Parvati: The Divine Mother

Key idea: Parvati is Shakti, the power that animates everything. She is devoted partner, fierce protector and nurturing mother, proof that strength and tenderness are not opposites.

Symbolism

• Lion: courage under control

• Ardhanarishvara (the half-Shiva, half-Parvati form): masculine and feminine as one whole

• Tapas (her penance to win Shiva): persistence that moves mountains

• Ganesha and Kartikeya beside her: motherhood and the nurturing of dharma

Temples (Parvati and her Shakti forms)

• East: Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati

• West: Ambaji Temple, Gujarat

• North: Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir

• South: Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai