The Asceticism That Won a God, and the Many Forms

The Puranas tell at length of the austerities by which Parvati wins Shiva. After Sati's death Shiva sinks into deep meditation on the mountain, indifferent to the world; at first Parvati tries to draw him through her beauty and service, and the god of love, Kama, is sent to kindle desire in him, for which Shiva burns Kama to ashes with a glance from his third eye. Undiscouraged, Parvati withdraws to perform tapas, extreme ascetic discipline, matching the god's own withdrawal with her own, until her devotion and spiritual power move him at last to accept her, and their marriage restores the balance of the world.

Parvati is also understood, in the wider theology of the Goddess, as one form of the single Mahadevi, whose other aspects include the warrior Durga and the terrible Kali; she is the benign form of a power that can also blaze forth in fury when the world requires it. As the ideal wife and mother of the divine household, and as the loving half of the cosmic pair whose union underlies creation, Parvati is among the most beloved goddesses of the tradition.