Parvati by making disparaging remarks
about Shiva’s lifestyle and personality, but
Parvati, unshaken in her resolve, refuses
to listen. Eventually Shiva reveals his true
form to her, and they are married.
Although in his devotion to his wife
Shiva is the Hindu symbol for the ideal
husband, their family life is unusual.
Since Shiva is the symbol for the perfect
ascetic, the couple has no fixed home or
means of support, and occasionally
Parvati is portrayed as complaining of
being an ascetic’s wife. Symbolically, their
marriage represents the domestication ofParvati
Parvati with her husband Shiva and their sons Ganesh and Skanda.