8: Parvati - Goddess of Creative Power and Divine Energy
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"Sarva Mangala Maangalye, Shive Sarvaartha Saadhike, Sharanye Tryambake Gauri, Narayani Namostute" Meaning - Goddess Parvati is the most auspicious. She is the divine companion of Lord Shiva and grants every desire of a pure heart. I honor Goddess Parvati who loves all her children and I bow to the great mother who resides inside me and has given refuge to me. Before the creation of the Universe there was only one God Sadashiv He was complete as Shiv (consciousness) and Adishakti (energy) both resided within him. However for creation Lord Brahma was created. Lord Brahma was failing in his duty as he needed Adishakti (feminine energy) to reside inside all the creatures. This is when he went to Lord Sadashiv and he agreed to part with her for creation. However Lord Brahma knew the grief of separation and promised Sadashiv that he shall surely return AdiShakti to him in the form of Sati when Shiv will be born as Rudra in the world. However as we all know Shiva Sati's story was a shortlived one as Sati killed herself because of her father Daksha's arrogance and hatred towards Shiva. She could not handle her husband's humiliation any further and decided to burn herself. She declared that in her next life she will be born to someone who will have immense respect for Shiva and in that life she will unite with Shiva again. This is how  Sati ended her life and was born as Parvati again in her next life when she marries Shiva again.  Goddess Parvati as we all know is Lord Shiva's eternal consort. She is the representation of Adi Shakti (Energy) that resides within us in the form of Kundalini Shakti. Goddess Parvati was the human form of divine Adi Shakti and was the daughter of King Himavan and Queen Menavati. She was born on Earth with the sole purpose to unite with Lord Shiva. Right from childhood she had immense devotion and love for Shiva. King Himavan and Queen Menavati were devotees of Vishnu and could not understand the reason for Parvati's attraction to Shiv. King Himavan was the ruler of Himalayas and the Nagas were planning to strike war with him as they wanted to rule the Himalayas. This is when Sage Dadichi who is a staunch Shiva devotee requested King Himavan to let Queen Menavati and Parvati stay in his ashram as they will be safe, hidden in the forests. Himavan decided to let her queen and daughter stay with the sages till the war finishes. Hence the early years of Parvati's life were spent in an ashram with a lot of other Shiva devotees. The enlightened sages knew she was meant to marry Shiva once she grew up. While staying in the ashram the sages taught her everything about Shiva and his teachings. Queen Meavati was not very happy with all this. She considered Shiva to be a homeless sanyasi and thought that her daughter Parvati being a princess should only marry a prince and not some hermit. On the other hand Parvati was so devoted to Shiva that she could think of none but Shiva all the time. Queen Menavati tried her best to keep Parvati away from Shiva and his devotees but she failed miserably. After few years king Himavan came back after winning the war against the Nagas and then took Meenavati and Parvati back with him to his kingdom. This is when Lord Vishnu himself meets Himavan and tells him that Parvati was meant to be Shiva's wife and that he should get them married as soon as possible. Himavan and Meenavati after knowing the truth finally agreed to accept Shiva.  However the biggest challenge was to convince Shiva to marry Parvati. Shiva after losing Sati had completely lost the capacity to love a woman again. He did not want to go through that pain of separation. He surrendered himself to meditation as he did not want to be tied in the worldly relations again. When Lord Kaama tried to evoke the feeling of love in him, he killed Kaama with the fire of his third eye. He rejected the plea of all Gods and Godd