Lakshmi - Wife of Vishnu
Lakshmi's Birth and the Creation of the Universe
Prajapati meditates upon the eternal waters. He ponders the meaning
of life and the nature of being. As he is lost in deep thought, from his mouth
emerges a woman, floating on a lotus. The lotus floats upon the waters, and the
woman trembles with incredible energy. Her name is Lakshmi. The gods become
entranced by her beauty. Their desire for her powers overcomes them, and they
demand Prajapati give her to them so they can harvest her energy. Prajapati
refuses, stating that male gods should not kill females. In thanks, Lakshmi gives
them worldly gifts.
(96 words)
Saraswati - Wife of Brahma
Saraswati Saves the Universe
The battle between the Bhargavas and Hehayas was long, and
terrible. It raged for years, and from within the fray, a great fire was born. Vadavagni
it was called, and its existence threatened the entire universe. The gods
feared its wrath, and the beseeched Vishnu’s help. Vishnu went to Saraswati and
asked her to turn into a river to extinguish Vadavagni. She agreed to help, but
only if her husband, Brahma, asked her to. Vishnu turned to Brahma, who then
asked his wife to help. Saraswati turned into a river and merged with the
ocean. There, she extinguished Vadavagni.
(99 words)
Parvati - Wife of Shiva
Parvati Stops Shiva
Himavat, father of Parvati, had certain reservations about her
husband, Shiva. As such, Himavat didn’t treat Shiva with much kindness, and
tension within the house of Himavat grew. As Supreme Being, Shiva wouldn’t
stand for any form of disrespect. This became a great source of conflict
between the couple, and an argument commenced. Shiva didn’t want to fight, and
went to walk out on his wife. Parvati, enraged, divided herself into ten terrifying
goddesses, and blocked his every exit. Shiva couldn’t leave, and he became
terrified by his wife’s power. Shiva stayed.
(92 words)
Author's Note: The last story! So sad, but it's been fun. I really loved writing these, there isn't a lot of mention about the goddesses, so reading their stories is interesting. I especially love the story of Parvati, it's like a 1970's sitcom of husband/wife arguments. It made me laugh. I think it's cool that she has such power of Shiva who is the most powerful god. In some sects of Hinduism, this story isn't considered cannon, and it's disregarded as such. But in other sects, Parvati is considered equal to, or more powerful than her husband. I think that's pretty cool! There were a lot of variations of this story, and some mention Shiva's first wife, Sati. I used Parvati just to keep with the theme of Tridevi. The other two stories are accurate.
