Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – day 4 Navaratri – Meenakshi – October 16, 2015 – Mysore
O Meenakshi, you are also addressed as Meenambika. Nada is your form. Narada and Tumburu, who are great exponents of music offer their first prostrations to you. Where the sound or Nada of the world ends, your Nada begins. It means your Nada is the natural Nada, which transcends both the Nada of the world and the Nada that is artificial. You are the eternal Parabrahman. You have no equal. You are extremely subtle. Your form is Vedanta. The capabilities of the Trinity, and their consorts, who are the three divine energies thrive because of you. You reside in the Kadamba Vana. You sit on the lap of Parameswara, who is Kamakameswara. You are of the form of knowledge within me. You are the Kalpalata, the creeper that fulfills wishes. O Meenakshi Devi, please protect me.
Although all the different forms of God are divine, there is a certain specialty about the form of Mother Goddess Meenakshi. Generally Mother Goddess appears wielding weapons. Mother Meenakshi gives darshan in a very peaceful disposition, devoid of any weapons. Her left hand shows a gesture of motherly love towards her devotees. She holds a flower, and also a parrot. Long time ago, Mother Goddess Parvati performed penance to obtain Siva as her husband, and drew him to her presence. Because of the mistake of having made Siva come to her, Mother Goddess incarnated as Meenakshi. She walked all the way from the shores of the Indian Ocean to Mount Kailas, and became the consort of Siva.
Let us learn the story of Meenakshi. Once, Indra accrued the sin of having killed an ascetic when he killed Vriddhasura, who had run away from the battlefield and was immersed in penance. Indra wandered about trying to get rid of this sin and as he entered the forest of Kadamba trees in the kingdom of Pandya, at once he became freed from his sin. Indra discovered that he became free from the sin due to the presence of a Siva Linga that was present there. He built a beautiful temple for the Siva Lingam, offered worship to the Lord, and returned to heaven. A merchant by name Dhananjaya saw this temple in the wilderness and informed King Kulasekhara Pandya. Siva also appeared to the king in a dream and instructed him to build a city there. The king did as instructed, and named the city Madhura. He then merged with Siva. His son Malayadhwaja became king after him. He performed a Yajna along with his wife Kanchanamala with the desire of having progeny. When a girl with three breasts emerged out of the Holy Firepit, the royal couple were frightened. A voice from heaven was heard giving them courage and assurance. It said, “Raise this child as if it were a boy. The moment she sees the person who will be her husband, her third breast will disappear.” Following the advice of the divine voice, king Malayadhwaja named the child Meenakshi and raised her as if she were a boy. She became a well-trained valiant warrior. Meenakshi conquered many kings and in her tour of conquests reached Mount Kailas. There she saw Lord Siva. At once, her third breast disappeared. She realized that Siva would be her husband. She sang his praises. Lord Paramasiva of the name Sundareswara promised Meenakshi that on the eighth day from then, he would receive her hand in marriage, and had her return to the kingdom of Pandya. As promised, Siva arrived in the kingdom of Pandya accompanied by holy sages.
During that marriage ceremony, sages Vyaghrapada and Patanjali proposed a condition. It is common in marriages for some people to stipulate certain conditions. The two sages declared that unless Siva performed his Tandava Dance in front of them, they would not partake of the wedding feast. Sundareswara obliged their request by dancing to the rhythm of ‘Taddhim takadhim tom tom jhanu tom’. In the meantime, all the food preparations made for the feast were left unconsumed. Meenakshi conveyed this news to Siva. Siva then sent one of his Pramathas by name Kundodara, who did justice to all the food, eating to his content. He also drank all the water from all the wells in the region. His thirst was still not satisfied. Then Siva released some Ganga water from his curls. Mother Ganga turned into River Vaigai there and satisfied the thirst of Kundodara. The wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswara was celebrated in a grand manner. Sundareswara assumed a human form and ruled the kingdom for a long time, as Sundara Pandya. One day, he constructed the Saptasagara Teertham, and had his parents-in-law take a bath in it, thereby granting them salvation. Thereafter, Lord Subrahmanya was born to Meenakshi and Sundara Pandya as their son Ugrapandya. When Ugrapandya was old enough, Meenakshi and Sundareswara handed over the kingdom to him, and entered the temple there. Sundareswara entered into the Siva Lingam. Mother Meenakshi Devi became an idol. Since that day, they are both protecting the city of Madhura. Once, three demons in the forms of an elephant, a snake, and a cow arrived there. Meenakshi and Sundareswara turned them into mountains. Similarly, the two of them performed many miracles.
The fourth incarnation of the Nava Durgas is Kushmanda Devi. Kushmanda Devi has eight arms. In one hand she holds a pot filled with the nectar of immortality, Amrita, and in another hand she holds a Kalasa filled with blood. She is the Mother of the Universe. May she grant auspiciousness! In the third and fourth hands she holds a bow and arrows, in the fifth and sixth hands she holds a mace and lotus, and in the seventh and eight hands she holds a wheel, and a rosary, respectively. May Kushmanda Devi, who is in the form of Meenakshi Devi nourish the universe and make it thrive!
With blessings
Jaya Guru Datta
Courtesy: Avadhoota Dattapeetham