Ashoka sundari:Daughter of Lord SIVA &PARVATI

One day Shiva and Parvati arrived across a wish-fulfilling tree known as the Kalpavriksha(Banion tree). Because Lord Shiva frequently went out of Kailash Mountain to fight demons, Parvati used to often feel lonely and so she asked for a daughter to the tree. As her wish was granted, Ashoka Sundari was born.Ashok Sundari- the daughter of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Ashoka Sundari was born even before Lord Ganesh and she was the second child of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Ashoka Sundari’s story is described in the Padma Purana where she is also described as the Tripurasundari. Ashoka Sundari was born with the power of Lord Parvati who was craving for a child after Karthikeya goes away from home. Lord Shiva and Parvati’s first child Lord Karthikeya leaves parents and moves out of Mount Kailash

The word Ashoka means without sorrow and because she got rid of Parvati’s sorrow, she was named Ashoka Sundari. Sundari means beautiful. Since the girl was extremely beautiful, she did justice to her name.

Mysteriously, not much is mentioned about her in most scriptures apart from the fact that she was present at the time Ganesha was beheaded. Ashoka Sundari got scared by her father’s act and hid behind a sack of salt. When Parvati got to know about her son's fate, she becomes extremely angry. Out of anger, she also cursed Ashoka Sundari to become a part of the salt. Later when Ganesha’s head was restored by Shiva, they restored life in their daughter and pacified her. That’s how Ashoka Sundari is associated with salt without which food is tasteless.

Apart from a few such legends, the existence of Shiva’s daughter is not known by most people. However, in some parts of India, few folklores are popular in eastern part of India, as it is believed that Goddess Manasa was a daughter of Shiva who was born accidentally in an unintended way.

So these were a few stories about Ashoka Sundari, Lord Shiva’s daughter. There’s slight speculation about the authenticity of these stories but since folklores are an important part of Indian culture, we can’t deny the possibility that Lord Shiva also fathered a daughter.

By: tapanmajhi.com