Parvati, the mountain princess, meditated and thought of none but Shiva, until Shiva appeared and offered her a boon. ‘Marry me,’ she said. But he told her that he had conquered Kama. Why did he need a wife then? ‘Because,’ Parvati replied, ‘marriage is not just the quenching of desire. It is also about looking beyond one’s own desires at the desires of others. It is about caring and sharing.’ Shiva liked her words and agreed to marry her.
