SHIVA and SHAKTI

Even as a young girl Parvati was in love with Lord Shiva. As she grew older, Parvati blossomed into a stunning woman filled with grace and beauty. While she captured the hearts of many kings and princes, she only had eyes for Shiva. In an effort to win his love and affection she decided to visit the cave where he was meditating and started cleaning and decorating it. However, he remained unmoved by her love and dedication. Not once did Shiva acknowledge the presence of Parvati.

Parvati then turned to the Goddesses of Love and Longing, Priti and Rati the consorts of Kama, the God of love and passion. They turned the cave that Shiva meditated in, into a garden of pleasure, filled with flowers, trees, birds and bees. Once the cave was packed with enchantments and wonders, Kama wasted no time in shooting Shiva with the arrow of desire. Shiva was however intensely angered at being disturbed. Enraged, Shiva opened his third eye and reduced Kama to ashes. Parvati lamented to the others Gods and reassured them however that when Shiva accepts Parvati as his wife, Kama will be reborn.

Parvati had tried everything in her power to make Shiva notice her, but nothing worked. Finally she decided to do what Sati had done to win over Shiva. Parvati left all the riches and comfort of her father’s palace and went to live in the forest as an ascetic. In her trials, Parvati surpassed even the greatest ascetics. What she went through was even greater than what Sati had endured. She went through the most rigorous self-mortification from walking in the winter snow without clothing to sitting under the hot summer sun for days, to standing on one foot motionless for long hours to eating nothing for days and surviving on the sun’s nourishment. In fact her asceticism was so intense that it was equal to that of the great Shiva.

Parvati’s Tapasya generated great amounts of energy and heat. This heat and energy finally reached Shiva who was shaken out of his meditation. Shiva wondered what or who it was that had wrenched him out of his intense tapasya. So impressed was he by her self-sacrifice that he immediately agreed to make Parvati his consort. !!!

Jai Shiva Shakti ~ Jai Uma Maheshwara ~ Hara Hara Mahadev Shambhu Kashi Vishwanath Gange