Parvati

==Etymology and nomenclature==
{{See|Hindu literature}}
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''Parvata'' ({{lang|sa|[[wikt:पर्वत|पर्वत]]}}) is one of the [[Sanskrit]] words for "mountain"; "Parvati" derives her name from being incarnated as the daughter of king [[Himavan]] (also called Himavata, ''Parvata'') and mother ''Menavati''.<ref name=edwardbalfour/><ref name="H.V. Dehejia, Parvati pp 11"/> King Parvata is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the [[Himalayas]]; Parvati implies "she of the mountain". Aparneshara Temple of yama, [[Udhampur district|Udhampur]] in the Indian Union Territory of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] is considered as the birthplace of Parvati and site of ''Shiva-Parvati Vivaha.''<ref name=alain/>

Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature.<ref name=johnmuir/> Other names which associate her with mountains are ''Shailaja'' (Daughter of the mountains), ''Shailaputri'' (Daughter of Mountains), ''Haimavati'' (Daughter of [[Himavan]]), ''Maheshvari (Maheshvara’s wife)'', ''Girirajaputri'' (Daughter of king of the mountains) and ''Girija (Daughter of the mountains)''{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|p=41}}

[[Shakta]]s consider the Parvati as an incarnation of [[Tripura Sundari|Lalita Tripurasundari]].<ref name=kar6>Keller and Ruether (2006), Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America, Indiana University Press, {{ISBN|978-0253346858}}, pp 663</ref> Two of Parvati's most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna.<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= 68|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> The name Uma is used for [[Sati (goddess)|Sati]] (Shiva's wife, who is the incarnation of Parvati) in earlier texts,{{which|date=December 2014}} but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the [[Harivamsa]], Parvati is referred to as Aparna ('One who took no sustenance') and then addressed as Uma, who was dissuaded by her mother from severe austerity by saying ''u mā'' ('oh, don't'). Uma also means that “the One born out of ''Om'' (''The Pranava Mantra)''{{sfn|Wilkins|2001|pp=240–1}} She is also referred to as ''Ambika'' ('dear mother'), ''Shakti'' ('power'), ''Mataji'' ('revered mother'), ''Maheshwari'' ('great goddess'), ''[[Durga]]'' (invincible), ''[[Bhairavi]]'' ('ferocious'), ''[[Bhavani]]'' ('fertility and birthing'), ''Shivaradni'' ('Queen of Shiva'), ''Urvi'' or ''Renu'', and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or [[Kamakshi]] (the goddess of fertility), abundance and food/nourishment, or [[Annapoorna devi|Annapurna]].{{sfn|Kinsley|1988|pp=142–143}} She is also the ferocious [[Mahakali]] that wields a sword, wears a garland of severed heads, and protects her devotees and destroys all evil that plagues the world and its beings.

The apparent contradiction that Parvati is addressed as the golden one, Gauri, as well as the dark one, [[Kali]] or Shyama, as a calm and placid wife Parvati mentioned as Gauri and as a goddess who destroys evil she is Kali. Regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauri's name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauri's skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest and fertility.<ref>Edward Balfour, {{Google books|3U0OAAAAQAAJ|Parvati|page=381}}, The Encyclopedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, pp 381</ref><ref>Ernest Payne (1997), The Saktas: An Introductory and Comparative Study, Dover, {{ISBN|978-0486298665}}, pp 7–8, 13–14</ref> 

The divine hymns such as [[Lalita Sahasranama]], Mahalakshmi Ashtakam that gives many epithets to the goddess based on the demons she had won over such as ''[[Durga|Mahishasuramardini]]''(‘the One who killed demon [[Mahishasura]]’), [[Durga|''Raktabeejasamharini'']] (‘the One who killed demon [[Raktabīja|Raktabeeja]]’), ''[[Chamunda|Chamundi]]'' (‘the One who killed the demon brothers [[Chanda and Munda]]’), ''[[Mookambika]]'' (‘the killer of Mookasura’), [[Kolhapur|''Kolasurabhayankari'']] (‘the killer of Kolasura’), [[Tripura Sundari|''Bhandasuravibedhini'']] (‘the killer of [[Bhandasura]]) and many more.