Marriage of Shiva and Parvati is a two-episode love story stretching from one lifetime to another. Devi Durga took birth for the first time as Sati, one of sixty daughters of King Dakshya and Prasuti. Dakshya was son of Brahma, one of the Trinity of Hindu Mythology, the Lord of creation. Sati fell in love for Shiva, the Lord of destruction among the Trinity.
Her parents were afraid to give her hands to a half-naked, unclean homeless mendicant and haunter of cemeteries like Shiva. All the other daughters of Dakshya were married to eminent persons of Heaven, Earth and Hell like Maharshi Kashyap, Dharmaraj Yama (Lord of Death), Chandra (Moon) etc. and all of them live among riches.
Dakshya arranged Sati's "Saymbar" (the ceremony where a woman could choose her husband from among the invited guests) inviting all except Shiva. Sati refused to alter her choice and married Mahadeva (lord of lords) Shiva by trick. She prayed before her lord to appear and threw her garland in air. Shiva appeared and accepted the marriage appeal of Sati. Thus the desperate Sati married Shiva against the wishes of her parents. She denied all the riches given by her father to compensate her earthly loss and adorned her beloved's dress of tiger skin. He had saved the world during the churning of Ocean of Milk by drinking the venom of Vishnu's serpent Vasuki. All Lords of Heaven honour her husband. How could she be a looser? Before his love stood not even all riches of Kuvera, the Lord of Wealth of Hindu Mythology.
Without his love she felt poverty even amongst riches. To her serving her beloved is her religion, his wishes becomes hers and his happiness that of hers. With this pride of love she went to her husbands abode at Kailasha. After sometime of this marriage an unpleasant incident occurred between Dakshya and Shiva. In the Yagna or sacrifice organized by Maharshi Bhrigu both Dakshya and Shiva along with whole of the Spiritual world were invited. When Dakshya entered the ceremony room all except the Trinity stood up in his honour. The Lords of Creation and Preservation, Brahma and Vishnu were unanimously accepted as Lords of the world, but how dare Maheshwara, even being his son-in-law failed to honour him like all other Lords of Heaven? Dakshya became blind in fury. His previous scar of marrying her daughter against his wishes is not yet healed. Dakshya spitted all his venom against Shiva in words. All other guests and the invitee present there remained perplexed and embarrassed except Nandi, one of the two close associates of Shiva, the white bull. The Loyal servant cursed Dakshya to have a head of goat. Furious Dakshya swore vengeance of this insult. He arranged a sacrifice and entrusted Narada, the messenger of Heaven, to invite all Spiritual Lords and eminent personalities of Earth and Hell except Shiva for the occasion. Narada remained confused as any sacrifice without the presence of Shiva becomes futile. But like in many other times he wanted to exploit the situation for some fun. This fun loving messenger of heaven is the mastermind behind a numerous marriages and a number of misunderstandings of Heaven. He executed the entrusted task first then went to Sati to make her aware of the injustice done to her by her father. Sati failed to note the insult and beg before her husband to let her go to her father's house at this grand occasion, where all of her sisters would come. She longed for the house of her childhood days and the company of long unseen parents and sisters. Shiva warned her pointing out the hidden intension of her father. Sati knew that her husband is right but her head gave way to her heart.
She repeatedly pleaded and cried before Shiva. Kind Ashutosh (who is easily pleased) allowed her to visit the occasion. Sati reaches her father's house to find out what his husbands fears to be true. Her mother welcomed her with a sigh for her ill fate; her rich sisters taunted her of her poverty. When even her father gave her a cold shoulder she could not bear any more and burst out in anger pointing out all the services her husband had offered to the world. But her father instead of pacifying her started to insult Shiva. Dishearten Sati preferred to left the body that heard the insults of her husband and died on the spot.
A broken hearted Nandi who accompanied Sati this time fled to Shiva to give the message of this disaster. Peace loving Shiva lost his temper for this unbearable loss. He created a monster out of his hair with the sole purpose of destroying Dakshya's Yagna (sacrifice). The ceremony came to a disastrous end and Dakshya was killed. When all of the deities present there prayed for his life Shiva returned his life but punished him by placing a head of goat above his body. Dakshya pleaded before him and repented for his misdeed. This decreased Shiva's anger a bit, but his grief remained. Carrying the lifeless body of Sati in his shoulder Shiva started his dance of death, the Tandava. World appeared to have ended before his feet. Alarmed Lord of creation, Vishnu, sent his disc, the Sudarshan Chakra that started mutilating Sati's body into 51 pieces and lessening the weight from Nataraja's shoulder. The pieces thus thrown away gave rise to "Ekanna Pithas" or 51 pilgrimages for worshippers of the Mother Goddess or Shakti.
Shiva cooled down but his mourning continued. He did not returned to Kailasha without Sati, instead he went for meditation in a cave of Himalaya. In the mean time according to Vishnu's wish Sati rebirth as Gauri or Parvati, daughter of Giriraj (King of mountains) Himalaya and Menoka. As "parvat" is another term for "giri" or mountain she is also called "Parvati". When Gauri attained her age of marriage Narada, worshipper of Vishnu, came to Himalayas' court. He according to Vishnu's instruction forecasted that Gauri would be a right match for Shiva.
Delighted Himalaya requested Shiva to let his daughter worship him. Mahadeva allowed her worship. Gauri started her Tapashya or meditation for Shiva for three hundred years eating nothing but leaves of wood apple. But she failed to please him. She started the final phase of her rigorous meditation, Panchatapa, keeping Sun right above her head and fire surrounding her. Days and months and years passed away when suddenly Shiva appeared in disguise to test her devotion. Her devotion won heart of Shiva. Heaven rejoiced in delight. The marriage was arranged and the lost lovers were united forever. But still Shiva is afraid of loosing her and aware of any more insult to her beloved. You can find him piping from a corner or above the idol of Durga watching his wife and family in her fathers' abode.