Shiva Purana — Rudra Samhita, Shloka 22
पार्वतीबाल्यलीलावर्णनम् — Description of Pārvatī’s Childhood/Birth Festivities
कन्दुकैः कृत्रिमैः पुत्रैस्सखीमध्यगता च सा । गंगासैकतवेदीभिर्बाल्ये रेमे मुहुर्मुहुः
kandukaiḥ kṛtrimaiḥ putraissakhīmadhyagatā ca sā | gaṃgāsaikatavedībhirbālye reme muhurmuhuḥ
幼き頃、彼女は女友だちに囲まれ、幾度も幾度も歓び遊んだ。毬や作り物の玩具で戯れ、またガンガーの砂で小さな祭壇をこしらえ、無垢なる遊びとした。
Suta Goswami
Tattva Level: pashu
Shiva Form: Umāpati
Sthala Purana: Not a Jyotirliṅga episode; the verse frames Pārvatī’s bālya-līlā as a preparatory purity (śuddhi) for later tapas and union with Śiva.
Significance: Models sāttvika saṃskāra: even play becomes proto-pūjā (sand-vedī), cultivating bhakti and ritual instinct.
Shakti Form: Pārvatī
Role: nurturing
FAQs
It portrays Pārvatī’s innate purity and devotional tendency: even as a child she plays in ways that resemble simple worship (forming little altars), foreshadowing her mature tapas and Saguna-bhakti that culminate in union with Śiva, the Pati who grants liberation.
The verse shows the seed of Saguna-upāsanā—using tangible symbols (like a small altar) as a focus for reverence. In Shaiva practice, such outward supports mature into dedicated worship of Śiva, often centered on the Liṅga as the accessible form of the Supreme.
A simple takeaway is to cultivate childlike steadiness in daily worship: create a clean worship space (a small “vedī”), offer with sincerity, and remember Śiva through mantra-japa (especially the Pañcākṣarī, “Om Namaḥ Śivāya”), even in ordinary moments.