Parvati was born a maiden of the mountain. The mighty god Shiva was practicing meditation in the dense forest. Desiring to win over Shiva, Parvati went to serve him. But Shiva paid no attention to her. At this time, the gods were being tortured by an invincible demon, so the prayed to the supreme god for a saviour. He assured them that the son of Shiva and Parvati would be the one. So the gods sent Kama, the god of love, to lead Shiva into marrying Parvati. But when the god of love worked his charm, Shiva was disturbed and turned him to ashes. Parvati redoubled her efforts at penance. One day a young hermit approached her, berating her for wasting efforts on the uncouth Shiva. Parvati refuted the hermit's challenge and was pleasantly surprised to find the hermit to be Shiva in disguise. She asked him to approach the elders. That done, Shiva and Parvati were married.

Shiva is the third deity in the Hindu triad. He ought to be the most terrible one because he presides over destruction, whereas Brahma and Vishnu are associated with creation and preservation respectively. Yet Shiva is as much loved by mortals as Vishnu is. He inspires fear in the hearts of the wicked, love and affection in the hearts and the pious. From his snowy abode on Mount Kailasa, Lord Shiva travelled for and wide, answering the prayers of his devotee. But he was often in disguise to ensure that his favours went only to the deserving. This book has a collection of 3 stories. 1\. it was that he battled with the dauntless Pandava Arjuna 2\. cast his net into the sea as he mingled with humble fisherfolk 2\. emerged from the sand to kick aside even the mighty Yama, God of death.

Ganesha revered in India as the remover of obstacles is first and foremost an obedient son. Standing guard at his mother's door, this son of Parvati refuses to let anyone through. Even Lord Shiva is denied entry! This confrontation between father and son has one beneficial outcome - the emergence of Ganesha, the elephant headed god of wisdom.

The Puranas describe Karttikeya, a son of Shiva, as the commander-in-chief of the celestial army. He is also known as Subrahmanya, Skanda, Guha and Kumara. To the Tamil-speaking people he is Murugan. The six-headed, twelve-armed Karttikeya seated on a peacock is the symbol of youth, beauty, valour and supreme wisdom. This Amar Chitra Katha is based on the Tamil version of Skanda-Purana-Samhita.