Mother Parvati is the Shakti, the Force of Shiva. Hence, she has to work both in the realms of knowledge as well as of ignorance. In fact, it is always the case with all the Divine Powers, in fact, the Divine Shakti itself. In the higher worlds She is All-knowledge. In the lower triple worlds of which we are a part, the same Divine Mother has to veil and diminish Herself, else creation will not be able to bear Her pressure and Her power. In the Shiv Purana, this subtle and profound truth is revealed as Sati and Parvati. In the Surya Purana, the same truth is revealed as the two wives of Surya, Sangya and Chaya, or the two wives of Kashyap Rishi, Aditi and Diti.
Essentially, creation begins in the womb of darkness and division and hence the daityas appear first. Later, it becomes ready for a greater Light and the devas emerge. Then there is the fight with swinging fortunes until the devas reign. All these stories, including the story of Parvati’s apparent ignorance, are ways of revealing this truth that applies to every life upon earth. We begin in the dark womb wherein the same mother treats us with baby language. But as we grow up, her dealings change accordingly. The plant life begins in darkness, buried under the earth and slowly extends towards the sky. It is because, though everything has emerged from the same Divine, yet life based on matter with fixed forms and bodies, especially earthly life, must start with a state of self-limitation. It progresses towards a release of all its possibilities by moulding matter under the pressure of the growing life until it is ready to be fully delivered to the Light. Even the story of Rama and Sita shows this when in the Aranya Kand, Ram ji gives Mata Sita to the Fire god and only her shadow is kept in the forefront. Otherwise, Ravana would not have been able to get near Sita ji and the work of the Avatar to try and convert him would have remained incomplete.
In simple terms, creation starts in a state of ignorance by a self-veiling of the Divine Light from which it has emerged. Slowly, it is prepared by the Light within it to emerge towards the Light as a seed grows into a tree. The power that veils and the power that reveals are one, but work differently. It is this that is conveyed through these stories.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
