Kotravai (Koṟṟavai), is the goddess of war and victory in the Tamil tradition. She is also the mother goddess and the goddess of fertility, agriculture, and hunters. In the latter form, she is sometimes referred to by other names and epithets in the Tamil tradition of South India and Sri Lanka, such asAtha,Mari,Suli, andNeeli.[1][2] She is the form of the primordialShakta goddessParvati.[3]
Korava Idal (Malayalam: കുരവ ഇടൽ) and Kulavai Idal (Tamil: குலவை இடல்) refer to the traditional practice of ululation as a war cry or call to victory in Dravidian cultures. Historically associated with battle and triumph, thisritual ululation is a significant cultural expression in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Today, it is commonly performed during celebratory occasions such as weddings, housewarmings, and other festive events.[4]
She is among the earliest documented goddesses in the TamilSangam literature, and also found in later Tamil literature. She is mentioned in the many poems inParipāṭal, though the dedicated poem to her in among those that are being discovered in history.[5][6] She is mentioned in thePattuppattu anthology – the long Tamil poems dated between 300 BCE to 300 CE, including theNeṭunalvāṭai,Maturaikkanci,Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai, andPaṭṭiṉappālai.[7] In the Tamil epicSilappadikaram (c. 2nd-century), she is said to be the goddess of the Pālai region.
Her name is derived from the Tamil wordkorram, which means "victory, success, bravery".[8] The earliest references to Kotravai are found in the ancientTamil grammarTolkappiyam, considered to be the earliest work of the ancientSangam literature.
She is also seen as a mother goddess, a symbol of fertility and success in agriculture.[9] Traditional rural communities offer the first harvest to her.[10] As war goddess who is blood thirsty, some texts such as theSilappadikaram andAgananuru mention that warrior devotees would, in a frenzy, offer their own head to the goddess.[10]
In Tamil Nadu, theblackbuck (Kalaimaan) is considered to be the vehicle of the Tamil goddess Korravai[11][12] She is sometimes shown as riding a lion, as in the 7th-century mandapam of theGroup of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. Both the lion and blackbuck is shown with a standing Korravai in a rock-relief panel at the Varaha Mandapam of Mahabalipuram.[13]
She is depicted as a deity with several arms holding different weapons. She is said to be the real mother of theTamil Hindu godKartikeya and her other children withShiva as a form ofParvati. Sacrifices of animals and plants and dancing rituals are a part of the worship of this goddess.
bridegroom ties a string of black beads round the bride's neck. All the women present set up a roar, called kulavi-idal.