पार्वती
Parvati
Uma · Daughter of the Mountain
“Devotion and inner strength that won the heart of the great ascetic.”
Parvati is the goddess of fertility, love, devotion, and divine strength. She is the consort of Lord Shiva and the mother of Ganesha and Kartikeya. Parvati represents the ideal of wifely devotion and the gentle, nurturing aspect of Shakti.
- Vahana
- Lion · Nandi with Shiva
- Consort
- Shiva
- Abode
- Kailasa
- Tradition
- Shaiva/Shakta
Devi's Insight · What few people know
The Goddess as the first teacher of Brahman
After a victory, the gods grew proud, thinking it was their own doing. A mysterious spirit appeared, and Agni could not burn a blade of grass before it, nor Vayu move it. Then a radiant woman, Uma Haimavati, daughter of the Himalaya, appeared and taught Indra that the power behind their victory was Brahman alone. In this Upanishad, the Goddess is the teacher of the highest knowledge.
Source: Kena Upanishad, Parts 3–4
Iconography
Reading the sacred form
- 1
Green sari: fertility and nature.
- 2
Two arms: gentleness and accessibility.
- 3
Lotus: purity and grace.
- 4
Sometimes with Shiva as Ardhanarishvara (half male, half female): the inseparability of masculine and feminine principles.
- 5
Beautiful and graceful form: the attracting power of the divine that draws devotees.
- 6
With Ganesha on her lap or Kartikeya beside her: the divine mother.
From the scriptures
Did you know?
Her intense tapas won Shiva, who tested her disguised as a young ascetic.
— Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita; Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava
As Ardhanarishvara she and Shiva share one body, half-woman and half-man.
— Puranic iconography
As Annapurna she feeds the world, even offering alms to Shiva in Kashi.
— Kashi tradition
Chant
Sacred mantras
Celebrate
Festivals
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