The goddess in this form is the constant companion of her husband, but few independent actions are ascribed to her. In the Purānas, Siva and Pārvati are generally represented as engaged in making love to each other, or (rather a singular change) as seated on Mount Kailāsa discussing the most abstruse questions of Hindu philosophy. Occasionally, however, quarrels arose between them, and on one occasion Siva reproached her for the blackness of her skin. This taunt so grieved her that she left him for a time, and, repairing to a deep forest, performed a most severe course of austerities, until Brahmā granted her as a boon that her complexion should be golden, and from this circumstance she is known as Gauri.
The following legend from the “Vāraha Purāna” describes her origin. Brahmā when on a visit to Siva on Mount Kailāsa is thus addressed by him: “Say quickly, O Brahmā, what has induced you to come to me?” Brahmā replies, “There is a mighty asura named Andhakā (Darkness), by whom all the gods, having been distressed, came for protection, and I have hastened to inform you of their complaints.” Brahmā then looked intently at Siva, who by thought summoned Vishnu into their presence. As the three deities looked at each other, “from their three refulgent glances sprang into being a virgin of celestial loveliness, of hue cerulean, like the petals of a blue lotus, and adorned with gems, who bashfully bowed before Brahmā, Vishnu, and Siva. On their asking her who she was, and why she was distinguished by the three colours black, white, and red, she said, “From your glances was I produced; do you not know your own omnipotent energies? “
Brahmā then praising her, said, “Thou shalt be named the goddess of three times (past, present and future), the preserver of the universe, and under various appellations shalt thou be worshipped, as thou shalt be the cause of accomplishing the desires of thy votaries. But, O goddess, divide thyself into three forms, according to the colours by which thou art distinguished.” She then, as Brahmā had requested, divided herself into three parts; one white, one red, and one black. The white was “ Sarasvati, of a lovely, felicitous form, and the cooperator with Brahmā in creation; the red was Lakshmi, the beloved of Vishnu, who with him preserves the universe; the black was Pārvati, endowed with many qualities and the energy of Siva.” In the preceding legend it was narrated how Pārvati, originally black, became golden-coloured.
The “Vaivarta Purāna” relates the circumstance which led to the re-appearance on earth of Umā, who had sacrificed herself and became a Sati, under the form of Pārvati. Siva, hearing of the death of his wife, fainted from grief; on his recovery he hastened to the banks of the river of heaven, where he beheld “the body of his beloved Sati arrayed in white garments, holding a rosary in her hand, and glowing with splendour bright as burnished gold. No sooner did he see the lifeless form of his spouse, than, through grief for her loss, his senses forsook him.” When he revived, gazing on her beautiful countenance, with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his voice, he thus addressed her: “Arise, arise, O my beloved Sati! I am Sankara, thy lord; look therefore on me, who have approached thee. With thee I am almighty, the framer of all things, and the giver of every bliss; but without thee, my energy! I am like a corpse, powerless and incapable of action: how then, my beloved, canst thou forsake me? With smiles and glances of thine eyes, say something sweet as amrita, and with the rain of thy gentle words sprinkle my heart, which is scorched with grief. Formerly, when thou didst see me from a distance, thou wouldst greet me with the fondest accents; why then to-day art thou angry, and wilt not speak to me, thus sadly lamenting? O lord of my soul, arise! O mother of the universe, arise! Dost thou not see me here weeping? O beauteous one! thou .canst not have expired. Then, O my faithful spouse! why dost thou not honour me as usual? And why dost thou thus, disobedient to my voice, infringe thy marriage vow?”
“Siva, having thus spoken, raised the lifeless body, and in the anguish of separation pressed it to his bosom, and kissed it again and again. Lip to lip, and breast to breast, Sankara clasped the corpse of his beloved; and, after frequent Paintings, arose, and, pressing Sati closely to his bosom, rushed forward maddened with grief. Like a man deprived of his senses, the preceptor of the universe wandered over the seven dwipas, until, exhausted by fatigue and anguish, he fell down in a swoon at the foot of a banyan tree. The gods, seeing Siva in this state, were greatly astonished, and, accompanied by Brahmā and Vishnu, hastened to the spot where he lay. Vishnu placed the head of the fainting Siva on his bosom and wept aloud; after a little time he encouraged his friend by saying, ‘O Siva! recover thy senses, and listen to what I say. Thou wilt certainly regain Sati, since Siva and Sati are as inseparable as cold from water, heat from fire, smell from earth, or radiance from the sun!”
“Hearing these words, Siva faintly opened his eyes, bedewed with tears, and said: ‘O form of splendour! who art thou? Who are these that accompany thee? Who am I, and where are my attendants? Where art thou and these going? Where am I, and where proceeding?’ As Vishnu heard these words he wept, and his tears, uniting with those of Siva, formed a lake, which hence became a famous place of pilgrimage. Vishnu at length calmed Siva, who, delighted with his words, beheld Sati, seated before him in a gem-adorned car, accompanied by numerous attendants, arrayed in costly garments; resplendent with ornaments, her placid face being irradiated with a gentle smile. The anguish of separation ceased, and joy filled his soul as Sati thus addressed him: ‘Be firm, O Mahādeva! lord of my soul! In whatever state of my being I may exist, I shall never be separated from my lord; and now have I been born the daughter of Himavat in order to become again thy wife; therefore no longer grieve on account of our separation.’ Having thus consoled Siva, Sati disappeared.”
In another chapter of the same Purāna we have an account of their reunion. “ Sati soon obtained another birth in the womb of Himavat’s wife; and Siva, collecting the bones and ashes from her funeral pile, made a necklace of the bones and covered his body with the ashes, and thus preserved them as memorials of his beloved. Not long after this, Sati was born as the daughter of Menā, excelling in beauty and virtue all created beings, and she grew up in her mountain home like the young moon increasing to its full splendour. Whilst still a girl, she heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Perform a severe course of austerity, in order to obtain Siva for a husband, as he cannot otherwise be obtained.’ Pārvati, proud of her youth, smiling disdainfully at this instruction, thought within herself, ‘Will he who, on account of the grief he felt for my having formerly consumed myself, not accept me as his spouse when redolent of life? And how can disjunction exist between those who have been predestined from their first being to be husband and wife?’ Confident in her youth, loveliness, and numerous attractions, and persuaded that on the first mention of her name Siva would be anxious to espouse her, Pārvati did not seek to gain him by the performance of austerity, but night and day gave herself to joyous sports with her companions.” Her hopes, however, were disappointed. She had to perform most severe penance before she was reunited to her husband; and it was only by the assistance of Kāmadeva, who, at the instigation of the gods, wounded him with his arrows as he was engaged in meditation, whilst Pārvati was seated in front of him, that her wish was gratified. Siva at first was anything but grateful for this interference; and as before narrated he rewarded Kāma by destroying him with a flame of glory that issued from his third eye.
In a Bengali account of Durgā, a legend is given from a later work than the Purāna from which the above extract was taken. It is to the following effect: — When Siva raised the dead body of Sati in his arms he began to dance in a frantic manner. The earth trembled beneath the weight of such a load; and Vishnu, fearing there would be an utter destruction of the universe if this were allowed to continue, let fly his wonder-working discus, and cut the body into fifty-one pieces. These fell in different places, a leg here, a hand there; but wherever a part touched the earth, the spot became sacred, an image of the goddess was set up, and a temple rose — in some places it is said they grew to her honour — which pilgrims still visit as shrines. The renowned temple at Kāli Ghat, near Calcutta, is said to possess the big toe of her left foot; and the other principal shrines of Pārvati profess to contain a relic of her body.
Pārvati is represented in pictures as a fair and beautiful woman, with no superfluity of limbs. Few miraculous deeds are claimed for her. It is when she appears as Durgā, Kāli, etc., that she manifests divine powers, and exhibits a very different spirit from that which appears in her as Pārvati. Hence the supposition that these were originally distinct deities, though now believed to be one and the same.
