Those who have visited the temple in Madurai would have seen Meenakshi with a parrot in Her right hand. A visit to the Andaal temple in Srivilliputhur made me realize that Andaal, the lady Alwar (One among the 12 Tamil Vaishnava saints) also has the same in Her right hand!
So, what does the parrot signify?
The parrot is pure love personified. It is the love Meenakshi shows to Her beloved Sundareswarar. In the case of Andaal, She sends Suka Rishi in the form of a parrot as the messenger of Her love for Lord Vishnu. The parrot is Kaamadeva’s Vaahana (vehicle).
Near the Meenakshi Amman Sannidhi, there is a hall called the Kilikkoodu Mandapam (Parrot cage), where until recently, there were a lot of parrots raised by the temple authorities, which used to chant the holy name of the Goddess!
This may remind one of the village in modern day Bihar, Mithila, the birthplace of Sita, where even parrots spoke in Sanskrit.:)
Offer Ashotra Archana to Meenakshi Amman at the famous Madurai MeenakshiAmman Temple
Showing posts with label Amman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amman. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Peravoor temple
There is an Amman temple in a nondescript village called Peravoor near Kumbakonam, my native place, which is very special for us.
(Not to be confused with the Peravoor in Kerala. The Peravoor mentioned here is a small village which I couldn't locate on the net, but I've been there.)
This temple is a personification of Advaita, which essentially says that it is the same all pervading Brahman that is all around us, and within us too. How?
My grandfather used to say, "Peravoora Kamakshi Mahamaayi Sharanam" pretty often. Kamakshi and Mahamaayi are names of Goddess Parvathi. While I used to think that he was referring to the Amman in the village called Peravoor, I often wondered why he uttered "Peravoora" instead of "Peravoor". I asked him this and here was his beautiful answer.
In Tamil, "Peru" means name and "Ooru" means place. Pera-Oora is a question asked, that is, does the Amman have a name or a place? She has neither of them. Call Her however you want to (Kamakshi, Mahamaayi, etc) but you are referring to the same power!
Note: Generally, Goddesses are usually called "Amman" in Tamilnadu and "Bhagavati" in Kerala.
(Not to be confused with the Peravoor in Kerala. The Peravoor mentioned here is a small village which I couldn't locate on the net, but I've been there.)
This temple is a personification of Advaita, which essentially says that it is the same all pervading Brahman that is all around us, and within us too. How?
My grandfather used to say, "Peravoora Kamakshi Mahamaayi Sharanam" pretty often. Kamakshi and Mahamaayi are names of Goddess Parvathi. While I used to think that he was referring to the Amman in the village called Peravoor, I often wondered why he uttered "Peravoora" instead of "Peravoor". I asked him this and here was his beautiful answer.
In Tamil, "Peru" means name and "Ooru" means place. Pera-Oora is a question asked, that is, does the Amman have a name or a place? She has neither of them. Call Her however you want to (Kamakshi, Mahamaayi, etc) but you are referring to the same power!
Note: Generally, Goddesses are usually called "Amman" in Tamilnadu and "Bhagavati" in Kerala.
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