| Kannagi | |
|---|---|
 Kannagi Statue inMarina Beach,Chennai |
Kannagi (Tamil:கண்ணகி), sometimes spelledKannaki,[1] is alegendaryTamil woman who forms the central character of the TamilepicCilappatikāram.[2] Kannagi is described as a chaste woman who stays with her husband despite hisadultery, their attempt to rebuild their marriage after her unrepentant husband had lost everything, how he is framed then punished without the due checks and processes of justice.[1] Kannagi proves and protests the injustice, then curses the king and city of Madurai, leading to the death of the unjustPandyan king of Madurai, who had wrongfully put her husbandKovalan to death. The society that made her suffer then endures retribution as the cityMadurai, in consequence, is burnt to the ground because of her curse.[1]
In Tamil folklore, Kannagi has been deified as the symbol – sometimes as a goddess – of chastity, with sculptures or reliefs in Hindu temples iconographically reminding the visitor of her breaking her anklet or tearing her bleeding breast and throwing it at the city.[3][4]
The Kannagi story first appears in theSangam era poemNarrinai 312.[2] A more extended version appears in theCilappatikāram.[1]
Kannagi was the daughter of the merchant and ship captain Manayakan fromPuhar. She marries the son of Macattuvan,Kovalan, whose family were sea traders and had the sea goddessManimekalai aspatron deity.[5][6] Later, Kovalan met a dancerMadhavi and had an affair with her, which prompted him to spend all his wealth on the dancer. At last, penniless, Kovalan realized his mistake and returned to his wife, Kannagi. Kovalan hoped to recoup his fortunes by trading inMadurai and selling the precious anklet of Kannagi.[citation needed]
Madurai was ruled by the Pandyan kingNeṭuñceḻiyaṉ I. When Kovalan tried to sell the anklet, it was mistaken for a stolen anklet of the queen. Kovalan was accused of having stolen the anklet and was immediately beheaded by the king without trial. When Kannagi was informed of this, she became furious, and set out to prove her husband's innocence to the king.
Kannagi came to the king's court, broke open the anklet seized from Kovalan and showed that it containedrubies, as opposed to the queen's anklets which containedpearls. Realizing the error, the king committed suicide in shame, after having caused such a huge miscarriage of justice. Kannagi uttered a curse that the entire city of Madurai be burnt. The capital city of the Pandyas was set ablaze, resulting in huge losses. However, at the request of the goddessMeenakshi, she calmed down and later attained salvation. The story forms the crux of theCilappatikāram.[7]
| Kannaki Amman | |
|---|---|
Goddess of Chastity[8] | |
 Representation of a deified Kannaki in Sri Lanka. | |
| Tamil language | கண்ணகி அம்மன் |
| Affiliation | Shaktism,Pattini, andBhagavati |
| Symbol | Anklet,Neem leaves |
| Mount | Lion orTiger in form ofShakti |
| Consort | Kovalan |
AsKannaki Amman, she is eulogized as the epitome of chastity and is worshiped as a goddess in select regions. She is worshiped as a goddess inSri Lanka and inSouthwestern India, known asPattini inSinhalese Buddhism,[9] Kannaki Amman by theSri Lankan Tamil people, and as Kodungallur Bhagavati andAttukal Bhagavati in the Indian state ofKerala. Keralites believe Kannaki to be an incarnation of the goddessBhadrakali, who reachedKodungallur and attained salvation in theKodungallur Bhagavathy Temple.[10][11]
TheCilappatikāram, and its sequel,Maṇimēkalai, offer evidence that Kannaki was praised as a goddess even during the lifetime of Maṇimēkalai, the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.Cilappatikāram tells about the Kannaki worship of another Pandyan King "Vetrivel Cheliyan", for relieving the land from the drought and curse of her onPandya Nadu.[12] However, the cult of Kannagi does not seem to have had any firm historical foothold in present-day Tamil Nadu, nor does it have any significant presence in modern religious practice.
Some theorise that Kannaki's worship in Southeastern India might have been assimilated in the more common worship of theDravidian folk religion's rain goddess,Mariamman.[13] Others rely on a peculiar and individual interpretation of theCilappatikāram, which states that the city of Madurai was destroyed on a Friday in the month ofĀdi,[14] to support this idea. A statement that can induce some modern readers to interpret it with a certain symbolism, in view of contemporary beliefs in southeast India, where the Fridays of that month are days associated with the cult of Mariamman.
Few temples, like theThyagaraja Temple, Tiruvottiyur, theMathura Kaliamman Temple, Siruvachur and theMangala Devi Kannagi Temple inIdukki (Kerala) orTheni (Tamil Nadu) district, are places of worship with connections to the Kannagi myth and cult.
The Kannaki cult, perhaps initiated by theChera dynasty ofKerala, is still preserved in the form of theBhagavati cult.[15] The famousBhagavati Temple atKodungallur, which was the former capital of Cheras, remembers its ancient interaction with the Kannaki cult in itsSthala Puranam.[16][17] Though the deity of the temple is still observed asBhadra Kali, she is often praised by the devotees as Kannaki and Muthumari in Kodungallur.
Attukal Bhagavati Temple,Moothanthara Karnaki Amman Temple and so many GoddessBhagavati temples are believed to be located on the journey of Kannaki to Chera Nadu (Kerala) after the burning of Madurai.[18]
According to folklore, after the burning of Madurai, Kannagi traveled to Kerala and eventually arrived at the island of Pungudutheevu, near the ancient Manipallavam, now known as Nainativu. She visited approximately 25 sites in Sri Lanka, mostly along the east coast, and finally reached Vattapalai. Disguised as an old woman, she asked some boys herding buffaloes for food. They offered her Pongal made from buffalo milk instead of cow milk. She then requested a lamp lit with sea water. The boys, fearing she was a witch, sought help from the village. When the villagers arrived, Kannagi asked one of the boys to comb her hair, revealing a miraculous sight of 1,000 eyes in her head. She then ascended to heaven, declaring herself as Kannagi of Poompuhar and instructed the villagers to perform the same ritual each year on the day of Vaikasi. This tradition continues today, with both Sinhalese and Tamils participating in the festival by offering Pongal and lighting sea water lamps. KingGajabahu I recognized Kannagi as Pattini, making her a guardian deity of Sri Lanka for both communities.
Sri Lankan beliefs on Kannaki are intermediate to Cilappatikāram and common Sri Lankan Beliefs.Eastern Sri Lankan andVanni Tamils praises her as "Kannakai Amman". There are many evidences inYalpana Vaipava Malai, chronicle ofJaffna Kingdom, confirming the widespread popularity of Kannaki worship during the rule of theAryacakravarti dynasty (1215–1624) inNorthern Sri Lanka. The author of the Sri Lankan epic on Kannaki equivalent to theCilappatikāram, theKannaki Vaḻakkurai, recited in eastern Kannaki Amman temples, is believed to be written by theJaffna kingJeyaveera Cinkaiariyan (1380–1410).
The Kannagi cult was especially popular among the coastal folk who considered her as their guardian deity since she was the daughter of a rich sea trader ofKaveripattinam. Since most of the coastal folk were converted toCatholicism during thePortuguese rule, most of the Kannaki shrines became churches ofOur Lady.[19] The remaining temples of Kannaki were transformed in the 19th century into notablyRaja Rajeshwari andBhuvaneshvari temples by activists from theJaffna-basedSaiva movement, under the leadership ofNavalar.[20] Arumuka Navalar actively fought against veneration of what he considered to be “aJain merchantess”.[20] Kannaki Amman was also gradually seen as an incarnation ofShakti. Thus, her worship has declined in the far north of Sri Lanka, among the Jaffneses.
Kannaki is mainly praised once in a year during theVaikasi month (May–June) of Tamil Calendar inBatticaloa andAmpara Districts. The Festival is called Catangu and Katavu Tirattal.Kalyanak Kāl Naduthal (Planting Wedding Pillar),Vaḻakkurai Pāduthal (Reciting the verses of "Kannaki Vaḻkkurai"), Kulirthi Paaduthal ("Singing Cooling verses") are common rituals of the festival. The festival days differ from temple to temple from three days to seven days. At the end of the festival, the sanctum of Kannaki temple is closed and it will be only opened when the nest Cadangu begins.
Although the hierophant of Kannaki is fully transformed into the Bhagavati cult in Kerala and virtually absent in Tamil Nadu,Sri Lanka still preserves the Kannaki cult in its own form. TheSinhaleses praise her as Pattini. Their stories of that goddess also differ from those of theCilappatikāram and see her as an avatar ofthe Buddha.[21] She was born as a mango in the garden of the Pandyan king. She was neglected by him and kept in a boat at sea and grew up inChola country. She eventually slew the evil Pandyan king[22] and was hired as one of the guardian gods of Lanka by the Buddha.
The grant festival of Sri Lanka, theEsala Perahera, initially included only Kannaki,Vishnu,Kataragama, andNatha. The holy tooth relic of Buddha was annexed in the procession during the period ofKirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy Kingdom. (1747 - 1782) according to the request of Upali Thera, aBuddhist monk fromKonbaung Burma.[23]
Polkeliya "coconut fight",Gammaduwa "village rituals", andankeliya "horn play" are the main three aspects of the Pattini cult. There are well-known devales atKandy, Nawagamuwa andPanama for Pattini Deviyo.
ATamilepic filmKannagi directed by R. S. Mani released in 1942. This was the first Tamil film based on the epic Silapadhigaaram.
A similar movie namedPoompuhar released in 1964.
AMalayalam filmKodungallooramma directed byKunchacko starringPrem Nazir,K. R. Vijaya,Adoor Bhasi andThikkurissy Sukumaran Nair was released in 1968.
Astatue of Kannagi holding her anklet, depicting a scene fromCilappatikaram was installed onMarina Beach,Chennai. It was removed in December 2001 citing reasons that it hindered traffic.[24][25] The statue was reinstalled in June 2006.[26][27]
ASinhala film calledPaththini was released on 5 May 2016 inSri Lanka. The role of the goddess Paththni or Kannagi was played byPooja Umashankar.[28]
