Given the name Meenakshi for her bright, beautiful fish-shaped eyes, Goddess Parvati shows up in the form of a warrior princess in this Tanjore painting. Born to Tamil king Malayadhwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai as a result of a yagna, Goddess Meenakshi was brought up like any male child of a king would have. When she emerged from the fire with three breasts, Lord Shiva murmured in the king’s ear, telling him to raise his child like a boy.
When she would meet her fated husband, she would fall in love and her third breast would vanish. She learned all the sixty-four artforms and she learned warfare. In her quest to be a righteous queen to her kingdom, she overcame many kingdoms and was crowned queen. On one of her conquests, she met Sundareshwar, who was an incarnation of Lord Shiva. After meeting him, the breast went away as was prophesied and she fell in love with them. They were married with great splendour. In this painting, she is embraced by a garland made of pink and white flowers, a parrot perched on her shoulders. It is a symbol of the divine love shared between her and Sundareshwar.
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