82 Wilher Theodore Elmore 



presents. She was seated beside the god on the marriage throne 

 when Vishnu joined their hands, and afterwards the marriage 

 ceremony was performed amidst the praises and adorations of 

 the rishis and others present." 



In the great temple at Madura there are two main divisions, 

 one given to the worship of Siva and one to that of Minakshi. 

 The walls of the temple are covered with paintings and other 

 decorations which show the details of the marriage. 



The Vishnu Legends. The legends connecting the Dravidian 

 goddesses with Hindu deities are not confined to tales of Siva. 

 They are also connected with Vishnu. In the Vishnu stories 

 Renuka is the wife of Jamadagni, and to them is born Parasu 

 Rama, or Parasram, one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Renuka 

 is still the source of the Saktis, so these stories make an incarna- 

 tion of Vishnu to be a son of a Sakti. The story most general 

 among the people runs as follows.^^ 



In the midst of a great forest the Rakshasas, the demons of the 

 Vedas,^^ were living upon mountains called Tipurupu Rallu. At 

 this time Dhandigiri Razu was a powerful king. He worshiped all 

 the gods and also the sages and rishis, beseeching them to help him 

 overthrow the Rakshasas. 



Narada, the messenger of the gods, now came to Dhandigiri 

 Razu and told hirn that he must either defeat the Rakshasas or 

 cease pursuing them and acknowledge himself defeated. Dhandi- 

 giri asked him who would lead the battle against them and he 

 answered, " Your daughter, Renuka, is the person to go." Then 

 Dhandigiri stared into the face of Narada, and said, " Do you 

 think that a great monarch like myself would consent to have a 

 woman lead my battle? Never! I will lead it myself and tear 

 down their ramparts." 



Accordingly, Dhandigiri fitted out an expedition and attacked 

 the Rakshasas, but being unable to stand against them, hid in a 



" This story is commonly told during the festival for Usuramma. See 

 page 2^. The legend from which it has its origin is in Sree mad Bagavata, 

 Madras, 1893, (Sanskrit) Novama Skandhamn, pp. 297 sq. 



^2 For further descriptions of the Rakshasas see Moor, The Hindu 

 Pantheon, Madras, 1864, p. 120; Monier- Williams, Brahmanism and Hin- 

 duism, London, 1891, pp. 238 sq. 



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