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Kanchanamalai
Kanchanamalai (Tamil:காஞ்சனமலை) was legendary queen consort of Madurai and Korkai and also empress of the Pandya dynasty. She ruled Madurai alongside her husband, King Malayadhvaja Pandya. She was also the mother of Meenakshi. Kanchanamalai is believed to be the reincarnation of Vidyavati (a princess of Gandharva kingdom). Life Nothing is mentioned or known about Kanchanamalai outside of this legend written during the Meenakshi era. Kanchanamalai was born to king Surashena of the Solar dynasty. She was a pious devotee of the goddess Parvati. When Kanchanamalai was living her old birth as Vidyavati, she requested that Parvati be born as her daughter in her next birth. While performing a yajna with her husband, she was granted a child called Meenakshi who was a reincarnation of goddess Parvati. Widowhood After the death of her husband king Malayadhvaja Pandya, she lost her role as queen consort and later assumed the role as ''Raja Mata'' (widow of former k ...
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Malayadhwaja Pandya
Malayadhvaja Pandya (), also known as Sharangadhvaja Pandya, is a legendary king of Madurai and ruler of the Pandya Empire. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. His queen consort is Kanchanamalai. He is the father of the goddess and queen of Madurai, Meenakshi. Legend According to a legend found in the Tamil text '' Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam'', the childless Malayadhvaja Pandya and his wife perform ninety-nine ashvamedha yajnas to propitiate the gods, seeking a son for the succession. However, a three-year-old girl emerged from the yajna fire, bearing three breasts, upon the lap of the queen. A heavenly voice stated that the royal couple should treat her like a son, and that she would lose the third middle breast when she met her future husband. The girl is named Taḍātakai, and subsequently raised as Malayadhvaja Pandya's male heir, trained in archery and horseriding. The king names her as his successor before his death. She is renamed Meenakshi by Sage Agasty ...
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Meenakshi
Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the sister of Aḻagar, a form of Vishnu. She finds mention in literature as the queen of the ancient Madurai-based Pandya kingdom, and is later deified. The goddess is also extolled by Adi Shankara as Shri Vidya. She is mainly worshipped in India where she has a major temple devoted to her known as the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Meenakshi, Kamakshi, and Visalakshi are considered the three Shakti forms of the goddess Parvati. Etymology is a Sanskrit term meaning 'fish-eyed', derived from the words 'fish' and 'eye'. She was also known by the Tamil name 'fish-eyed one', mentioned in early historical account as a fierce, unmarried goddess as Meenakshi. She is also known by the Tamil name or (). According to another theory, th ...
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Parvati
Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. Along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, Sarasvati, she forms the trinity, known as the Tridevi. From her first appearance as a goddess during the Itihasa-Purana, epic period (400 BCE – 400 CE), Parvati is primarily depicted as the consort of the god Shiva. According to various Puranas, Parvati is the reincarnation of Sati (Hindu goddess), Sati, Shiva's first wife, who relinquished her body to sever familial ties with her father, Daksha, after he had insulted Shiva. Parvati is often equated with the other goddesses such as Sati, Uma, Kali and Durga and due to this close connection, they are often treated as one and the same, with their stories frequently ove ...
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Motilal Banarsidass
Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (MLBD) is an Indian academic publishing house, founded in Delhi, India in 1903. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religions, Buddhology, Indology, Eastern philosophy, history, culture, arts, architecture, archaeology, language, literature, linguistics, musicology, mysticism, yoga, tantra, occult, medicine, astronomy, and astrology. Amongst its publications are the 100 volumes of the Mahapuranas; the 50 volumes of the '' Sacred Books of the East'', edited by Max Müller; ''Bibliotheca Buddhica'' (30 volumes in 32 pts); Ramcharitmanas with Hindi and English translations; the Manusmriti in 10 volumes and the Sanskrit lexicon; and the 7 volumes of ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies''. It also brings out books based on research and study conducted at organizations such as the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), and Indian Cou ...
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Pandya
The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world. The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the " three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled ...
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Queen Regnant
A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen ''regent'', who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules ''pro tempore'' in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it in sharing power or in ruling alone. A queen ''regnant'' is sometimes called a woman king. A princess, duchess, or grand duchess regnant is a female monarch who reigns ''suo jure'' over a principality or (Grand duchy, grand) duchy; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns ''suo jure'' over an empire. A queen regnant possesses all the powers, Constitutional monarchy, such as they may be, of the monarchy, whereas a queen consort or queen regent shares her spouse's or child's rank and titles but does not share the sovereignty of her spouse or child. The hus ...
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Coronation
A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the new monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to them, and acts of homage by the new monarch's subjects. In certain Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism, coronation is a Rite (Christianity), religious rite. As such, Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy anointing oil, holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. Once a vital ritual among the world's monarchies, coronations have changed over time for a variety of socio-political and religious reasons; most modern monarchies ...
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Yajna
In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, [jɐd͡ʒɲə], ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda. The tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire (Agni). Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the ''Karma-kanda'' (ritual works) portion of the Vedic literature, in contrast to the ''Jnana-kanda'' (knowledge) portion found in the Vedic Upanishads. The proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. Yajna have continued to play a central role in a Hindu's rites of passage, such as weddings. Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Vedic Yajna rites, or alternatively be based on Āgama (Hinduism), A ...
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Maharani
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India and medieval south India, the title denoted a king. The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, although since in Marathi the suffix ''-a'' is silent, the two titles are near homophones. Historically, the title "Maharaja" has been used by kings since Vedic times and also in the second century by the Indo-Greek rulers (such as the kings Apollodotus I and Menander I) and then later by the Indo-Scythians (such as the king Maues), and also the Kushans as a higher ranking variant of "Raja". Eventually, during the medieval era, the title "Maharaja" came to be used by sovereign princes and vassal princes, and the title "Maharajadhiraja" was used by sovereign kings. Eventually, during the Mugh ...
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Gandharva
A ''gandharva'' () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are regarded to be the celestial demigods who serve as the musicians of the devas. It is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music. In Buddhism, this term also refers to a being in the intermediate state (between death and rebirth). In Hinduism In Hinduism, the gandharvas () are a class of minor deities who serve as divine musicians in Hindu mythology. The term gandharva is present in Vedic sources (including in the Rigveda) as a singular deity. According to Oberlies, "In mandala I, IX and X the gandharva is presented as a celestial being (dwelling near the Sun / in the heavenly waters) which watches over the Soma (apparently) for the benefit of the gods and the sacrificers." The gandharva also "receives the Soma from the ...
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Madurai
Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is governed by the Madurai Municipal Corporation established on 1 November 1866. As of the 2011 Census of India, 2011 census, it is the List of cities in India by population, third largest metropolis in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore in terms of population and 27th largest List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, urban agglomeration in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoongatha Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps". Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language. The third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars, is said to have been held in the ci ...
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