Parvati

Parvati one of the names given in Hindû mythology to the consort of Siva. She was worshipped as the universal mother and the principle of fertility. She is also considered as the goddess of the moon. In consequence of her remarkable victory over the giant Durga she was honored as a heroine with the name of Durga, and in this form her annual festival is most extensively celebrated in Eastern India. By the worshippers of Siva the personified energy of the divine nature is termed Parvdti, Bhavdni, or Durga; and the Tautras assume the form of a dialogue between Siva and his bride in one of her many forms, but mostly as Una and Parvati, in which the goddess questions the god as to the mode of performing various ceremonies, and the prayers and incantations to be used in them. These the god explains at length, and, under solemn cautions that they involve a great mystery, on no account to be divulged to the profane. See Gardner Faiths of the World, 2:622; Moor, Hindû Pantheon (see Index).