Tanjore Painting Meenakshi 1

Goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, has her consort as Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and her brother as Aḻagar, a form of Vishnu. The goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple in Madurai, India, unlike most Shiva temples in South India where Shiva is the principal deity. According to the Tamil text Tiruvilaiyatarpuranam, King Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a Yajna seeking a son for succession. Instead, a daughter was born out of the fire who was already 3 years old and had three breasts. Shiva intervened and said that the parents should treat her like a son, and when she meets her husband, she will lose the third breast. They followed the advice. The girl grew up, the king crowned her as the successor and when she met Shiva, his words came true, she took her true form of Meenakshi. According to Harman, this may reflect the matrilineal traditions in South India and the regional belief that “penultimate [spiritual] powers rest with the Women”, gods listen to their spouse, and that the fates of kingdoms rest with the women. The reverence for Meenakshi is a part of the Hindu goddess tradition that integrates with the Hindu society where the “woman is the lynchpin of the system” of social relationships.

The marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was a grand event, with all gods, goddesses and living beings gathered. Vishnu is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi, giving her away to Shiva at the wedding.