The marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati is one of the most fascinating incidents in Hindu mythology. Parvati was the daughter of Himavat and his wife, Mainavati. After Parvati had grown up, Sage Narada once visited Himavat’s house. Upon seeing Parvati, he said, ‘Goddess Sati has taken birth again as Parvati.’ Sati was the first wife of Lord Shiva, who had passed away. Lord Shiva had entered a long meditation in grief. Narada told Parvati, ‘If you go in front of Shiva, perhaps he will come out of samadhi. If he agrees to marry you, then your son can defeat Tarakasura, who has captured the Dev Loka.’
When Parvati reached Mount Kailash and saw Lord Shiva, she became extremely scared. Lord Shiva's body was smeared with ashes. He wore only tiger skin as clothing; his hair was long, with birds making nests in it; insects had made their homes all over his body. Unaware of this, Lord Shiva was absorbed in meditation with his eyes closed. Parvati also sat in meditation in her Brahmacharini form, surviving solely on roots and fruits. After a thousand years of penance, Devi Parvati began to sustain herself only with the leaves of the bael (wood apple) tree. After another three thousand years, the goddess ceased to eat anything and meditated on Lord Shiva with an empty stomach. After yet another thousand years, Lord Shiva opened his eyes and consented to marriage.
It was the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Apsaras danced and Gandharvas sang. Everything was going well. Parvati's parents stood at the door to welcome guests. The wedding procession arrived, but what was this? Shiva had smeared ashes all over his body, his dreadlocks scattered; he was wrapped in tiger skin, and to make the picture perfect, he had a snake around his neck. He held a trident in one hand and rode a bull. And who was in the wedding procession? Ghosts and spirits, riding all kinds of vehicles. Some had monstrous heads while others had none; some had many hands and feet while others had none; some had many eyes while others had none. Upon seeing such a procession, everyone in the girl's family became scared. Parvati’s mother fainted. Witnessing all this, Parvati also assumed a terrifying form of Chandraghanta, which had ten hands, a third eye, and a moon-shaped bell on her forehead. Tann.. tann.. tann.. the bell rang so loudly that Shiva’s wedding party had to cover their ears. Shiva and the others quickly fixed their appearances. They donned good clothes, and only then did the wedding take place.
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