Not far from the headwaters of the Manohara River, Shiva sits overlooking a sacred spot marked by the Swasthani Mandir. It was here that Parvati fasted and endured extraordinary hardships in an effort to charm a grieving Shiva to become her husband. As the story goes, Shiva was in mourning after the death of his first wife, Sati. While he was secluded the demon Tarakasura, who could only be killed by a son of Shiva, ran amok. The other gods implored Shiva to leave his retreat, marry Parvati (an incarnation…
