page_title: Mother
section_title: Religious
hierarchical_section_title: Mother / Religious
caption_attribution_description: English: Parvati and Ganesha, ca. 1820 in Jaipur, India, "The technique used in this charming formal portrait of a nursing mother is European, but the subject is characteristically Indian. The young mother in the guise of an aristocratic Rajput lady is Parvati, the wife of Shiva, and the nursing infant is their son Ganesha. In contrast to the "human" mother, who seems to be posing for the artist on a throne placed on a balcony, the child's divinity is emphasized by his pink complexion, white elephant's head, and four arms. Nevertheless, like a human baby, he suckles one of his mother's nipples while fondling the other. So individualized is the face of Parvati, despite the third eye, that one wonders if the artist used a living model. He certainly observed European pictures and mastered the technique of spatial perspective and frontal view, moving away from the tradition of presenting the profile of the subject. The rendering of the curtain also reflects familiarity with European oil paintings. However, the use of the strident blue sky with wispy clouds and the intricate detailing of the architectural forms, garments, and jewelry are typically Indian."[1]
context_page_description: A mother is the female parent of a child. Mothers are women who inhabit or perform the role of bearing some relation to their children, who may or may not be their biological offspring. Thus, dependent on the context, women can be considered mothers by virtue of having given birth, by raising their child, supplying their ovum for fertilisation, or some combination thereof. Such conditions provide a way of delineating the concept of motherhood, or the state of being a mother. Women who meet the third and first categories usually fall under the terms 'birth mother' or 'biological mother', regardless of whether the individual in question goes on to parent their child. Accordingly, a woman who meets only the second condition may be considered an adoptive mother, and those who meet only the first or only the third a surrogacy mother.
  An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or egg donation. A biological mother may have legal obligations to a child not raised by her, such as an obligation of monetary support.
context_section_description: Nearly all world religions define tasks or roles for mothers through either religious law or through the glorification of mothers who served in substantial religious events. There are many examples of religious law relating to mothers and women.
  Major world religions which have specific religious law or scriptural canon regarding mothers include: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Some examples of honoring motherhood include the Madonna or Blessed Virgin Mother Mary for Catholics, and the multiple positive references to active womanhood as a mother in the Book of Proverbs.
  Hindu's Mother Goddess and Demeter of ancient Greek pre-Christian belief are also mothers.
caption: The Hindu mother goddess Parvati feeding her son, the elephant-headed wisdom god Ganesha
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