He Refused to Worship a Woman - Sage Bhringi and The Creation of Ardhanarishwar

Sage Bhringi was a devout worshipper of Lord Shiva. He visited Mount Kailash with other sages to pay his respects him. But unlike the others, Sage Bhringi only prayed to Lord Shiva, without paying any respects to Goddess Parvati. 

Every day he would pray to Lord Shiva, every day he ignored Goddess Parvati. With each passing day, Goddess Parvati's anger grew. To see if he would change his ways, Parvati sat very close to Shiva. To avoid circumambulating (going around) Parvati, Sage Bhringi transformed himself into a snake and went in between them, hence only praying to Lord Shiv once again.

As always seen in nature, creation needs both masculine and feminine energy. This was unacceptable to Sage Bhringi, who didnt realise that Shiva and Shakti are one. To show him the reality, Shiva and Parvati merged into a unique form, half man and half woman, Ardhanarishwara. Unable to accept this reality, Sage Bhringi turned himself into a bee and went around only Lord Shiva's head.

This angered Parvati, who cursed Bhringi saying he would lose all aspects of his body that came from his mother. Sage Bhringi lost all his flesh and blood, and was left with only bones and nerves, thus collapsing on the ground. As per traditional belief, the flesh and blood came from the mother, and the bones and nerves came from the father. Reality dawned on Sage Bhringi.

Seeing his devotee in agony, Lord Shiva granted Sage Bhringi a third leg, so he could lift himself up and stand. Sage Bhringi finally understood his folly, and bowed to both Shiva and Parvati.