SHIV AND SHAKTI: THE DIVINE LOVE STORY

 After creating the universe and commanding Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiv about their work as creator, preserver, and destroyer Maa Adishakti disappeared. Lord Shiva instantly fell in love with Parashakti and desired her as his beloved wife.

Adi Shakti commanding the Tridevs

But one big problem arose: Adi Shakti is the Divine Mother, the primal creative force who manifests the entire universe, and all the Gods and Goddesses are her partial expressions. She is the param bhram. She is too universal to marry anybody.

Despite knowing this, Lord Shiva started a great penance to please Mahadevi and have her as his beloved wife. After knowing Lord Shiva’s secret wish and watching him meditating upon the Mahashakti, Lord Brahma and Vishnu also desired the same and started their penance. Thousands of years passed when finally, one day, their prayers reached Manidweep. Maa Adi parashakti thought of testing them and fulfilling their desire.

Adi Shakti ferocious form

Devi Adi Shakti took a ferocious form and went in in front of the tridevas. On seeing the great ferocious form of Mahadevi Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu got scared, Brahma ran away while Vishnu hid himself in the ‘ksheer sagar’. But, Lord Shiva..the maha yogi stood stable and maintained his focus, chanting Mahadevi’s name. On seeing, Lord Shiva’s intense devotion and love, Adi Shakti smiled and resumed her gentle beautiful form. She blessed Mahadev and said that she would be born as Sati, the daughter of King Daksha, and marry him.

Birth of Adi Shakti as Sati

According to Devi Bhagvat Purana, Prajapti Daksha, and his wife had a desire to beget Maa Adi Shakti as their daughter. King Daksha approached his father Lord Brahma for advice, Brahma asked them to meditate on Goddess Adi Parashakti. The couple immediately donned ochre robes and went to the banks of the ‘ksheer sagar’ and started meditating. After a severe penance of three thousand years, the great benevolent Goddess appeared and gave them a boon to take birth as their youngest daughter. But additionally warned them that if she were ever insulted in any way, she would immediately leave them forever. King Daksha and Queen Prasuti agreed to the Mahadevi’s conditions and returned to their palace.

As per boon, Adi Parashakti took human birth as the youngest daughter of King Daksha and Queen Prasuti, she was named Sati.

Sati’s beauty was beyond words, she had the radiance of a million moons, eyes as beautiful as lotus, and a mesmerizing smile.

Goddess Sati

When Sati became older, she remembered her promise to Mahadev, to be his wife.

Lord Brahma came to Sati and told him that Lord Shiva had become ascetic and was in a deep meditative state. To win over the ascetic Mahadev, Sati walked into a forest and constantly started worshipping Lord Shiva. Sati gave up herself to severe austerities and went deeper into meditation, renouncing food and water. She braved the harsh cold on Mount Kailash, continuing to meditate on Mahadev. This earned her the name of Uma and Aparna.

Soon, the severe penance and Sati’s devotion touched Mahadev’s heart and he manifested in front of her. Acceding to her wishes, he agreed to marry her.

On hearing this story King Daksha who thought lowly of Lord Shiva thinking him unworthy of his daughter kept a swayamwar for Sati. All devtas, princes, and yakshas were invited except Shiva.

King Daksha called Sati to choose her husband, the Adi Shakti with a garland in her hands couldn’t find Mahadev in the court so, she placed the garland on the floor saying, “namah shivaya”. On hearing Sati’s voice Lord Shiva appeared in the court and married Sati, taking her to Mount Kailash with him.

Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati 

Daksha insults Lord Shiva and Sati’s immolation

Soon after the wedding, King Daksha unable to accept Lord Shiva as his son-in-law ex-communicated Sati from the rest of the family.

King Daksha organized a grand ‘yagya’ at his palace, where he invited all Gods and Goddesses and Kings, except Lord Shiva and Sati.

On learning about the grand yagya from Chandra and Rohini, Sati begged Lord Shiva to go with her, but Shiva refused. Sati defying Lord Shiva’s wish left alone at her father’s palace and attends the grand yagya. On seeing Sati, King Daksha started humiliating her and Lord Shiva repeatedly. Sati could not take it and warned Daksha and Prasuti about their past boon.

Sati’s rage surpassed and she took the great form of Adi Parashakti, all present there were frightened by her fierce form. Maa Adi Shakti then cursed Daksha that he would be destroyed by her husband, after which she remembered Lord Shiva and jumped in the yagya and ended her human life.

Goddess Sati's immolation

Deeply hurt by the death of his beloved wife, Lord Shiva performed the destructive tandav, he pulled two locks of his hair and threw them on the ground. Lord Shiva created two ferocious deities; Virbhadra who is Shiva’s destructive incarnation, the other was Bhadrakali who is an extremely dark and violent incarnation of the Mahadevi.

All those present in the yagya fell overnight; King Daksha was decapitated by Virbhadra.

All Gods and Goddesses prayed to Lord Shiva to stop this mass destruction and restore peace. After that night, the all-forgiving one restored the slain to life and granted blessings. Lord Shiva substituted Daksha’s decapitated head with that of a goat. King Daksha was humbled by both Lord Shiva’s strength and grace. He became an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.

In the meantime, a total grief-stricken Mahadev carried Sati’s charred body in his hands and roamed all around the world endangering all life and ending the universe with his grief.

Mahadev with Sati's burning body

According to Shakta Puranas, Lord Vishnu dismembered Sati’s cadaver, cutting it into 51 pieces with his Sudarshan chakra, giving rise to shakti peethas.

 On seeing Lord Shiva extremely depressed and back into ascetic life and the universe in imbalance, Lord Brahma and Vishnu worshipped Adi Shakti. They sang hymns and chanted mantras after which the Para Shakti appeared and told them that she would be reborn as Parvati, daughter of King of the Himalayas and marry Shiva.

Lord Shiva's penance at the Kamakhaya Shakti Peetha

The grief-stricken Mahadev performed ‘rudra-tandav’ at the Kamakhaya shakti peetha.

According to the Shakta Puranas, Lord Shiva performed ‘mahatapasya’ (great penance) at the yoni peetha for five thousand years.

Kamakhaya Devi Temple at Guwahati, Assam.

One day, Adi Shakti pleased by the ‘mahatapasya’ of Mahadev, appeared before him and said that she would take a complete incarnation as Parvati and marry him, residing on Mount Kailash with him forever.

Birth of Goddess Parvati

Goddess Parvati

King Himavan and his wife Mainavati did a severe penance to beget Maa Adi Shakti as their daughter. During the penance, both recited the names of the Mahadevi throughout the days and nights in front of a clay idol of the Goddess made by both. After 27 years, pleased by the severe penance of the couple the Adi Shakti appeared before them in a divine form surrounded by a halo lustre. She granted them the boon that soon she would take birth as their daughter and would be known by many names like Himani, Girija, Shailaja, and Parvati.

 As Parvati reached the age of sixteen, Sage Narad visited King Himavan.

The Sage Narad told King Himavan that your daughter is the reincarnation of Sati and is destined to marry Lord Shiva and their everlasting love story will be known till the end of time. King Himavan was overjoyed by hearing this and remembered how Parvati had been worshipping Lord Shiva since a young age.

Devi Parvati worshipping Mahadev

Ever since Parvati heard the name ‘Shiva’ in childhood, she fell in love with Mahadev and had a deep desire to marry him but on learning that Lord Shiva was lost in deep meditation, she decided to perform a severe penance to win his heart.

All Gods and Goddesses approached Parvati and told her the universe was left imbalanced and the asuras (demons) like Tarakasur were on the rise. And as per Lord Brahma’s boon to Tarakasur only Lord Shiva’s son could defeat him.

 

Goddess Parvati then leaves for Tapasya

Parvati reaches the Gangavatara in the Himalayas, the place is now called ‘gowri peak’.

Parvati’s penance was rigorous. In the summer of sweltering heat, she lighted a fire in all four directions and did her penance amidst it. In the rainy season, she sat on a rock in torrential downpours and meditated. In the winter season, she stood neck-deep in the cold water of the pond and mediated on Mahadev. She wore flaxen clothes and chanted the mantra, “Om namah shivaya” with a rosary in hand. She slowly gave up eating fruits, then dry leaves, and even stopped drinking water and started surviving on air.

Devi Parvati tapasya

Parvati spent three thousand years doing penance but could not wake Lord Shiva from deep meditation.

Watching this, Lord Indra got worried and sent Kamadev (the God of love).

Lord Indra ordered Kamadev to create a connection between Lord Shiva and Parvati. As soon as Kamadev approached Lord Shiva, Parvati came forward with flowers for Mahadev. Kamadev shot his flowery arrow at Lord Shiva’s chest, immediately Lord Shiva opened his eyes and saw Parvati in front of him. Lord Shiva instantly realized that she was Adi Shakti who promised to marry him once again.

Lord Shiva then saw Kamadev and was enraged at him for breaking his mediation, he opened his third eye and reduced Kamadev to ashes. On knowing why this was done, Lord Shiva assured Devi Rati (Kamadev’s wife) that he would be resuscitated and only she would be able to see him, later he would be born as Lord Krishna’s son named Pradyuman.

Lord Shiva and Parvati's marriage

Lord Shiva marries Goddess Parvati

According to Puranas, Lord Shiva and Parvati married in Triyuginarayan, present-day Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand.

Lord Brahma was the divine priest, and Lord Vishnu did all the wedding preparations.

Lord Shiva is worshipped by devtas (Gods) and asuras (demons), reptiles, and other animals and ganas wholeheartedly. Lord Shiva proceeded with his marriage procession which consisted of all of them.

King Himavan sent his son Mainak to receive them. Queen Maina seeing all the handsome devtas and hearing about Mahadeva’s greatness from Sage Narad got curious to see his son-in-law.

Lord Shiva came in front of Maina wearing a tiger skin for the dress, a snake (Vasuki) as a necklace, had ashes smeared over him, and had kept an unkempt hair in matted locks.

On seeing Mahadev in this form Queen Maina felt unconscious and after returning to full consciousness stopped Parvati to marry him.

Devi Parvati begged Lord Shiva to manifest his beautiful form and instantly Mahadev took a great beautiful form which made everyone fall in awe, he was called ‘Sundaramurti’ meaning the most beautiful man in the universe.

Queen Maina then got convinced, it was true that Shiva was the most beautiful.

Lord Shiva and Parvati married in the mandap constructed by the Vishwakarma himself.

Their marriage was celebrated with unparalleled grandeur and joy. All the Gods and celestial beings, the ganas, the asuras, the sages, and the animals gathered to witness this divine union.

 

The celestial wedding of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the complete incarnation of Adi Shakti is an embodiment of eternal love.

The divine union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Lord Shiva represents the constituent elements of the universe, while Goddess Parvati is the dynamic potency that makes the elements come to life and act.  When Lord Shiva is united with Goddess Shakti (Parvati), he can create. If he is not united with Shakti, he is incapable even of stirring. Lord Shiva’s marriage to Goddess Parvati was essential for maintaining the cosmic balance.

Shiv and Shakti

This love story of Mahadev and Adi Shakti first as Sati, then Parvati is a source of inspiration for everyone. Their union signifies that true love knows no boundaries, no matter how different the personalities, appearances, and circumstances. Their divine love teaches us the power of unwavering devotion, and determination in the pursuit of love. Their unconditional love signifies a deep, meaningful relationship that is built on trust and loyalty. They remind us that true love never gives up because when we are truly devoted, we can overcome any challenge. After all, love conquers all.

The divine love of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are not just Gods, they are symbols of unconditional love’s strength. This is why their divine union story matters so much in our ever-changing world today.

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“There is no Shiva without Shakti, or Shakti without Shiva. The two in themselves are one.”