| Parvati, from Hindu mythology is the consort of Shiva. As the story goes, Shiva married Sati the
daughther of the priest-king Daksha. Daksha was annoyed at Shiva and ended up insulting Sati. Enraged, she threw herself on her father's fire altar, contaminating the ceremony and killing herself.
Shiva was upset by this, and moved off to a mountain cave, where he became a hermit. There he meditated and turned himself into a pillar of fire.
The Gods were unhappy and feared. They asked Shakti to "let his energy be released. Let it be transformed into a warrior who will command the celestial armies". So she took the form of Parvati.
They sought to have her win Shiva's heart with the help of
Kama, the god of love. Kama shot a love dart at Shiva
(basis for Cupid perhaps? Sounds very similar). However
Shiva opened his "third eye" and reduced the dart to
ashes.
Parvati responded by practicing self denial and becoming a
hermitess. This won Shiva's favor and she became his
consort. From their embrace, Kartikeya, commander of the
gods was created.
Parvati is also mother of Ganesha, and is worshiped as the
goddess who got Shiva to quit being a hermit, and to
reveal some of the secrets of the universe.
In grand Hindu tradition Parvati takes on different
forms in different stories. As such she is also Kali. | 
