KAMAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE – MANGADU – CHENNAI
Goddess Parvathi Playfully closed both the eyes of Lord Shiva and
the world was surrounded by darkness. Shiva opened his third eye to give light.
Displeased with Her, he asked her to be born on earth and do penance to attain
him again. Kamakshi Devi did tapas on fire standing on the toe of her left leg
to lord shiva in Mangadu. Hence she is known as Tapas kamakshi.
During that period Shukran(
Venus) also prayed to lord Shiva to restore his eye, which he had lost, while
stopping the Arghya(offering) being given by Mahabali to Mahavishnu in the form of Vamana.
Shukracharya was the guru of the Asura’s and in order to prevent Mahabali from
donating the three paces of Land to Vamana, he took the form of a bee and
blocked the passage of water to flow from the Kamandalu. Vamana poked the mouth
of the Kamandalu with a blade of grass, which pricked the eyes of Shukracharya
and he became blind.
Kamakshi went to the Old Velleeshwarar ShivaTemple in Mangadu and
saw Shukra in great tapas, she did not want to disturb the Tapas of Shukra and
left the temple. Lord Shiva directed Goddess Kamakshi to go to Kanchipuram and
married her there. The goddess is known as Kalyana Kamkshi.
In her eagerness to be united with the Lord, she forgot to put off
the Yagna fire and the area became over heated and all living being were
suffering. Sri Adishankar installed a Shrichakra in the temple made out of 8
herbs, in order to reduce the heat. The
idol of Kamakshi was still radiating heat and hence the later Shankaracharya’s
relocated the statue to the sides of the temple and installed a Shanta Swarupa
Kamakshi idol in the Garbhagriha. The
Goddess is known as Aadhi Kamakshi and has sugarcane in one hand and a
parrot in another.
The sugarcane and parrot signifies the autonomy of nature.
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