Meenakshi Madurai and Maatangi

[Guest guest]

Back in the old Shakti Sadhana Club, I wrote a series of essays on

the Goddess Maatangi, a/k/a Raja-Maatangi, Ucchista Chandalini, etc.

Nora has industriously dredged these scribblings out of the old club

archives, and I am in the process of revising and improving them into

a single- or two-part essay to post here.

 

But since I've now brought up the subject of Meenakshi Madurai, it

seems worthwhile to note that Maatangi (specifically Raja-Maatangi,

the picture that appears on my profile page) and Meenakshi Madurai

are considered to be one and the same Goddess.

 

Granting that Maatangi appears in numerous other local guises around

India, it nonetheless seems fair to say that her two principle roles

are (1) the ninth of the Ten Mahavidyasas; and (2) a major aspect of

Meenakshi.

 

In his detailed study of the Mahavidyas David Kinsley skimmed over

Maatangi to some extent, giving Her considerably less analysis than

the other goddesses of that group. He offered up an early, Buddhist

origin myth; then spent the rest of his discussion concentrating on

Her role as the Outcaste Goddess, i.e. Uccista Chandalini. He did not

comment on Her role as a Tantric form of Saraswati (the former's

pollution being the "flip side" of the latter's purity, etc). Nor did

he mention Her connection to Meenakshi Devi. Sarbeswar Satpathy and

especially David Frawley, in their respective studies of the

Mahavidyas, gave Maatangi a little more attention -- but still left

too many strands of Her story untold.

 

It seems to me that it would be most interesting to dig down at the

roots of the various Maatangi traditions in India, and find out what

ties them altogether. The music/arts connection, obviously, provides

one good bridge from the "Tantric Saraswati" Maatangi of the Ten

Mahavidyas, to the Meenakshi Maatangi of Madurai. As does Her role as

manifest speech itself -- i.e. the "pollution" of pure, unspoken

speech? But how does this knowledge/arts/speech connection relate to

Dr. Sadagopam's note that She is invoked for establishing the reign

of peace and prosperity? Or her Tantric role is the power of

domination? How does Her "Raja" form relate to Her outcaste form? Or

does it?

 

And then there are Her many names -- do these different names

denote fundamentally different conceptions of the Goddess? For

example, as an aspect of Meenakshi, we see Maatangi referred to as

Laghushyama, Shyaamala, Raja Shyaamala, and Moha Raathri. Aravind

Krishna, in the Ambaal Group, noted that "The naamaas Shyaamalaa,

Maatangi and Miinakshi represent the same deity." But why is that? Is

it simply a matter of labels? Are they just different names without

denoting any real difference in the understanding of the Deity?

 

As one of the Ten Mahavidyas, a similar "name game" emerges: I've

seen Her referred to as Ucchista-Maatangi, Ucchista-Chandalini, Raja

Maatangi, Sumukhi-Maatangi, Vasya-Maatangi, and Karna-Maatangi.

 

And then there are her Buddhist forms -- I've seen Her related to

Shoshika; and Kalika Putra has noted Her relation to Neela Saraswati

as well. For good measure, I could add the the apparently pre-Aryan

goddess forms of Renuka and Lajja Gauri, both of whom have been

identified with Maatangi in different times and places. Can anyone

here pull all of these diverse conceptions together? Or is Her

diversity the whole point? Has anyone here ever seen a copy of the

Maatangi Tantra referenced in Ambaal by Dr. Sadagopan?

 

Any and all information and/or clarification will be much appreciated!

 

Aum Maatangyai Namaha

[Guest guest]

At Hubcom, under 100 names of Kali, Matangi is one of them.

-

devi_bhakta

Thursday, April 04, 2002 3:13 PM

Meenakshi Madurai and Maatangi

Back in the old Shakti Sadhana Club, I wrote a series of essays on the

Goddess Maatangi, a/k/a Raja-Maatangi, Ucchista Chandalini, etc. Nora

has industriously dredged these scribblings out of the old club

archives, and I am in the process of revising and improving them into

a single- or two-part essay to post here.But since I've now brought up

the subject of Meenakshi Madurai, it seems worthwhile to note that

Maatangi (specifically Raja-Maatangi, the picture that appears on my

profile page) and Meenakshi Madurai are considered to be one and the

same Goddess.Granting that Maatangi appears in numerous other local

guises around India, it nonetheless seems fair to say that her two

principle roles are (1) the ninth of the Ten Mahavidyasas; and (2) a

major aspect of Meenakshi.In his detailed study of the Mahavidyas

David Kinsley skimmed over Maatangi to some extent, giving Her

considerably less analysis than the other goddesses of that group. He

offered up an early, Buddhist origin myth; then spent the rest of his

discussion concentrating on Her role as the Outcaste Goddess, i.e.

Uccista Chandalini. He did not comment on Her role as a Tantric form

of Saraswati (the former's pollution being the "flip side" of the

latter's purity, etc). Nor did he mention Her connection to Meenakshi

Devi. Sarbeswar Satpathy and especially David Frawley, in their

respective studies of the Mahavidyas, gave Maatangi a little more

attention -- but still left too many strands of Her story untold.It

seems to me that it would be most interesting to dig down at the

roots of the various Maatangi traditions in India, and find out what

ties them altogether. The music/arts connection, obviously, provides

one good bridge from the "Tantric Saraswati" Maatangi of the Ten

Mahavidyas, to the Meenakshi Maatangi of Madurai. As does Her role as

manifest speech itself -- i.e. the "pollution" of pure, unspoken

speech? But how does this knowledge/arts/speech connection relate to

Dr. Sadagopam's note that She is invoked for establishing the reign

of peace and prosperity? Or her Tantric role is the power of

domination? How does Her "Raja" form relate to Her outcaste form? Or

does it? And then there are Her many names -- do these different

names denote fundamentally different conceptions of the Goddess? For

example, as an aspect of Meenakshi, we see Maatangi referred to as

Laghushyama, Shyaamala, Raja Shyaamala, and Moha Raathri. Aravind

Krishna, in the Ambaal Group, noted that "The naamaas Shyaamalaa,

Maatangi and Miinakshi represent the same deity." But why is that? Is

it simply a matter of labels? Are they just different names without

denoting any real difference in the understanding of the Deity?As one

of the Ten Mahavidyas, a similar "name game" emerges: I've seen Her

referred to as Ucchista-Maatangi, Ucchista-Chandalini, Raja Maatangi,

Sumukhi-Maatangi, Vasya-Maatangi, and Karna-Maatangi.And then there

are her Buddhist forms -- I've seen Her related to Shoshika; and

Kalika Putra has noted Her relation to Neela Saraswati as well. For

good measure, I could add the the apparently pre-Aryan goddess forms

of Renuka and Lajja Gauri, both of whom have been identified with

Maatangi in different times and places. Can anyone here pull all of

these diverse conceptions together? Or is Her diversity the whole

point? Has anyone here ever seen a copy of the Maatangi Tantra

referenced in Ambaal by Dr. Sadagopan?Any and all information and/or

clarification will be much appreciated!Aum Maatangyai NamahaTo

from this group, send an email

to:shakti_sadhnaaYour use of

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[Guest guest]

Eve wrote: *** At Hubcom, under 100 names of Kali, Matangi is one of

them. ***

 

Thanks, I didn't realize that. I'd seen Her listed among Durga's 108

names, but Nora recently looked on another Durga list and couldn't

find Her. I think Maatangi is such a huge and important manifestation

of Devi, albeit vastly under-recognized as such ... In my sadhana and

in my book study alike, I keep swimming deeper and deeper, and there

is just no bottom.

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe!