Another
story connected with the marriage of Meenakshi with Lord Sundareswara is as follows:
Goddess Meenakshi was born as a Pandyan Princess and was wooed by several suitors. Being a
warrior, she vowed that she would marry none but him who could outmatch her and prove
himself her master. She said that she would marry him who defeated her in a fair combat in
any one of the eight directions. Her suitors entered the lists to combat with Meenakshi
who was resplendent with beauty and armed with bow and arrow. She defeated the first seven
combatants but the eighth, Siva Himself disguised as Sundareswara, defeated Meenakshi at
the eighth point of the compass i.e., the Northwest.
Goddess Meenakshi became his prize and ever since
she and her Divine Husband have been living in happy union and bliss in holy Madurai.
The Sthala- purana gives an interesting story as to how the Sangarn originated. The
Goddess of learning, Saraswati, wife of Brahma, behaved impudently towards her husband and
Brahma cursed her to take birth on earth for 48 generations. On Saraswati's appeal for
mercy, Brahma modified this to the extent that her soul be divided into 48 parts and enter
simultaneously into 48 persons who would be reputed poets in Tamil. |
