess and defeated a demon called Durg who assumes the form of a buffalo. Thereafter, she is by the name Durga. [16] In myths relating her defeat of demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Durga emerges from Parvati when Parvati sheds her outer sheath, which takes the identity of it's own as a warrior goddess. [17]

Worship and Festivals

Festivals

File:Shiva parvati01.jpg
Shiva and Parvati with son Ganesha on Shiva's lap. The family is seating on a Shiva Lingam, embedded in a yoni

The Gauri Festival is celebrated in on the seventh, eighth, ninth of Bhadrapada Shukla. She is worshipped as the goddess of harvest and protectress of women. Her festival, chiefly observed by women, is closely associated with the festival of her son Ganesha (Ganesh Chaturthi). The festival is popular in Maharashtra.[18]

Another festival Gauri tritiya is celebrated from Chaitra shukla third to Vaishakha shukla third. It is believed that Parvati spends a month at her parent's home now. This festival is popular in Maharashtra, less observed in North India and unknown in Benegal. The unwidowed women of the household erect a series of platforms in a pyramidal shape with the image of the goddess at the top and collection of ornaments, images of other Hindu deities, pictures, shells etc. below. Neighbours are invited and presented with turmeric, fruits, flowers etc. as gifts. At night, prayers are held by singing and dancing.[19]

Famous temples

Some of the famous temples where Parvati forms are predominantly worshipped include,

See also

Notes

File:British Museum Lalita.jpg
Parvati as four-armed Lalita with Ganesha and Skanda, sculpture from the British Museum
  1. ^ "Gauri." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/gauri.html>
  2. ^ "Uma." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/u/uma.html>
  3. ^ Kinsley p.46
  4. ^ Kinsley p.35
  5. ^ Kinsley p.46
  6. ^ Kinsley p.48
  7. ^ Kinsley p.48
  8. ^ Kinsley p.49
  9. ^ Kinsley p.36
  10. ^ Kena Upanisad, III.11-IV.3, cited in Müller and in Sarma, pp. xxix-xxx.
  11. ^ Kinsley p.36
  12. ^ Kinsley p.36
  13. ^ Kinsley p.37
  14. ^ Kinsley p.46
  15. ^ Kinsley p.126
  16. ^ Kinsley p.96
  17. ^ Kinsley p.96
  18. ^ The Hindu Religious Year By Muriel Marion Underhill p.50 Published 1991 Asian Educational Services ISBN 8120605233
  19. ^ The Hindu Religious Year By Muriel Marion Underhill p.100

References

  • Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Traditions (ISBN 81-208-0379-5) by David Kinsley

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parvati.
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