Kanyakumari: The Cult of the Virgin

[Guest guest]

Contributed by devi_bhakta

 

Kanyakumari has a lovely legend, which I thought I'd share in case

any members are interested. For those of you who are unfamiliar with

the geography of India, Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of the

subcontinent, and this form of Devi is its personification:

 

A beautiful young maiden goddess, Punyakshi, lived in a village on

that southern tip of India. She wanted to be Shiva's bride, but the

gods were opposed to her wishes, because only as a virgin did she

possess the power (shakti) to defeat the demons who were plaguing the

Earth.

 

So the gods set a series of impossible hurdles -- Shiva could only

marry her if he paid the bridal price of a piece of sugarcane without

rings, a betel leaf without veins and a mango without a seed.

However, Punyakshi's desire for union with Shiva was very strong, and

by her fervent prayer, Shiva was able to conjure up the impossible

gifts and win her hand.

 

So the gods laid down a further condition, telling Punyakshi, "If

Shiva wants to marry you, he must leave his abode [the Himalayas, in

far northern India] when the sun sets and reach your village [in

southernmost India] before the sun rises.

 

So Shiva mounted his bull at sunset, and went galloping toward the

South, making incredible time. Seeing that he was going to easily

meet their condition, the gods played a trick on Shiva -- they made

all of the roosters in India crow in the middle of the night, when

Shiva was only halfway to Punyakshi. Believing that dawn was

breaking, Shiva thought he'd failed the condition, turned around

heartbroken, and went home.

 

When Punyakshi learned of the divine deception, her fury knew no

bounds. She kicked over the pots of food prepared for her wedding

celebration -- and they turned into the colored sands found on the

southern shores of India to this day. Several demons offered to marry

her instead and satisfy her longings, but she became enraged at their

audacity and tore out their hearts.

 

She then stood on the seashore beside her village, facing the sea,

and vowed not to move until she was reunited with her Shiva at the

end of time. This is how she is portrayed in the image I've posted --

and in all depictions of her as Kanyakumari, the Divine Maiden.

 

The scholar Devdutt Patatnaik observes, "The cult of the virgin is

popular in many parts of India. It is believed that when a woman does

not enjoy the company of husband and children, her creative energy

bottles up inside her and becomes destructive. This bottled energy

is feared and hence worshiped."

 

Well -- that's not very politically correct, is it? Anyone care to

comment? Discuss?

 

Aum Maatangyai Namaha

 

 

adi_shakthi16

 

thanks for this heart-warming story on the virgin goddess! just

like kashi and rishikesh . it is said kanya kumari is also a 'must

see' for spiritual aspirants- apart from its lovely beaches, it has

many beautiful shrines and temples! swami vivekanda meditated on

a 'rock' here where he attained 'samadhi'!

 

members, please visit this web site to discover more about this

important tourist place- the spiritual pilgrimage starts in kashi and

ends here!

 

http://www.templenet.com/Tamilnadu/kumari.html