Parvati (Sanskrit: पार्वती, IAST: Pārvatī), Uma (Sanskrit: उमा, IAST: Umā) or Gauri (Sanskrit: गौरी, IAST: Gaurī) is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love, beauty, marriage, children, and devotion; as well as of divine strength and power.^[5][6][7] Known by many other names, she is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Supreme Hindu goddess Adi Parashakti (Shivashakti) and one of the central deities of the Goddess-oriented Shakti sect called Shaktism. She is the Mother goddessin Hinduism,^[1][8] and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India.^[9] Along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses (Tridevi).^[10]

Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva – the protector, the destroyer and regenerator of the universe and all life.^[11] She is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and queen Mena.^[12]Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha, Kartikeya, Ashokasundari. The Puranas also referenced her to be the sister of the preserver god Vishnu.^[13][14] She is the divine energy between a man and a woman, like the energy of Shiva and Shakti. She is also one of the five equivalent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism.^{[citation needed]}

Parvati is a form of Shakti. In Shaivism, she is the recreative energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings and a means of their spiritual release.