Parvati Devi

Every possible superlative for the divine feminine can be applied to Parvati, for she is the embodiment of Her most liberated form. She is Shakti, the earliest form of Shakti or Adishakti, the ultimate Shakti or Parashakti, and the greatest Shakti or Mahashakti.

Parvati is steadfast in tapas, or penance, perhaps even more than Shiva. Unlike her husband - who once burnt the god of love Kama for disturbing his tapas - Parvati does not turn to violence. Her focus remains her penance, no matter what the distraction.

By insisting on the practice of tapas, she actively subverted the Shastras as “stridharma”, or the normal mode of behaviour for a woman, and challenged normative social dictates. The Dharmashastras certainly do not prescribe that women leave home and hearth to retire to the wilderness and engage in tapas. Yet, Parvati’s tapas advocates yoga as a higher form of love than sexuality.

-“Shakti” by Neelima Chitgopekar