Minakshi of Madurai

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The famous Meenakshi Temple of Madurai (Tamil Nadu) is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi. According to a Tamil legend, king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a yagya seeking a son. Instead, a daughter, already three years old, was born out of the sacrificial fire (Ayoniya, the one not born out of the womb). She was named Tadadakai (ਤੜਾਦਕਾਈ), the one born from a pit of fire.

Tadadakai had three breasts. Worried about this deformity, her parents approached Lord Shiva, who told them to treat their daughter like a son, and assured them that she will lose the third breast when she meets her husband.

 

When she grew up, the king crowned her as the successor. Being a great warrior, Tadaatakai set off on a 'digvijaya' (to conquer all four corners of the world).  She travelled north, defeating all the kings of the world, as well as the gods, and the ganas (Shiva's attendants), and Nandi (the gate-guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva) . She even conquered Amaravati, the capital of Indra and defeated Shiva's armies too.

 

Finally, at Mount Kailasha, Lord Shiva himself came out to battle, but when Tadadakai came face to face with Shiva, she suddenly underwent a change. The fierce warrior-queen became a shy maiden, lost her 3rd breast, and stood silent before the handsome Shiva. She took her true form of Minakshi, the fish eyed. She agreed to marry Lord Shiva under the condition that He will come down to Madurai to live with Minakashi and assist her in carrying out the affairs of her kingdom.

 

In the Minakshi temple the goddess Minakshi is the main diety and Shiva (as Sundareshwara) is her consort.On the temple wall is the image of her marriage. In the image, it is she who receives the groom’s hand, as against a conventional wedding where the groom receives the bride’s hand.

 

Contrary to Shiva temples, where the goddess is brought to Shiva's chamber before the divine couple retire for the night, in the Minakashi temple, Lord Shiva is brought to the bed chamber of Minakshi to spend the night with her. Every night, the festival image (utsava murti) of Shiva travels to the private chambers of the Goddess-queen on a palanquin in a musical procession. Her priests welcome him with flowers and he is placed on a swing next to the utsava murti of Meenakshi. 

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Breasts symbolise the nurturing and nourishing powers of a woman. In the Indus valley civilisations, female figurines with large hips and breasts were found in Indus valley sites. The Greek goddess Artemis too is depicted with many breasts.  Tadadakai once might be a fertility goddess worshipped by farmers seeking a good crop. (Incidentally her idol in the temple is made of Jade, a semiprecious green stone.)

With passing of time the goddess came to enjoy the patronage of Royals. The king decided to place her in the royal lineage as daughter of a Pandya king. This was a common practice among the kings to associate themselves with divinity. As she moves from being a village diety to becoming a Royal goddess, her third breast disappears through a myth. Under the influence of Sanskritic traditions, her name is changed to Meenakshi, the fish eyed. Just as the eyes of a fish do not blink, the goddess keeps an unblinking eye on her subjects. Later, under the influence of Shivaiites, she is identified with Parvati, Shiva's consort.

There is another theory that this story might have been inspired by a historical person. an actual warrior queen. She is often compared to Alli Rani, the legendary queen of the Sangam age, who rules parts of Sri Lanka. She was beleived to be an incarnation of goddess Minakshi.

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Postscript: The condition with three breasts is known as Polymastia (supernumerary breasts). It is a relatively common congenital condition in which abnormal accessory breast tissue is found in addition to normal breast tissue. About 2% to 6% of females and 1% to 3% of males are affected by this condition.