The Legend of Lord Shiva
BOOK 1
The Story Of Lord Shiva’s Marriage With Parvati:
(Based entirely on Goswami Tulsidas’ classics:
“Ram Charit Manas” & “Parvati Mangal”.)
PREFACE
This story of ours describes the legendary marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati, also
known as Uma as well as Bhavaani. This book is based entirely on two classics of
Goswami Tulsidas—viz. (i) Ram Charit Manas, and (ii) Parvati Mangal.
Lord Shiva is the greatest of all the Gods in the pantheon. Hence, he is
honoured by the title of “Maha-Deva”: ‘Maha’ means ‘great’, and ‘Deva’ means a
God. He is a patron deity of ascetics, and even amongst the Gods he is revered as a
great ascetic and the most enlightened One.
He spends his time in meditation and contemplation, repeating the holy name
of Lord Ram who is his chosen and beloved deity whom he reveres more than anyone
else.
Lord Shiva is detached from and disinterested in all the material things of this
gross creation, its countless temptations, material comforts and pleasures of the sense
organs, choosing instead to live in seclusion in the serene recesses of the snow-
covered mountains of Mt. Kailash which he has made his home on earth.
Being a God who has renounced everything of pleasure and comfort, being an
ascetic who spends his time in meditation and contemplation, it is natural to wonder
why he decided to “marry”! This story of Lord Shiva’s marriage with Parvati as we
shall read in this book answers this precise question.
It is a narration culled entirely from Goswami Tulsidas’ epic classic known as
the “Ram Charit Manas” that describes the divine story of the time, the life and the
deeds of Lord Ram who was an incarnation of the Supreme Lord in a human form.
This book “Ram Charit Manas” has no parallel in the world of literature with regard
to the beauty and magnificence of its poetry, as well as for the immensity and depth of
its devotional message, and for the fountain of spiritual and metaphysical knowledge
that it contains.
The story of Lord Shiva’s marriage is included in Ram Charit Manas’ first
Canto known as “Baal Kand”, from its Doha no. 47—to Doha no. 103. [A “Doha” is
one of the many styles in which poetical verses are composed in Hindi, the language
in which the original text is written. The other styles employed by its author, Tulsidas,
are known as “Chaupai”, “Chanda” and “Sortha”.]
The divine story of Lord Ram was first conceived in the heart of Lord Shiva
who was its first narrator. Tulsidas wished to acknowledge this fact as well as express
his respect to Lord Shiva and pay his obeisance to him. So he decided to narrate the
divine story of Lord Shiva before he commenced on the narration of the main text of
the book “Ram Charit Manas”.