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JaiMaaDurga
09 July 2012, 09:40 PM
Namaste,

Something that may be of interest to my fellow Shaktas here on HDF-
(of course, Shaivas, Vaishnavas, etc. aren't necessarily excluded ;))

Here is a link with a description of Masani Amman mandir;

http://manasu-lo-mata.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-post.html

She is known to be popular among those who have been exploited
or oppressed, Her intercession is said to be swift and efficacious!

Jai Maa Masani

JAI MATA DI

shian
10 July 2012, 01:30 AM
Vanakkam,

wow thank you, this is very unique one

but, make me more need to know about Her
what the meaning of Her name ? Masani...
and She is what aspect of Devi ? any story related to Her ?
What the philospohy of worshiping Her lie gesture ?

Thank you :)

McKitty
10 July 2012, 03:01 AM
Vanakkam!

Like Shianji, i'm very interested to know more about this Mata! Her lying posture id quite unusual indeed !
I'm interested to know more about this justice/snake stone, I didn 't understand well, is it a local deity, or a particular form or a Devi like Maa Durga ? Any story behind this too?


Aum Namah Shivaya

JaiMaaDurga
13 July 2012, 05:11 PM
Namaste shian and McKitty,

Other than suggesting one visit the mandir, which would provide the best
answers but is the least practical, I can pass on this story of Her which
a friend sent to me:

Once, during the reign of a certain very miserly and oppressive king named Vallalaraja, a group of women from the laboring communities were walking to the royal paddy fields to work.
You see, there was a terrible drought at this time, and the miserly raja took advantage of the fact.
If the poor people wanted any food, they had to work long days on the raja’s fields, and he would compensate them with paltry and inadequate rations… barely enough to feed their families, and just short enough to ensure that they would return to work again.
But you see, the people had no choice in this matter, because the drought had dried up everyone’s own gardens, while the raja was protected by the mantrams of his court priests, and by the boons he had received from doing tavam (in fact, some say that it was his tavam, conducted for selfish reasons, that caused the drought… like the demon Arunasura.)
So these women would walk long distances to Vallalaraja’s palace, and would work all day planting, harvesting and husking paddy for him and his court. If they managed to husk all of the massive amounts of paddy assigned to them, they would then be allowed to take home just enough bran as could fit into the hem of their saris.
These women worked tirelessly for such poor sums, but if they did not complete the entire work each day, they would receive no bran.
So one hot summer day, as these women were walking to Vallalaraja’s fields, they happened to see a very elderly Yerukula woman laying on her back under a tamarind tree. She called to them “Daughters, it is so hot, and I am so alone. Please come and keep this old woman company for some time. I have no one.”
The women felt compassion for this elderly lady, and sat down with her.
But as vulnerable as she seemed, this lady was nevertheless quite striking and remarkable. She had large matted tresses laying all about her head like giant serpents sleeping by her side. Her face was covered with bright yellow turmeric powder, and she had a huge red circle on her forehead. She wore a simple sari, tattered and worn, but nonetheless glowing with unseen majesty.
Also, while everything was dry and bare in the landscape, in the spot where this woman lay down there were tamarind, coconut and banyan trees, all vibrant with green life!
So the women sat with the old lady in the shade of the tamarind. They chatted with her, and laughed and joked in a relaxed spirit. They shared coconut water and coconut flesh with her, and they brought over leaves from the tamarind and ficus trees to cool her off. She praised their kindness, and gave them her blessing in gratitude.
But as they sat in this pleasant and leisure state, they lost all track of time. Then, once they realized that they were late for their tasks for the king, they became very afraid. What would the king do? Would he punish them? Would their families be able eat tonight? Could they finish their tasks for the king?
They informed the Yerukula woman that they had to leave to work in Vallalaraja’s fields. But before leaving, they assured her that they would bring her some bran when they came back that evening. The old woman told them to remember her at the kings gardens, and that everything would be okay.
However, once they reached Vallalaraja’s palace, the guard was very angry. There was so much paddy for these women to husk, they barely could have done it if they had the whole day!
He warned them, “Half the day is done, and there is no way you can pound and husk all this paddy before sundown. You might as well leave before you incite the wrath of his majesty. He will certainly want to punish you wicked women!”
“But we need to bring some food for our families,” the innocent women replied, “Please, let us try to see if we can complete our tasks. Just give us a chance!”
The guard consented.
And, as one of the women lifted the rice pounder over the first batch of paddy, she thought of the old Yerukula woman.
Then, she brought down the rice pounder and in one stroke, ALL of the paddy was husked!
In fact, there seemed to be more husked rice than there was unhusked paddy to begin with! It truly seemed as if husked rice just started appearing from no where! There was so much husked rice that even a miser like Vallalarajan could not begin to contain it all in his tightly locked coffers!
So, since the day’s work was completed, the women went home early, and with so much rice for their families and community.
And thus they went to the tree where the old woman was laying, in order to give her some food and to celebrate the happy miracle. But when they got there, all that remained was a stone in same place occupied by the woman. It then began to rain, and the rivers swelled with water!
At this point, they knew that elderly woman was Devi. They went home and told their families and friends about these happenings. The people came to the tamamrind tree to give honor to the Devi, and they built her murti with mud and sand, in Kaali-roopa, laying on the ground with her face turned upwards.
They say that Devi was pleased by the kindness and generosity of these women, but was angered by the raja’s cruelty and selfishness.
Because you see, soon after all of this happened, she went to the kings palace, in the form of a beggar. This is her Kurathi avatar.
She called at the gates of the palace, begging for alms. But Vallalaraja, angered by the intrusion, had his brutish guards drive her away. While these merciless guards grabbed, shook and abused her, she cried out in despair, “Is it right that people of this kingdom should suffer so? The staff of his majesty is crooked!”
Angered by this apparent insolence, Vallalaraja threw the woman in his prison. But the Devi then took the form of BhadraKaali, decapitated the king and burned down his palace. Some say she placed his head next to Mahisaura’s or next to Darukasura’s.
The former palace grounds, now burned to ashes, became a cremation ground. In this mayana, the Devi now stays in constant meditation in order to gather her shakthi, and protect the worlds from evil influences.

JAI MATA DI

smaranam
13 July 2012, 06:15 PM
Thanks for sharing this story, Jai Maa Durge ! (addressed to both of you - the poster and Maa)

As we know Devi is AnnapUrNA, She who cannot bear to see her children hungry/starving, and makes provision for food - anna.

praNAm

ShriBala
15 July 2012, 12:17 AM
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