Parvati - in Shiva Purana

Birth and marriage

The Puranas repeatedly tell the tale of Sati's marriage to Shiva against her father Daksha's wishes and her subsequent self-immolation at Daksha's Yajna (fire offering) leaving Shiva grief-stricken and having lost interest in worldly affairs. In Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Sati appears before Shiva, in her divine form, and reassures him that she will return as the daughter of Himavan. Sati is reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himavan, and the apsaras Menā and is named "Kali", the dark one as per her complexion. Sati as well as Parvati are considered manifestations of Mahadevi, the "great Goddess". In Ramayana, the river Ganga is depicted as the elder sister of Parvati; while in Harivamsa Parvati has two younger sisters called Ekaparna and Ekapatala.

Parvati is depicted as interested in Shiva's tales and appearance from her very birth and finally remembering her last life as Sati. As Parvati grew into a young woman, she began tapas (austerities) to please Shiva to grant her wish to reunite with him. She is portrayed as surpassing all other ascetics in penance, undergoing mortifications. Finally, Shiva tests her devotion by sending an attendant or appearing himself in disguise to criticize Shiva. Untouched by the act, Parvati retains her desire for Shiva compelling him to marry her. After the marriage, Parvati moves to mount Kailash, the residence of Shiva.

Kalidasa's epic Kumarasambhavam ("Birth of Kumara") details with matchlessly lyrical beauty the story of the maiden Parvati; her devotions aimed at gaining the favour of Shiva; the subsequent annihilation of Kamadeva; the consequent fall of the universe into barren lifelessness; the subsequent nuptials, in these circumstances, of the partners of many previous births; the immaculate birth of Skanda (Kumara, Shiva's first son) and the eventual resurrection of Kamadeva after intercession by Parvati to Shiva in his favour.

The depiction of Parvati’s marriage to Lord Shiva, in the Shiva Purana, could be seen as an allegory illustrating the desire of an individual to achieve a state of liberation from strife and banality. If one sets aside, for the moment, the idea of Lord Shiva as a male entity, and sees him instead as representing a state beyond human suffering, then Parvati becomes symbolic of the aspirant who wishes to achieve nirvana, and the story becomes something considerably more than a quaint romantic tale. The acharyas (scholastic saints), who wrote the Puranas, may have interpreted Parvati’s asceticism as a means of winning Lord Shiva’s hand in marriage, in order to discourage young girls from following the Goddess’s example, and becoming renunciates. In modern day Hinduism the marriage aspect of this story has been inflated in importance, but the most compelling picture we are left with, is Parvati as an ascetic.

by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvati