In the Skanda Purana Verse 7.1.7.25-40, god Shiva recounts the names of previous births of goddess Parvati across various kalpas, as follows
Īśvara said:
कल्पेकल्पे महादेवि अवतारं करोषि यत् ॥ तेन ते स्मरणं नास्ति प्रभावात्प्रकृतेः प्रिये ॥ २५ ॥
- Since, O my beloved, O great goddess, you take incarnation in every Kalpa due to the power of Prakṛti, you do not have the recollection.
तत्त्वावरणमध्ये तु तत्राद्या त्वं प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ साऽवतीर्यांडमध्ये तु मया सार्द्धं वरानने ॥ २६ ॥
- In the Āvaraṇas (coverings) constituted by the Tattvas, you have been established as the first. O lady of excellent countenance, along with me you incarnate in the middle of the (Cosmic) Eggs.
अनुग्रहार्थं लोकानां प्रादुर्भूता पुनःपुनः ॥आद्ये कल्पे जगन्माता जगद्योनिर्द्वितीयके ॥ २७ ॥
- You manifest yourself again and again for the sake of blessing the worlds. In the first Kalpa (you were) Jaganmātā. In the second (you were) Jagadyoni.
तृतीये शांभवीनाम चतुर्थे विश्वरूपिणी ॥ पञ्चमे नंदिनीनाम षष्ठे चैव गणांबिका ॥ २८ ॥
- In the third (Kalpa) you were (known by the) name Śāmbhavī and in the fourth Viśvarūpiṇī. In the fifth you were named Nandinī and in the sixth Gaṇāṃbikā.
विभूतिः सप्तमे कल्पे सुभूतिश्चाष्टमे तदा ॥ आनन्दा नवमे कल्पे दशमे वामलोचना ॥ २९ ॥
- Vibhūti (is your name) in the seventh Kalpa and Subhūti in the eighth. Ānandā in the ninth Kalpa and Vāmalocanā in the tenth.
एकादशे वरारोहा द्वादशे च सुमङ्गला ॥ कल्पे त्रयोदशे चैव महामाया ह्युदाहृता ॥ ३० ॥
- (You were called) Varārohā in the eleventh and Sumaṅgalā in the twelfth. You are cited as Mahāmāyā in the thirteenth Kalpa.
ततश्चतुर्दशे कल्पेऽनन्तानाम प्रकीर्तिता ॥ भूतमाता पंचदशे षोडशे चोत्तमा स्मृता ॥ ३१ ॥
- You were glorified by the name Anantā in the fourteenth Kalpa, Bhūtamātā in the fifteenth and were remembered as Uttamā in the sixteenth.
ततः सप्तदशे कल्पे पितृकल्पे तु विश्रुता ॥ दक्षस्य दुहिता जाता सतीनाम्नी महाप्रभा ॥ ३२ ॥
- Then in the seventeenth Kalpa (i.e. Pitṛkalpa) you became well-known as the highly lustrous daughter of Dakṣa, known by the name Satī.
अपमानात्तु दक्षस्य स्वां तनूमत्यजत्पुनः ॥ उमां कलां तु चन्द्रस्य पुरापूर्य च संस्थिता ॥ ३३ ॥
- Due to the insult at the hands of Dakṣa you forsook your body. Formerly you stationed yourself as Umā filling the digit of the moon.
ततः प्रवृत्ते वाराहे कल्पे त्वं सुरसुन्दरि ॥ पुनर्हिमवताराध्य दुहिता त्वमतः कृता ॥ ३४ ॥
- Then, when the Vārāha Kalpa began, O beautiful lady of Suras, you were propitiated by Himavān and made his daughter.
ततो देव्यद्भुतं तप्त्वा तपः परमदुश्चरम् ॥ भर्त्तारं मां पुनः प्राप्य पार्वतीति निगद्यसे ॥ ३५ ॥
- Then, O goddess, you performed a wonderful penance very difficult to be performed and obtained me once again as your husband. You are now called Pārvatī.
कैलासनिलयश्चाहं त्वया सार्द्धं वरानने ॥ क्रीडामि तव देवेशि यावत्कल्पावसानकम् ॥३६॥
- I have my abode in Kailāsa, O lady of excellent countenance. O goddess of Devas, I thus sport with you till the end of the Kalpa.
इदं चतुर्गुणं प्राप्य द्वापरे विष्णुना सह ॥ महिषस्य वधार्थाय उत्पन्ना कृष्णपिंगला ॥ ३७ ॥
- This happens four times. Then for the sake of the killing of Mahiṣa, you were born as Kṛṣṇapiṅgalā (black-and tawny-coloured) in Dvāpara along with Viṣṇu.
कात्यायनीति दुर्गेति विविधैर्नामपर्ययैः ॥ नवकोटिप्रभेदेन जातासि वसुधातले ॥ ३८ ॥
- You were born on the earth in nine crores of different ways with various names such as Kātyāyanī, Durgā etc.
यानि ते कल्पनामानि पूर्वमुक्तानि सुन्दरि ॥ तानि त्रयोदशाकल्पादुदक्तात्कथितानि मे ॥ ३९ ॥
- O beautiful lady, your Kalpa names mentioned before have been enumerated by me beyond the thirteenth Kalpa.
अतीतानि भविष्याणि वर्त्तमानानि सुन्दरि ॥ एवं ज्ञेयानि सर्वाणि ब्रह्मकल्पावधि प्रिये ॥ ॥ ४० ॥
- O beautiful lady [ladies?] the past, present and the future names—all of them—should be known thus till Brahma Kalpa.
English Translation by G.V. Tagare
So, as per the above excerpt, the Mother goddess seems to have different names, as the wife of god Shiva, since she incarnates in every Kalpa with a different, unique name, tabulated as per the Kalpas, as follows-
| Kalpa | Divine Mother's Name (as Shiva's Wife) |
|---|---|
| 1st | Jaganmātā |
| 2nd | Jagadyoni |
| 3rd | Śāmbhavī |
| 4th | Viśvarūpiṇī |
| 5th | Nandinī |
| 6th | Gaṇāṃbikā |
| 7th | Vibhūti |
| 8th | Subhūti |
| 9th | Ānandā |
| 10th | Vāmalocanā |
| 11th | Varārohā |
| 12th | Sumaṅgalā |
| 13th | Mahāmāyā |
| 14th | Anantā |
| 15th | Bhūtamātā |
| 16th | Uttamā |
| 17th (Pitṛkalpa) |
Satī |
| 18th (Vārāha Kalpa) |
Pārvatī |
This question is in a series with another question on the different names of Brahma and Vishnu, as I ask here.
Questions -
Is the interpretation correct, that the great goddess (as Shiva's wife) manifests with different names in different Kalpas?
So, the names of Shiva's wife change with each Kalpa, although the original manifesting source goddess remains the same i.e., The Parashakti? Do they all have similar "life-span" as discussed in this answer?
Which other scriptures have similar theology, and corroborate these claims? Does any commentary by an acharya exist, to clarify these ambiguous verses?
I'm just asking these questions out of curiosity. Because in the first reading the verses, do seem to describe, as I interpret above. If I have wrongly interpreted this,consider ameliorating my doubts please, rather than just plainly downvoting/closing without no reasons, that'd be more helpful and conducive to the purpose of H.SE
