Matangi Mhavidya

Once Parvati, seated on Shiva's lap, said to him that he always gave her anything she wanted and that now she had a desire to visit her father. Would he consent to her visiting her father, Himalaya, she asked? Shiva was not happy about granting her this wish but eventually complied, saying that if she did not come back in a few days, he would go there himself to ask for her return. Parvati's mother sent a crane to carry Parvati back to her family home. When she did not return for some days, Shiva disguised himself as an ornament maker and went to her father's house. He sold shell ornaments to Parvati and then, seeking to test her faithfulness, asked that she have sex with him as his payment. Parvati was outraged at the merchant's request and was ready to curse him, but then she discerned with her yogic intuition that the ornament vendor was really her husband, Shiva. Concealing her knowledge of his true identity, she replied: "Yes, fine, I agree. But not just now."