Masani Amman is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deity. She is primarily worshipped as a family deity ( kuladevi) by certain classes in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, where she is regarded as an

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

(incarnation) of

Adi Parashakti Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of t ...

. Her chief temple is located in Anaimalai,

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...

area,

Coimbatore district Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

state,

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. Arulmigu Sri Masani Amman Temple is a highly revered shrine situated in Anaimalai, which is located about southwest of Pollachi. At the confluence of the Aliyar River and the Uppar stream, the temple is built on grassland near the Anaimalai Hills and enshrines the sleeping goddess Masani Amman as the presiding deity. She is seen in a unique lying posture, measuring from head to foot. In her four hands she holds a

damaru A damaru (, ; Tibetan languages, Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the Hindu deity Shiva, associated wi ...

with a snake entwined around it, a fire bowl, a bowl containing

kumkuma Kumkuma is a powder used for social and religious markings in India. It is made from turmeric or any other local materials. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of slaked lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color. In ...

, and a

trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

. Other deities worshipped in the complex include ''neethi kall'' (stone of justice) and Mahamuniappan. It is a popular belief that Masani Amman cures any illness if one walks around her trident, which is located in front of the main sanctum. She also provides relief from menstrual cramps. ‘’’Grinded red chilly offering is very powerful process. Devote offering red chilly must know the total process and consequences. Ones who offer the chilly must visit the temple within 3 months or requested time and perform Abishak.’’’

Legend

According to local tradition, during ancient times, Anaimalai was known as Nannur and the region was ruled by Nannuran, a wicked king who persecuted his subjects. He protected the fruits of his mango grove by instituting severe punishments for any who ate of them. One day, a woman unfamiliar with these measures ate one of Nannuran's mangoes, so he sentenced her to death. Despite public outcry against it, the woman was executed, and later Nannuran was killed by the villagers in a battle near Vijayamangalam. People believed that the woman had saved their lives by sacrificing herself and the people built a shrine to the executed woman and deified her. The stone where she was executed was later worshipped with ground red chillies as an offering. Its deity was originally called either "Masani" (meaning "mango" in old Tamil) or "Smashani" (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

for "graveyard", about the woman's untimely end), depending on the version of the legend. Later, the deity came to be known as Masani Amman. Masani Amman was later syncretised with the goddess

. She was later associated with the goddesses

Mariamman Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman (), is a Hindu Dravidian folk religion List of rain deities, goddess of weather, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season ...

, Angala Devi, Isakki and Karumari.

References

External links

Official Website

Temple of Justice in Tamil Nadu

Shaktism Hindu goddesses {{Hindu-myth-stub

Legend

See also

References

External links