Devi Kanya Kumari

Devi Kanya Kumari

is a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Mahadevi in the form of an adolescent girl. She is variously described by various traditions of Hinduism to either be a form of Parvati or Lakshmi. She is also worshipped as an incarnation of the goddess Bhadrakali by Shaktas, and is known by several names such as Shrī Bāla Bhadra, Shrī Bāla, Kanya Devi, and Devi Kumari.

The goddess is inextricably tied to the eponymous town of Kanyakumari, situated at the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu. The worship of Devi Kanya Kumari is also associated with the Kumari Kandam, a mythical lost continent. Kanya Kumari is regarded to be the goddess who killed the demon Banasura, who performed a continuous penance with utmost austerities. The Vaishnava Saint Vadiraja Tirtha, in his Tirtha Prabhanda, describes Kanya Kumari as Lakshmi, who descended upon the earth to slay Banasura

Devi Kanya Kumari has been mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Sangam works Manimekalai, Purananuru and the Nārāyaṇa (Mahānārāyaṇa) Upanishad, a Vaishnava Upanishad in the Taittiriya Samhita of Krishna Yajur Veda

Banasura, a demon by birth, was the ruler of the land of Kanyakumari. He was a very powerful king. He practiced tapasya and obtained a boon from Brahma that his death could only be caused by an adolescent girl.

With this powerful boon, he became fearless and wreaked havoc on the entire world. He went on to conquer and oust Indra from his throne. He banished all the devas from their abode. The devas, who were the personification of the basic natural elements, Agni (fire), Varuna (water), Vayu (air) became uncoordinated, and havoc spread in the universe, because Indra (ether) was not able to administer and coordinate the Pancha Bhoota

According to local folklore, It was believed that only Bhagavati would be able to restore order. Bhagavati manifested herself in the southern tip of the subcontinent as Kumari, to kill Banasura and restore the balance of nature.As an adolescent girl, she had immense devotion towards the deity Shiva. Shiva decided to marry her. All arrangements were made for the wedding. Shiva started the journey from Shuchindram. The wedding muhurtam, or auspicious time, was during the Brahma muhurtam, which was pre-morning. The sage Narada, observing that only a virgin goddess would be able to slay Banasura, caused a rooster to crow, indicating that the auspicious time for the wedding had passed. Thus, he was able to interrupt Shiva's marriage to Kanya Kumari.Kumari waited for Shiva, and finally, she assumed that she had been snubbed. With unbearable insult, pain, grief, and anger, she destroyed everything she saw. She threw away all the food and broke her bangles. The food particles she scattered around are said to be the source of the colourful sands of Kanyakumari. When she finally gained her composure, she undertook continuous penance. Ages later, Banasura tried to lure and approach Kumari, without realising who she was. The infuriated Kumari slaughtered Banasura at once. Moments before his death, Banasura realised that the one before him was Adi Parashakti, the Goddess herself. He prayed her to absolve him of his sins. After killing Banasura, Kumari assumed her original form of Parvati, and reunited with her husband, Shiva. Kumari maintained her divine presence in the place, in the Bhagavati Kumari Amman Temple.

According to Vaishnavism, the saint Vadiraja Tirtha states in his Tirtha Prabandha that Devi Kanya Kumari is a form of the goddess Lakshmi herself, who descended upon the earth to kill the demon Banasura, who was a devotee of Shiva.