As a kid I remember seeing this Shloka below, right at the bottom of this article, that was written in the walls of the Sri Meenakshi temple in Madurai. Today, I stumbled upon this full shlokha, in the internet. Apparently, this is called Meenakshi Shodasopachara Sthuthi. As expected , it has 16 verses, and set me thinking about what the name "Meenakshi" really means.
Superficially, Meenakshi is "meen+akshi" , ie, the Goddess with fish-shaped (and most beautiful) eyes. So, is that all? Would a form of Goddess be there, just to be called as One with the most beautiful eyes? Unlikely. This must surely carry some deeper meaning and significance. This article is about exploring some aspects of this. I am going to link a few concepts from the great work of Kalidasa, the Shyalama Dandakam, Muthuswamy Dikshithar's two krithis as well as a couple of verses from the Lalitha Saharasra naamam.
Also, Madurai Meenakshi carries a parrot in her hand. Is that empty symbolism? Do Gods keep pets just out of fancy? After all, One sits on a Bull, Another reclines over a serpent, and a Third has a mouse , and His brother jet-sets on a Peacock.. so, then, what is the big deal with the parrot? Let us dive in.
First up, the etymology of "meena" - and that should straightaway clear the air. In Sanskrit the dhatu (root) of Meena is "mee" is means "measuring","penetrative", "travelling far and wide" , " ever watchful" etc.. In Sanskrit, " meeyathe ithi meenam", ie, one that measures, travels far and wide, and is penetrative is called Meena. Incidentally, "Mee-maamsa" is nothing but "critical investigation using the intellect". So, clearly, beauty of the form apart, "Meenakshi" carries a lot more meaning.
Goddess Meenakshi has other names : Mathangi, Shankari, and Shyamala
Muthuswamy Dikshithar likes Meenakshi a lot. He has composed a couple of very popular krithis. In one Krithi in ragam Bhavapriya, "Maduraambaam Bhaja re , re maansa", he calls her " maatanga tanayaam", ie , the daughter of Matanga Muni.
In another krithi, "Meenakshi me mudam dehi" , a beautiful Krithi in Purvi Kalyani Ragam, he calls her "Raaja Maatangi". Maatangi means "one who provides wisdom, harmony and peace of mind. That sort of wisdom and peace can only dawn upon one when one "measures", penetrates and contemplates. He also calls her "kadamba vana vaasini", one who lives in a forest of Kadamba trees.
So, then, what is the connection between Kadamba forest and Meenakshi? For this, we need to delve into the concept of the Mani Dweepam, that island of previous stones, right in the middle of the ocean of bliss ( the Ananda Samudram)., where the Devi resides eternally. Inside the Mani dweepam, amongst multiple layers, is the layer of forest consisting of wish-fulling kadamba trees where Goddess Shymala resides.
In Shyamala Dandakam, Kalidasa provides the link for Meenakshi ("Marakatha shyama"), Matangi and Kadamba trees, thus
mātā marakataśyāmā mātaṅgī madaśālinī |
kuryātkaṭākṣaṁ kalyāṇī kadambavanavāsinī || 3 ||
So, "Meenakshi" is the same as Shyamala from another Sampradaya. Note that Shyamala has a parrot in her hand too!
Madurai city, has multiple names, one of which is kadamba vanam, because, during Tamil Sangam days, the city used to be full of Kadamba trees!
In the Lalitha Sahasra Naamam, Lalitha (Shyamala) is referred to as Meenakshi, thus
"Vaktra-lakshmi-parivaha-chalan-meenabha-lochana" . Chalan meen-aabha-lochana is where Devi's face is compared to a pond, and the eyes are like moving fish. The eyes are ever watchful on every creation.
Devi is also referred to as the one who kills the demon who goes by the name Bhandasura.
"Bhandasura-vadhodyukta-shakthi-sena-samanvita".
Now, the problem with most Sanatana Dharma concepts is that deep philosophies are simplified to representative figures and characters, but over time, we have lost the deeper significance of the concept, and have retained and remained at the symbolic level. And therefore, over time, we start feeling that these are fables without any basis or logic, and therefore, in the "modern world" we end up thinking these are myths ( to borrow that christian terminology).
Bhandasura is not some grotesque 23-legged, and fearful looking demon in real life, as is erroneously and ignorantly portrayed, often. "Bhanda" in Sanskrit has many meanings, including "buffoon", but in this context, Bhanda refers to a harness or a bondage. Bhandasura therefore, signifies one who harnesses (ties down) to materialism, and thus "takes away" real life ( asura). Similar to Mahishaasura, where Mahisham is a buffalo, lying under the feet of Goddess Mahishaura mardhini , and buffalo signifies the lethargy inside us. So, Goddess Lalitha kills the Bhandasura inside the human mind.
So, then, what is the connection between Lalitha and Shyamala? The Brahmanda Purana ( that describes the create of the Brahmanda or the Universe), Lalitha is said to have emerged from the holy fire (Lalithodbhava). She creates, amongst other Gods, Shyamala from her intellect. Shyamala , in turn carries the parrot. From this parrot emerges the Dhanurveda purusha, (dhanur veda means the science of archery). He provides Lalitha the "bow and arrow" to fight and defeat Bhandasura.
To demystify the seemly complicated concepts above, Meenakshi's parrot signifies all the knowledge of the Upavedas, the origin of the intellectual ammunition that is so required to break worldly harnesses and attain Mukthi. Meenakshi thus represents the Gyana Shakthi (the power of wisdom and intellect)
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Here are the verses of the Meenakshi Shodasopachara Vidhi.
इक्षुकोदण्ड पुष्पेषु पाशाङ्कुशकरोज्ज्वलाम् ।
उद्यत्सूर्यनिभां वन्दे महात्रिपुरसुन्दरीम् ॥ १॥
श्रीमत्सुन्दरनाथस्य देवीं शफरलोचनाम् ।
कलये हृदये नित्यं कदम्बवनवासिनीम् ॥ २॥
बालार्कारुणपद्मपीठनिलयां वामादिशक्त्यावृतां
एलागन्धि सुकुन्तलां द्विनयनां हेमाम्बरालङ्कृताम् ।
वामे लम्बित दोर्लतां सुचरणां दक्षेधृतेन्दीवरां
श्यामाभां शरदिन्दुचारुवदनां वन्दे सुमीनेक्षणाम् ॥ ३॥
आगच्छ वरदे देवि सर्वसम्पत्प्रदायिनि ।
पूजां गृहाण सुमुखि नमस्ते शङ्करप्रिये ॥ ४॥
श्रीमीनाक्षि महाभागे रक्षार्थं मम सर्वदा ।
आवाहयाम्यहं देवि सर्वकामार्थसिद्धये ॥ ५॥
अनेकरत्नसंयुक्तं नानामणि गणान्वितम् ।
कार्तस्वरमयं दिव्यमासनं प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥ ६॥
गङ्गादि सर्वतीर्थेभ्यो मया प्रार्थनयाऽऽहृतम् ।
तोयमेतत्सुखस्पर्शं पाद्यार्थं प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥ ७॥
निधीनां सर्वरत्नानां त्वमनर्घ्यगुणा ह्यसि ।
सिंहासन स्थिते देवि गृहाणार्घ्यं नमोऽस्तु ते ॥ ८॥
कर्पूरेण सुगन्धेन सुरभि स्वादु शीतलम् ।
तोयमाचमनीयार्थं देवि त्वं प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥ ९॥
मन्दाकिन्याः समानीतैः हेमाम्भोरुह वासितैः ।
स्रानं कुरुष्व देवेशि सलिलैश्च सुगन्धिभिः ॥ १०॥
पट्टकूलयुतं देवि कञ्चुकेन समन्वितम् ।
परिदेहि कृपां कृत्वा सर्वसम्पत्प्रदायिनि ॥ ११॥
स्वर्णसूत्रमयं दिव्यं ब्रह्मणा निर्मितं पुरा ।
उपवीतं मया दत्तं गृहाण परमेश्वरि ॥ १२॥
श्रीकण्ठचन्दनं दिव्यं गन्धाढ्यं सुमनोहरम् ।
विलेपनं च देवेशि चन्दनं प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥ १३॥
हरिद्रां कुङ्कुमं चैव सिन्दूरं कज्जलं तथा ।
सौभाग्यद्रव्यसंयुक्तं गृहाण परमेश्वरि ॥ १४॥
अक्षतान्निर्मलान्शुद्धान् मुक्तामणि समन्वितान् ।
गृहाणेमान् महादेवि देहि मे निर्मलां धियम् ॥ १५॥
माङ्गल्य मणि संयुक्तं मुक्ताफलसमन्वितम् ।
दत्तं मङ्गल सूत्रं ते गृहाण शिववल्लभे ॥ १६॥
रत्नताटङ्ककेयूर हार कङ्कणमण्डिते ।
भूषणं गृह्यतां देवि नमस्ते पाण्ड्यनन्दिनि ॥ १७॥
जाजी पुत्रागमन्दार केतकीचम्पकानि च ।
पुष्पाणि तव पूजार्थमर्पयामि सदा शिवे ॥ १८॥
