The Daughters Of Lord Shiva

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We all know that Lord Shiva had two sons. But very few know that he had daughters too. Read on to know who the daughters of Lord Shiva are.

When Goddess Parvati expressed the desire to visit the most beautiful garden of the universe, Lord Shiva took her to the Nandan Van. Upon reaching there, she was mesmerized by the beauty of the place.

She thought of sitting there for some time. While looking for a comfortable place, she came across the Kalpavriksha. Kalpavriksha is one of the most sacred trees known for fulfilling all the desires of the worshiper.

Goddess Ashok Sundari

Goddess Parvati liked the tree so much that she presented her wish to take the tree to her holy abode. Lord Shiva granted her the permission. They returned to their place and Goddess Parvati got the tree established there itself.

It so happened that one day when Lord Shiva was not there in the palace and Goddess Parvati felt lonely, an idea knocked her mind just then. It was to ask for a daughter from the sacred tree that she is so lucky to have in her house. She immediately went to the tree and expressed her wish.

The Kalpavriksha understood and granted the Goddess her wish by giving her the daughter Ashok Sundari. It was because of her beauty that she was so named.

Ashok Sundari had the blessing that she could foresee the future. She knew that she would be married to the famous king Nahush. She had also received a blessing from her mother Goddess Parvati that she would be married to a powerful king like Lord Indra.

Once Ashok Sundari was sitting in the Nandanvan, when the demon, Hund, saw her and wanted to marry her. When he presented before Ashok Sundari the offer for marriage, she denied saying that her marriage has been decided with Nehush. The demon got annoyed at this and decided to kill the man whom she was to get married with.

Ashok Sundari cursed him that he would be killed by her husband one day. Soon the demon kidnapped Nehush, who too was a kid then. One of the servants of this demon rescued him and sent him to the Ashram of Rishi Vashishtha. The prince was brought up there. Later, he killed the demon Hund and married Ashok Sundari. They then had one son named Yayati and a hundred beautiful daughters.

Goddess Jyoti

The second daughter of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati was Goddess Jyoti. It is believed that she is the representation of light. She had emerged from a lightning in the forehead of Goddess Parvati. She is associated more with her brother Kartikeya. This Goddess is also known by other names such as Goddess Reki and Jwalamukhi. She is especially worshiped in many temples in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Goddess Manasa

Goddess Manasa is believed to be the third daughter of Lord Shiva; however, Goddess Parvati is not considered her mother. She is worshiped as the Goddess of snakes and is the sister of Nagaraja Vasuki, mother of Astika and wife of the sage Jagatguru.

Jagatguru was a sage and had decided he would never marry. Once when he was going through a jungle, he came across a tree on which many men were hanging upside down. Upon inquiring, he came to know that they were his own ancestors. They told him that they had been hanging there because their descendants had not performed their last rites.

The only solution to this was that he should get married and have a boy who would then perform their last rites. Nagaraja Vasuki offered his sister's hand to him and then Jagatguru accepted Manasa as his wife. Goddess Manasa gave birth to a boy and they named him Astika. Astika then performed the last rites for their ancestors and liberated them to salvation.