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Kanyakumari Name: The city of Kanyakumari is located in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This place is one of the major centers of faith of Hinduism. Surrounded by sea on three sides, this place has been under the Chola, Pandya and Chera rulers.
Even today you can see the deeds of these rulers on the monuments here. The history of this place is much older than these rulers. An interesting story is heard behind the name Kanyakumari.
How did Kanyakumari get its name?
According to ancient texts, Goddess Parvati was born to kill a demon named Banasura (the name of this demon king is also written as Banasura and Banasur in many places). Banasura had a boon from Brahma Ji that he could be killed only by a virgin girl. Banasura became proud that no virgin girl could kill him and he could defeat everyone easily.
Banasura started misusing his power
By misusing his power, Banasura defeated Indra and took over the heaven. Along with Indra, gods like Agni, Varuna etc. also started getting troubled by the terror of Banasura. The gods sought the help of Maa Shakti to get rid of the terror of Banasura. It is believed that then the mother decided to take birth on earth.
Mother was born on earth
When Banasura's terror was at its peak, Goddess Shakti took birth in the house of Bharat, the famous king of that era. King Bharat had 8 daughters and a son, out of which one of his daughters was Kumari who was a form of the Goddess. Finally, when the king divided his kingdom, the present Kanyakumari area came to his daughter Kumari.
It is said that Kumari was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva since childhood. Kumari performed severe penance to marry Shiva and seeing her penance, Lord Shiva also agreed to marry her. But Naradji knew that if Kumari and Shiva got married, then Banasura's terror would never end.
When Banasura came to know about Kumari's penance and her beauty, he sent a marriage proposal to Kumari. Kumari was very angry at this audacity of Banasura, but still she proposed to Banasura that she would accept his proposal if he defeated her in battle. After this, a fierce battle took place between Banasura and Kumari.
During the battle, Banasura realized that the girl he was fighting was no ordinary girl. Kumari eventually defeated Banasura. Moments before his death, Banasura realized that this girl was none other than the incarnation of Goddess Shakti. Before dying, Banasura also apologized to his mother for his mistakes.
It is believed that Kumari then returned to her original form and went to Shiva Loka. But Kumari maintained her presence in the Amman temple. It is believed that Kumari is still waiting for Lord Shiva in this temple. This place was named Kanyakumari in memory of the girl form of Mother Shakti.
Kumari Amman Temple
The Amman temple of Kanyakumari is dedicated to the form of Kumari. According to the belief, every wish of the devotees is fulfilled in this temple. Along with this, devotees also go here for introspection and meditation. Mother removes all the confusions of the mind, hence this place is considered very important for those walking on the spiritual path.
