The Himalaya have also been personified as the Lord Himavata, the God of snow, who is mentioned in the Mahabharata. He is father of Ganga and Saraswati, that became rivers, and Parvati an avatar of the great Mother Goddess Durga, who married Shiva and the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda who too are avatars or close spiritual associates of the goddess Durga.