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Parvati the Love Goddess: Tales of Marriage and Devotion in Art and Mythology
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The Indian tradition is rich with goddesses. So varied are her manifestations and names that every village and every scripture, every art and artist create their own unique image of her. While sometimes she is a consort, at other times she is a fertility goddess; at times she is a benevolent figure yet at others she is horrific and malevolent. The tradition is especially replete with a number of goddesses who are associated with Shiva. But the one that is artistically and lovingly the most celebrated is Parvati. Unlike Durga and Kali who assume their own independent religious status in the Hindu pantheon and are worshipped and venerated ritually, Parvati engages the greater attention of poets and painters, musicians and dancers. Numerous are her aspects, varied are her persona, multiple are her attributes and many her names. Of all the mythic beings in the Hindu pantheon she is perhaps the most loved and undoubtedly the most giving of her love. In her we have the true celebration of Hindu womanhood. Of unsurpassed sensual beauty, her endowment is not merely physical but spiritual, not narcissistic but meant as an offering. In her, it can be said that we have the grand personification of the Hindu expression, as well as the concept of beauty. |
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In classical mythology the raison d'?tre of Parvati's birth is to lure Shiva into marriage and thus into the wider circle of married life from which he is aloof as a lone ascetic, living in the wilds of the mountains. The goddess represents the complementary pole to the ascetic, world-denying tradition in the Hindu ethos. In her role as maiden, wife, and later as a mother, she extends Shiva's circle of activity into the realm of the householder, where his stored-up energy is released in positive ways.
Much as in the Christian art of Medieval Europe, it is woman the Mother, the Madonna suckling babe who has been painted with reverence, in the Indian Diaspora it is woman the beloved who has been painted with love and passion. The female friends of Krishna with their warm sensuous faces, eyes filled with passion, and delicate sensitive fingers, represent not the beauty of a particular woman, but the beauty of entire womanhood. In fact, she is there as the incarnation of all the beauty of the world and as a representative of the charm of her sex.
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Parvati's name, which means "she who dwells in the mountains" or "she who is of the mountain, identify her with mountainous regions. She was the daughter of Himavat (Lord of the mountains) and his queen Mena. She is usually described as very beautiful. She showed a keen interest in Shiva from the outset, repeating his name to herself and taking delight in hearing about his appearance and deeds. While she is a child a sage comes to her house and after examining the marks on her body predicts that she will marry a naked yogi. When it becomes clear that she is destined to marry Shiva, her parents are usually described as feeling honored. Parvati too is delighted.
For the most part Shiva and Parvati's married and family life is portrayed as harmonious, blissful and calm. In iconography the two are typically shown sitting in happy, intimate embrace. There were also many moments of philosophical discourse between the two. While Shiva taught Parvati the doctrine of Vedanta, Parvati responded by teaching him the doctrines of Sankhya, for if Shiva was the perfect teacher, Parvati too, as a yogini was no less. Parvati was constantly by Shiva's side, encouraging, assisting and, participating in every activity of his.
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| The main theme of the Parvati cycle of myths is clear. The association between Parvati and Shiva represents the perennial tension in Hinduism between the ascetic ideal and householder ideal. Parvati, for the most part, represents the householder. Her mission is to lure Shiva into the world of marriage, sex, and children, to tempt him away from asceticism, yoga, and otherwordly preoccupations. In this role Parvati is cast as a figure who upholds the order of dharma, who enhances life in the world, who represents the beauty and attraction of worldly, sexual life, who cherishes the house and society rather than the forest, the mountains, or the ascetic life. Parvati civilizes Shiva with her presence; indeed, she domesticates him. Of her role in relation to Shiva in the hymns of Manikkavacakar, a ninth-century poet-saint from South India, it has been said: "Shiva, the great unpredictable 'madman', is rendered momentarily sane (i.e. behaves in a socially acceptable manner) when in the company of the goddess. . . Contact with his properly cultured spouse seems to connect him with ordinary social reality and temporarily domesticates him." |
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The opposite hand, the upper left, bears on its palm a tongue of flames. Fire is the element of destruction of the world. According to Hindu mythology at the end of the world, it will be fire that will be the instrument of annihilation. Thus in the balance of these two hands is illustrated a counterpoise of creation and destruction. Sound against flames, ceaselessness of production against an insatiate appetite of extermination.
The second right hand is held in the abhaya pose (literally without fear) and so a gesture of protection, as an open palm is most likely to be interpreted. It depicts The theme of conflict, tension, or opposition between the way of the ascetic and the way of the householder in the mythology of Parvati and Shiva yields to a vision of reconciliation, interdependence, and symbiotic harmony in a series of images that combine the two deities. Three such images or themes are central to the mythology, iconography, and philosophy of Parvati:the god as a protector.
The theme of Shiva-Shakti
The image of Shiva as Ardhanareshwara (the Lord who is half woman)
The image of the linga and yoni
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Shiva Shakti
The idea that the great male gods all possess an inherent power through which they undertake creative activity is assumed in Hindu philosophical thought. When this power, or Shakti, is personified, it is always in the form of a goddess. Parvati, quite naturally, assumes the identity of Shiva's Shakti. She is the force underlying and impelling creation. In this active, creative role she is identified with prakriti (nature), whereas Shiva is identified with purusha (pure spirit). As prakriti, Parvati represents the inherent tendency of nature to express itself in concrete forms and individual beings. In this task, however, it is understood that Parvati must be set in motion by Shiva himself. She is not seen as antagonistic to him. Her role as his Shakti is always interpreted as positive. Through Parvati, Shiva (the Absolute) is able to express himself in the creation. Without her he would remain inert, aloof, inactive. It is only in association with her that Shiva is able to realize or manifest his full potential. Parvati as Shakti not only complements Shiva, she completes him.
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| A variety of images and metaphors are used to express this harmonious interdependence. Shiva is said to be the male principle throughout creation, Parvati the female principle; Shiva is the sky, Parvati the earth; Shiva is subject, Parvati object; Shiva is the ocean, Parvati the seashore; Shiva is the sun, Parvati its light; Parvati is all tastes and smells, Shiva the enjoyer of all tastes and smells; Parvati is the embodiment of all individual souls, Shiva the soul itself; Parvati assumes every form that is worthy to be thought of, Shiva thinks of all such forms; Shiva is day, Parvati is night; Parvati is creation, Shiva the creator; Parvati is speech, Shiva meaning; and so on. In short, the two are actually one-different aspects of ultimate reality-and as such are complementary, and not antagonistic. |
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Ardhanareshwara
The meaning of Ardhanareshwara form of Shiva is similar. The image shows a half-male, half-female figure. The right side is Shiva and is adorned with his ornaments; the left side is Parvati and adorned with her ornaments.
In the text of Shiva-Purana it is mentioned that the god Brahma is unable to continue his task of creation because the creatures that he has produced do not multiply. He propitiates Shiva and requests him to come to his aid. Shiva then appears in his half-male, half-female form. The hermaphrodite form splits into Shiva and Parvati, and Parvati, at Brahma's request, pervades the creation with her female nature, which duly awakens the male aspect of creation into fertile activity.
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Without its female half, or female nature, the godhead as Shiva is incomplete and is unable to proceed with creation. To an even greater extent than the Shiva-shakti idea, the androgynous image of Shiva and Parvati emphasizes that the two deities are absolutely necessary to each other, and only in union can they satisfy each other and fulfill themselves. In this form the godhead transcends sexual particularity. God is both male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle, both destructive and constructive, and so on. |
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Linga and Yoni
The image of the linga in the yoni, which is the most common image of the deity in Shiva temples, similarly teaches the lesson that the tension between Shiva and Parvati is ultimately resolved in interdependence. Parvati as a sexual entity succeeds in tempering both Shiva's excessive detachment from the world and his excessive sexual vigor. In the form of the yoni in particular, Parvati fulfills and completes Shiva's creative tendencies. As the great yogi who accumulates immense sexual potency, he is symbolized by the linga. This great potency is creatively released in sexual or marital contact with Parvati. The ubiquitous image of the linga in the yoni symbolizes the creative release in the ultimate erotic act of power stored through asceticism. The erotic act is thus enhanced, made more potent, fecund, and creative, by the stored up power of Shiva's asceticism.
Though most arts give Parvati a religious aura, including a certain poetic truth, there is also an expression of both the romantic and motherly love of Parvati. Possessing a measured grace and refinement about them, these representations have a certain earthy charm and spontaneity. In this form, Parvati is not only more endearing and accessible, but also belongs to the shrine or the walls of the home. These are not mere icons or visual poetry, but mythic beings reduced to everyday reality. This real Parvati is the one that the common man can relate to, worship and celebrate, in his or her own personal way.
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