Ramachander, Kannabiran Ravi Shankar, and Dr. Mari, Mariyamma and Marikamba, all denote a grama devata who is very popular in the villages of South India. While most people believe that she is the goddess Kali or the form of Renuka Devi who was the mother of Parasurama, some people believe that she is Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas and yet others believe that she is Vasugi, the wife of Thiruvalluvar. ![]() Mostly her form in the temple is ferocious. She is considered as a goddess who would punish, if not propitiated properly. Toddy and meat are offered to her during worship. Invariably the priest in her temples does not belong to the Brahmin caste and the agamas for her worship are very much different from the normal Hindu temples. The God or Goddess then takes earthly form to protect mankind. It is said through this chant, the divine God manifests out of love and peace. Most of her temples do not have buildings and in some cases, she is represented simply by a granite stone in a village field. The Moola Mantra is a chant seeking for the living God to protect the chanter and provide freedom from all sorrow and suffering. In some cases she is represented only by the statue of her head with local villagers believing that the entire village is her body. ![]() One of her most famous temple for her is in Samayapuram near the town of Trichy in Tamil Nadu. ![]() There is also a very famous temple for her in the city of Singapore. ![]() In many temples, there is a ritual walk on burning embers by her devotees.
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