Parvati

==In culture==
===Festivals===
[[Teej]] is a significant festival for Hindu women, particularly in the northern and western states of India. Parvati is the primary deity of the festival, and it ritually celebrates married life and family ties.<ref name=cajones/> It also celebrates the monsoon. The festival is marked with swings hung from trees, girls playing on these swings typically in a green dress (seasonal color of crop planting season), while singing regional songs.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/devotion-mirth-mark-hariyali-teej/article5009216.ece Devotion, mirth mark ‘Hariyali Teej’] The Hindu (10 August 2013)</ref> Historically, unmarried maidens prayed to Parvati for a good mate, while married women prayed for the well-being of their husbands and visited their relatives. In Nepal, Teej is a three-day festival marked with visits to Shiva-Parvati temples and offerings to linga.<ref name=cajones>Constance Jones (2011), Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays (Editor – J. Gordon Melton), {{ISBN|978-1598842050}}, pp. 847–848</ref> Teej is celebrated as [[Teeyan]] in Punjab.<ref>Gurnam Singh Sidhu Brard (2007), East of Indus: My Memories of Old Punjab, {{ISBN|978-8170103608}}, pp 325</ref>

[[File:Gauri's procession commencing from the Zanani-Deodhi of the City Palace.jpg|upright|thumb|220px|Parvati being celebrated at Gauri Festival, [[Rajasthan]].]]
The [[Gowri Habba]], or Gauri Festival, is celebrated on the seventh, eighth, and ninth of [[Bhadrapada]] ([[Shukla paksha]]). Parvati is worshipped as the goddess of harvest and protector of women. Her festival, chiefly observed by women, is closely associated with the festival of her son Ganesha ([[Ganesh Chaturthi]]). The festival is popular in [[Maharashtra]] and [[Karnataka]].<ref>The Hindu Religious Year By Muriel Marion Underhill p.50 Published 1991 Asian Educational Services {{ISBN|81-206-0523-3}}</ref>

In Rajasthan, the worship of Gauri happens during the [[Gangaur]] festival. The festival starts on the first day of Chaitra the day after Holi and continues for 18 days. Images of Issar and Gauri are made from Clay for the festival.

Another popular festival in reverence of Parvati is [[Navratri]], in which all her manifestations are worshiped over nine days. Popular in eastern India, particularly in Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Assam, as well as several other parts of India such as Gujarat, with her nine forms, that is, [[Shailaputri]], [[Brahmacharini]], [[Chandraghanta]], [[Kushmanda]], [[Skandamata]], [[Katyayini]], [[Kaalratri]], [[Mahagauri]], and [[Siddhidatri]].<ref>S Gupta (2002), Festivals of India, {{ISBN|978-8124108697}}, pp 68–71</ref>

Another festival ''Gauri Tritiya'' is celebrated from Chaitra Shukla third to Vaishakha Shukla third. This festival is popular in Maharashtra and Karnataka, less observed in North India, and unknown in Bengal. The unwidowed women of the household erect a series of platforms in a pyramidal shape with the image of the goddess at the top and a collection of ornaments, images of other Hindu deities, pictures, shells, etc. below. Neighbors are invited and presented with turmeric, fruits, flowers, etc. as gifts. At night, prayers are held with singing and dancing. In south Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the Kethara Gauri Vritham festival is celebrated on the new moon day of Diwali and married women fast for the day, prepare sweets and worship Parvati for the well-being of the family.<ref>The Hindu Religious Year By Muriel Marion Underhill p.100</ref>

[[Thiruvathira]] is a festival observed in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is believed that on this day, Parvati met Shiva after her long penance and Shiva took her as his wife.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/tubers-are-the-veggies-of-the-day-to-celebrate-thiruvathira-in-kerala/article30522721.ece|title=Tubers are the veggies of choice to celebrate Thiruvathira|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref> On this day Hindu women perform the Thiruvathirakali accompanied by Thiruvathira paattu (folk songs about Parvati and her longing and penance for Lord Shiva's affection).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.manoramaonline.com/travel/essential-kerala/thiruvathira-and-its-unique-traditions.html|title=Thiruvathira – Kerala's own version of Karva Chauth|publisher=Manorama|access-date=5 March 2020}}</ref>

===Arts===
[[File:Attributed to Khushala, Indian, active late 18th century - The Gods Sing and Dance for Shiva and Parvati - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Attributed to Khushala ''The Gods Sing and Dance for Shiva and Parvati'' (late 18th century)]]
From sculpture to dance, many Indian arts explore and express the stories of Parvati and Shiva as themes. For example, ''Daksha Yagam'' of [[Kathakali]], a form of dance-drama choreography, adapts the romantic episodes of Parvati and Shiva.<ref>Ragini Devi (2002), Dance Dialects of India, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-8120806740}}, pp. 201–202</ref>

The Gauri-Shankar bead is a part of religious [[adornment]] rooted in the belief of Parvati and Shiva as the ideal equal complementing halves of the other. Gauri-Shankar is a particular ''[[rudraksha]]'' (bead) formed naturally from the seed of a tree found in India. Two seeds of this tree sometimes naturally grow as fused and are considered symbolic of Parvati and Shiva. These seeds are strung into garlands and worn, or used in ''malas'' (rosaries) for meditation in Saivism.<ref>James Lochtefeld (2005), "Gauri-Shankar" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, pp. 244, Rosen Publishing, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}</ref>

===Numismatics===
Ancient coins from [[Bactria]] (Central Asia) of [[Kushan Empire]] era, and those of king [[Harsha]] (North India) feature Uma. These were issued sometime between the 3rd- and 7th-century AD. In Bactria, Uma is spelled ''Ommo'', and she appears on coins holding a flower.<ref>[[John M. Rosenfield]] (1967), The Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, University of California Press, Reprinted in 1993 as {{ISBN|978-8121505796}}, pp. 94–95</ref><ref>AH Dani et al., History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. 2, Editors: Harmatta et al., UNESCO, {{ISBN|978-9231028465}}, pp 326–327</ref> On her coin is also shown Shiva, who is sometimes shown in the ithyphallic state holding a trident and standing near [[Nandi (bull)|Nandi]] (his ''vahana''). On coins issued by king Harsha, Parvati and Shiva are seated on a bull and the reverse of the coin has [[Brahmi]] script.<ref>Arthur L. Friedberg and Ira S. Friedberg (2009), Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present, {{ISBN|978-0871843081}}, pp 462</ref>