Hey Gauri ShankarardhangiParvati Mantra

What the mantra says

The verse is a direct, personal request, and it rests on a comparison. He Gauri Shankarardhangi: "O Gauri, you who are half of Shankar's body", a reference to Ardhanarishvara, the form in which Shiva and Parvati share one body. Yatha tvam Shankarapriya: "just as you are dear to Shankar". Tatha mam kuru kalyani: "so, O auspicious one, make me", kantakantam sudurlabham: "the beloved of a beloved husband, a thing very hard to find".

The logic is simple and moving. Parvati did not win Shiva easily; she won him through years of penance. So the devotee asks the one goddess who knows what it took for a marriage of real love and respect.

Who chants it, and how

Traditionally it is chanted by unmarried girls hoping for a good husband, and by women whose marriage is delayed. The usual practice is:

• Begin on a Monday, or on a Tuesday of Shravan (the Mangala Gauri vrat), or on Hartalika Teej.
• After bathing, light a ghee lamp before a picture of Shiva and Parvati together, and offer red flowers, sindoor and akshat to Parvati.
• Chant the verse 108 times on a rudraksha or red sandalwood mala, with your mind on the meaning, not only the sound.
• Close with the Jai Parvati Mata aarti.

Many families also recite the Parvati Chalisa, which tells at length the penance that this verse alludes to.

The short name mantras

For daily worship, without any particular wish in mind, two short mantras are used. Om Parvatyai Namah, "salutations to Parvati", is offered with each flower or grain of rice. Om Umamaheshvarabhyam Namah, "salutations to Uma and Maheshvara", honours the couple together; the grammatical dual form -abhyam means "to the two of them". It is the natural mantra for married couples and for the Monday puja of Shiva and Parvati.