At the sannidhi of Goddess Kamakshi....
The darkness of the garbhagriha, the flicker of the lamps, the orange radiance spread all over....and bathed in that mellow light, the surreal image of Goddess Kamakshi!
Our thoughts race. Our mind turns numb. Just the immensity of this vision! Think about it- this is the same deity which Adi Shankara saw a thousand, may be, two thousand years ago! This is the same idol which Muthuswamy Dikshitar saw two hundred years ago. And in this march of time, spanning centuries and millennia, how many kings and emperors, musicians and artists, saints and Shankaracharyas, devotees and common-folk would have sat just like us.....on this very floor, and beheld this very deity....this Goddess Kamakshi!
If we had any specific prayer for the Goddess, forget it! Either it does not come to mind or even if it does, it seems too trivial to ask! It's as if we are on top of a mountain peak; from that height, everything in the valley down below is just a speck, a tiny little dot!
As per Paramacharya, the name 'Kamakshi' can be looked in two different ways:
She is the one who has Kaa (Saraswati) and Maa (Lakshmi) as her very eyes (akshini). As per this interpretation, Devi, Lakshmi and Saraswati are not separate deities, but indeed, One composite Being.....with three different aspects. The interested reader can look up the verse "giraam aahur deveem" from the text Saundaryalahari.
Another way of looking at Kamakshi is the one whose sidelong glance gave a fresh lease of life to Kama. The story of Kama, i.e. Manmatha is well known. After Shiva burnt Manmatha to ashes, Devi takes pity on Rati, Manmatha's wife and restores Manmatha back to life with just a glance. Hence, the name Kamakshi.
In the moments available, we try, try ever so feebly, to drink in....the image of the Goddess.
On her crown is the digit of the moon....sparkling! Both Lord Shiva and Kamakshi hold the "third-digit of the moon" (triteeya) . It is said that Shiva and Shakti are similar in several ways. They are similar in name- He is Shivah, She is Shivaa. They are similar in features, He has three eyes, so does She. And when it comes to ornaments, He has the moon ( triteeya chandra-kalaa) on his head, so does She (kalaabhyaam choodaalankrta).
Our eyes rest on Kamakshi's eyes. We are reminded of Dikshitar's song "kanja-dalaayataakshi" on Goddess Kamakshi- The one who has lotus-petal shaped eyes.
As Kamakshi, she holds the same weapons as Kamadeva. Her right hand holds five arrows made up of flowers and her left hand holds a bow made of sugarcane, exactly like Manmatha. It is as if, under the sway of Manmatha, we fall a prey to kama, to desire; but when we surrender to Kamakshi, the very same weapons become a source of blessing for us.
Dikshitar says the same in his song- "rakshita madaney". She protected Madana, i.e.Manmatha….and through that, she protects all of us from Madana's snare.
The other two hands of Kamakshi hold the pasha i.e. noose and the ankusha i.e. a tiny spear. With the pasha, she takes care of our binding-likes. With the ankusha, she pierces our binding-dislikes.
Unlike other deities, Goddess Kamakshi does not hold her hand in "abhaya mudra" (protection gesture). Adi Shankara nicely says that what protection other deities offer through specific "abhaya mudra", Kamakshi does casually, through her very feet!
Dikshitar, in his song "kanja-dalaayataakshi" says the same. He describes her feet as "manjula charaney" and immediately says "maamava"- may the Goddess's feet protect me!
Sitting at the sannidhi, we see the parrot perched on Kamakshi's hand. More lines from Dikshitar's song come to mind. He says Kamakshi is "shiva panjara shuki".
If Shiva is the cage (panjara), she is the parrot (shuki). It's as if in the cage of Shiva's heart, Kamakshi is forever lodged....never to fly away! This phrase is significant because outwardly, at Kanchi, it looks as if Shiva and Parvati are staying in separate temples since there is no shrine for Devi in any of the Shiva temples! Still, she is shiva-panjara-shuki.
Finally, Dikshitar says she is "ekaamresha griheshvari". At the Ekaamreshvara Temple in Kanchi, we do not have a shrine for Devi. Still, Ekamresha, i.e. Shiva and Kamakshi are inseparably one.
As we head out of the sannidhi, the dazzle of the sun makes our eyes squint. The white gopurams flank us on each side. We walk around the temple-tank and head out of the temple premises.
Kanchi may have divisions of Shiva-kanchi, Vishnu-kanchi and Jina-kanchi, Kanchi may have temples for Shiva and Vishnu, but one thing is entirely clear. The focus is on Kamakshi! It is ultimately a shakti peetham. Adi Shankara asked the Chola king to redesign Kanchi city into a giant Srichakra…..with 44 triangles....the centre of which is the bindu….and in that bindu...stands Goddess Kamakshi.
If the whole world is bhumi-devi, Kanchipuram is her naabhi, her navel. And on her navel, she wears a girdle, a kanchi-daama. It's as if the whole of Kanchipuram tinkles with just one sound....the jingling from the mekhala, the mani-mekhala, the girdle.... of Goddess Kamakshi!
We are blessed today!
Dikshitar's kanjadalaayataakshi in the raga Kamalamanohari sung by MS Subbulakshmi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjJ7fPKL_Sk
The darkness of the garbhagriha, the flicker of the lamps, the orange radiance spread all over....and bathed in that mellow light, the surreal image of Goddess Kamakshi!
Our thoughts race. Our mind turns numb. Just the immensity of this vision! Think about it- this is the same deity which Adi Shankara saw a thousand, may be, two thousand years ago! This is the same idol which Muthuswamy Dikshitar saw two hundred years ago. And in this march of time, spanning centuries and millennia, how many kings and emperors, musicians and artists, saints and Shankaracharyas, devotees and common-folk would have sat just like us.....on this very floor, and beheld this very deity....this Goddess Kamakshi!
If we had any specific prayer for the Goddess, forget it! Either it does not come to mind or even if it does, it seems too trivial to ask! It's as if we are on top of a mountain peak; from that height, everything in the valley down below is just a speck, a tiny little dot!
As per Paramacharya, the name 'Kamakshi' can be looked in two different ways:
She is the one who has Kaa (Saraswati) and Maa (Lakshmi) as her very eyes (akshini). As per this interpretation, Devi, Lakshmi and Saraswati are not separate deities, but indeed, One composite Being.....with three different aspects. The interested reader can look up the verse "giraam aahur deveem" from the text Saundaryalahari.
Another way of looking at Kamakshi is the one whose sidelong glance gave a fresh lease of life to Kama. The story of Kama, i.e. Manmatha is well known. After Shiva burnt Manmatha to ashes, Devi takes pity on Rati, Manmatha's wife and restores Manmatha back to life with just a glance. Hence, the name Kamakshi.
In the moments available, we try, try ever so feebly, to drink in....the image of the Goddess.
On her crown is the digit of the moon....sparkling! Both Lord Shiva and Kamakshi hold the "third-digit of the moon" (triteeya) . It is said that Shiva and Shakti are similar in several ways. They are similar in name- He is Shivah, She is Shivaa. They are similar in features, He has three eyes, so does She. And when it comes to ornaments, He has the moon ( triteeya chandra-kalaa) on his head, so does She (kalaabhyaam choodaalankrta).
Our eyes rest on Kamakshi's eyes. We are reminded of Dikshitar's song "kanja-dalaayataakshi" on Goddess Kamakshi- The one who has lotus-petal shaped eyes.
As Kamakshi, she holds the same weapons as Kamadeva. Her right hand holds five arrows made up of flowers and her left hand holds a bow made of sugarcane, exactly like Manmatha. It is as if, under the sway of Manmatha, we fall a prey to kama, to desire; but when we surrender to Kamakshi, the very same weapons become a source of blessing for us.
Dikshitar says the same in his song- "rakshita madaney". She protected Madana, i.e.Manmatha….and through that, she protects all of us from Madana's snare.
The other two hands of Kamakshi hold the pasha i.e. noose and the ankusha i.e. a tiny spear. With the pasha, she takes care of our binding-likes. With the ankusha, she pierces our binding-dislikes.
Unlike other deities, Goddess Kamakshi does not hold her hand in "abhaya mudra" (protection gesture). Adi Shankara nicely says that what protection other deities offer through specific "abhaya mudra", Kamakshi does casually, through her very feet!
Dikshitar, in his song "kanja-dalaayataakshi" says the same. He describes her feet as "manjula charaney" and immediately says "maamava"- may the Goddess's feet protect me!
Sitting at the sannidhi, we see the parrot perched on Kamakshi's hand. More lines from Dikshitar's song come to mind. He says Kamakshi is "shiva panjara shuki".
If Shiva is the cage (panjara), she is the parrot (shuki). It's as if in the cage of Shiva's heart, Kamakshi is forever lodged....never to fly away! This phrase is significant because outwardly, at Kanchi, it looks as if Shiva and Parvati are staying in separate temples since there is no shrine for Devi in any of the Shiva temples! Still, she is shiva-panjara-shuki.
Finally, Dikshitar says she is "ekaamresha griheshvari". At the Ekaamreshvara Temple in Kanchi, we do not have a shrine for Devi. Still, Ekamresha, i.e. Shiva and Kamakshi are inseparably one.
As we head out of the sannidhi, the dazzle of the sun makes our eyes squint. The white gopurams flank us on each side. We walk around the temple-tank and head out of the temple premises.
Kanchi may have divisions of Shiva-kanchi, Vishnu-kanchi and Jina-kanchi, Kanchi may have temples for Shiva and Vishnu, but one thing is entirely clear. The focus is on Kamakshi! It is ultimately a shakti peetham. Adi Shankara asked the Chola king to redesign Kanchi city into a giant Srichakra…..with 44 triangles....the centre of which is the bindu….and in that bindu...stands Goddess Kamakshi.
If the whole world is bhumi-devi, Kanchipuram is her naabhi, her navel. And on her navel, she wears a girdle, a kanchi-daama. It's as if the whole of Kanchipuram tinkles with just one sound....the jingling from the mekhala, the mani-mekhala, the girdle.... of Goddess Kamakshi!
We are blessed today!
Dikshitar's kanjadalaayataakshi in the raga Kamalamanohari sung by MS Subbulakshmi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjJ7fPKL_Sk
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