Holding her flowing skirt in one hand and a peacock (a symbol of devotion and love) in the other, Devi Meenakshi dances upon the surface of an upturned lotus. When Madurai’s king Malayadhwajan and queen Kanchanamala organised a yagna to get a son, Meenakshi emerged as a three year old child who had three breasts. A voice that belonged to Lord Shiva whispered to the king that he should raise his daughter as he would a son and that her third breast would fall away when she found her true love.
The king obeyed. Meenaksi became a warrior princess, following her father’s lead as she conquered kings and their kingdoms on different excursions. On one of these such excursions, as she was destined to be, she came across the incarnation of Lord Shiva, who was to be her lover and her third breast fell away. The presence of the parrot and the absence of her third breast in the idol indicates that she has just met and fallen in love with her destined lover, Lord Sundareshwar. The folds of her garb are intricately carved and detailed by a sthapathi using the traditional form of the lost wax technique, hailing from the town of Swamimalai.
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