How many wives did Lord Shiva have?

Question

I know one was Sati, the daughter of Daksha Prajapati, and the second was Parvati, daughter of Raja Himanchala.

How many others are there?

Answer 1

Lord Shiva has only one wife Named Sati. Sati is an aspect of Adi Parashakti.

Once Prajapati Daksha organized a yagna , but he didn't invite Sati & Shiva. Sati thought being a daughter they don't require invitation so she asked Shiva to go for the yagna. Shiva advised her that since they are not invited, they shouldn't go for yagna. But Sati didnt listen to Shvia and went to yagna alone.

In the yagna prajapati daksha has arranged sitting arrangement for all the devtas & gods but not for Shiva. So sati asked her father where is the place for Shiva. Hearing this Prajapati Daksha insulted the Lord Shiva.

Sati coundn't bear it so she invoked her yogic agni which was attained by her due to severe devotion or puja done by her and immolated herself.

Later on she took re-birth as Parvati and marry to Shiva again.

Wiki Source : Sati

Answer 2

Shakti is the wife of Lord Shiva. There are thousands of forms of Lord Shiva and they are accompanied by thousands of Shaktis. And these Shaktis are also the form of the same original Shakti (Uma).

Also during the incarnations like of Sati and Parvati it is the same Shakti taking birth again and again:

This Parvati is the wife of Shiva in every birth. In every Kalpa she is the great cosmic intellect mother of wise men. (Shiva Purana Rudra Samhita chapter 33)

And not only that there are cycles of Sati and Parvati which I discuss here

केचद्वदन्ति तां ज्येष्ठां मध्यमां चापरे शिवाम् ।
सर्वानन्तरजां केचित्कल्पभेदात्त्रयं च सत् ।। (Shiva Purana Rudra Samhita Chapter 14)

Some say that Shivă (Sati) was eldest of them all, some say she was the middle one, and some wise treat her as the youngest of all. All three opinions are correct, because of difference of Kalpa.

Thus how much time Shiva marries it doesn't count as a separate wife because it is the same Shakti.

Similarly for the forms of Shiva like AshtaMurti forms also there are respective consorts for every form and these are Shakti only.

And the highest Lord Parameswara is always present with his own Shakti Uma. Kaivalya Upanishad states:

उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं त्रिलोचनं नीलकण्ठं प्रशान्तम् ।
ध्यात्वा मुनिर्गच्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसाक्षिं तमसः परस्तात् ॥ 1.7॥

Meditating on the highest Lord, allied to Uma, powerful, three-eyed, blue-necked, and tranquil, the holy man reaches Him who is the source of all, the witness of all and is beyond darkness.

And similarly Lord Shiva also dwells with his consort Uma in the heart if his devotees as described in Mahanarayana Upanishad:

I-70: The Supreme represented as the ocean has overflown to the whole creation. He has created at first creatures according to the deserts of their various past deeds. He is the ruler of the universe and the munificent giver of gifts to the devotees. He dwells together with Uma in the hearts of devotees which are holier than other parts of their body (the seat of the Divine) and therefore superior and elevated like a peak and affording protection. The Jiva who is his abode grows to be infinite. He is the Lord who delights the individual souls by guiding according to their deeds and conferring on them fruits of their actions.

Thus Shiva/Maheswara has only one consort and that is Shakti/Uma/Ambika. His other thousands of forms have thousands of these portion of these Shaktis.

Answer 3

Lord shiva had one wife named sati, unfortunately sati took Fire Cenotaph and she died, after a very long period of time Loard shiva got married with parvati, which was a form of sati.

So sati and parvati both are the wives of Lord shiva, but we can't say that Lord shiva has two wives because they both did not at a time and parvati was the form of sati so both are same.

so, Lord shiva has one wife.

Answer 4

The episode of Rudra's birth and his wives as given in chapter 8 of Vishnu Purana is as follows:

In the beginning of the Kalpa, as Brahmá purposed to create a son, who should be like himself, a youth of a purple complexion appeared, crying with a low cry, and running about

Brahmá, when he beheld him thus afflicted, said to him, "Why dost thou weep?"

"Give me a name," replied the boy. "Rudra be thy name," rejoined the great father of all creatures: "be composed; desist from tears."

But, thus addressed, the boy still wept seven times, and Brahmá therefore gave to him seven other denominations; and to these eight persons regions and wives and posterity belong. The eight manifestations, then, are named Rudra, Bhava, Śarva, Iśána, Paśupati, Bhíma, Ugra, and Mahádeva, which were given to them by their great progenitor.

Bramha also assigned to them their respective stations, the sun, water, earth, air, fire, ether, the ministrant Brahman, and the moon; for these are their several forms. The wives of the sun and the other manifestations, termed Rudra and the rest, were respectively, Suverchalá, Ushá, Vikesí, Sivá, Swáhá, Diśá, Díkshá, and Rohiní.

Vishnu Purana says:

"It was the Rudra of this description that married Satí, who abandoned her corporeal existence in consequence of the displeasure of Daksha."

She afterwards was the daughter of Himaván (the snowy mountains) by Mená; and in that character, as the only Umá, the mighty Bhava again married her.

Answer 5

Oh .. Its very simple.. Lord SIVA has TWO wives: 1. Goddess SHAKTI (sister of Lord VISHNU): First as Sati devi.. Later reborn as Parvati devi 2. Goddess GANGA (daughter of Lord VISHNU)

The main stream Hinduism recognises only these wives.

Rest all so called wives are all just various forms either Ansh or Avatar.. Of Goddess Shakti.. And Ansh usually have corresponding Shiva Ansh as husband..

Examples: Ansh: Chamunda-Chamundi, Chanda-Chandi, Kaal-Kaali, All jyotirlinga n shakti peeta etc..

Avatar: Durga, tripura sundari etc..

Ansh is piece of a God/Goddess existing etenally in that said form. Avatar is a manifestation for some purpose.. And eventually gets back to original state..

Sometimes the main God/Goddess can take avatar as particular ansh form.. Eg: Shakti as Kaali form to kill Mahishasur.. As it yeilds the best output for chosen purpose..

Answer 6

Most of us know about Parvati but Shiva has many wives, which are the symbols of feminine power. All of these goddesses are well known and worshipped. Their names are Shakti, Parvati, Uma, Durga and Kali. Each of these goddesses stands for something significant – Parvati is the goddess of love and romance. Uma is the goddess of motherhood. Durga is the goddess of justice and Kali, the last of the four, is known to be the goddess of death.

Answer 7

As I discuss in this answer, when Shiva was born, he immediately started to cry, and Brahma gave him numerous names to calm him down, as described in this chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Thereafter Brahmā said: "O chief of the demigods, you shall be called by the name Rudra by all people because you have so anxiously cried. My dear boy, I have already selected the following places for your residence: the heart, the senses, the air of life, the sky, the air, the fire, the water, the earth, the sun, the moon and austerity." Lord Brahmā said: "My dear boy Rudra, you have eleven other names: Manyu, Manu, Mahinasa, Mahān, Śiva, Ṛtadhvaja, Ugraretā, Bhava, Kāla, Vāmadeva and Dhṛtavrata. O Rudra, you also have eleven wives, called the Rudrāṇīs, and they are as follows: Dhī, Dhṛti, Rasalā, Umā, Niyut, Sarpi, Ilā, Ambikā, Irāvatī, Svadhā and Dīkṣā." ... The most powerful Rudra, whose bodily color was blue mixed with red, created many offspring exactly resembling him in features, strength and furious nature.

Now if you notice, the fourth name on the list of eleven names is Shiva, and the fourth name on the list of eleven wives is Uma, a name of Shakti/Parvati. That's not a coincidence; the "many offspring" of Shiva are part of a group of Vedic gods called the Rudras, and the eleven principal Rudras are denoted by the eleven names which Brahma gave to Shiva. Out of the eleven principal Rudras, the chief Rudra is Shiva himself. All the other Rudras are just manifestations of him. In any case, the other ten wives that Brahma mentioned, the Rudranis, are married to the other ten principal Rudras.