Minakshi

Meenatchi or Meenakshi (IAST mīnakṣi, often written Meenakshi in Tamil மீனாட்சி) s a Hindu deity. - sister of Lord Vishnu and wife of Lord Shiva, who is worshipped mainly by South Indians. She is also one of the few Hindu female deities to have a major temple devoted to her - the famed Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The picture on the right shows her idol at the temple.

Contents 1 The legend 2 Metaphorical representation 3 Minakshi Devi 4 Literary references 5 References

The legend

Once Indra killed a demon, even though the demon did not harm anyone. This act brought a curse upon Indra that forced him to continue wandering until he was redeemed from his sin. After much wandering Indra was freed from his suffering through the power of a Shivalingam in a forest, and so he built a small temple at that site.

It so happened that at that time in South India there was a Pandyan king called Malayadhwaja Pandiyan ruling a small city by the name Manavur, which was quite near to this Shivalinga. He was the son of Kulashekara Pandyan. He came to know about the Shivalinga and decided to ībuild a huge temple for Shiva in the forest Kadambavanam (vanam means forest). He also developed the region into a fine princely state called Madurai.

The king was childless and sought an heir for the kingdom. Shiva granted him his prayers through an Ayonija child (one born not from the womb). This child was three years old and actually the incarnation of goddess Parvati the wife of Shiva. She was born with three breasts and fish-shaped eyes. It was said that the extra breast would disappear when she met her future husband. She was named Meenatchi, (meaning fish eyed) from the words mīna (meaning fish) and akṣi (meaning eyes).

She grew up to be a Shiva-Shakti personification. After the death of the king, she ruled the kingdom with skillful administration.

In one of her expeditions she went to the Himalaya mountains and there, on seeing Shiva, her extra breast disappeared. Many of the gods and goddesses came to witness their marriage.

At the wedding celebrations the gods refused to have the served food unless Shiva performed a majestic dance for everybody gathered at the place. At this there was the dance of Chidambaram, the cosmic dance in front of his wife Minakshi. It epitomised and merged all life force and beauty into one whole. In the end Minakshi was merged with the shivalingam and became the representation of life and beauty.

There is another legend that talks about why the North Tower (called as "Mottai Gopuram") does not have that many sculptures. Bhootaganas were supposed to finish the construction of the temple towers during the night. Legend says that bhootaganas completed all three towers but while in the middle of building the north tower sunrise happened halting the completion of the north tower.

Metaphorical representation

The story describes the early understanding of beauty and growth and the processes of life and creation in mythical metaphors.

Minakshi Devi

Silapadikaram, an ancient post sangam tamil literature, describes the Goddess as ThadAdagai Pratiyar a warrior Goddess, with a cresent moon on her matted hair, with two arms the left holding a lotus and the right holding a sword. She is described as having the right side in crimson colour and the left in dark colour - ardhanAri form. After the 10th Century, there was a big influence of the lakshadhyayi cult of the Shaivates within Tamil Nadu region, as an effect of which, a separate shrine was created within the main temple of madurai for Meenakshi devi. The inscription refers her to as Thirukamakotathu Aludaya Nachiar. Please note that similar changes have happened elsewhere as well, for example, one may recall that Lord Nataraja's consort, who was the Thillai Kali devi was substituted with a new shrine for the devi within the main temple unit at Chidambaram, as ShivakAma valli or ShivakAma Kodi.

Minakshi Devi does not directly occur in the Lalita Sahasranama, though there is a reference to it in chalan meenaba lochana. Her eyes are fabled to bring life to the unborn.

The stotram Minakshi Pancha Ratnam (five jewels of Minakshi) [1] is an incantation to her. There are several other great hynms on the goddess, composed in the later centuries by many saints and scholars including the famous Neelakanta Dikshitar.

Literary references

A Tamil poem shows the goddess Minakshi as a girl washing crockery and pots (which consist of all the worlds). This is a daily task, because her husband Shiva repeatedly messes up the universe, which Minakshi must once more sort out and clean.

Shiva wanders through the courtyard of space
destroying your work again and again,
and then comes before you dancing.
You never get angry.
Every day, you just pick up the vessels.

In thirty words, Minakshi becomes a global icon for all who deal with 'impossible' children (or husbands).^[1] Themes and activities of early childhood run through the poems. God in the little child is worshipped and protected amidst the toys in the kitchen and back yard.

Winning over maya (illusion) is just the realisation of Truth. This is what the Lord can do for us. This is the purpose of all scriptures. This Realisation is the establishment of the symbol (Linga-sthApanaM) of the Light of the Self. Lord Rama did this on the shores of the Ocean just before He crossed over to Lanka. The Lord Shiva as Sundaresvara did a similar pratiSThApanaM (winning over maya) on the day of his wedding with the Goddess Minakshi. Throughout the three worlds the establishment of the sphaTika-lingaM as the unique expression of the Truth in one’s heart augurs for the victory over the mysterious prakRti.^[2]

References

1. ^ Richman, Paula (1997). Extraordinary Child: Poems from a South Asian devotional genre. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. 
2. ^ Visvanatha Sastri, R. (1954). The Great Ocean of Gita-Nectar. 

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