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Kotṟavai (), also spelled ''Kotravai'' or ''Korravai'', is the goddess of war and victory in the Tamil tradition. She is also the mother goddess and the goddess of fertility, agriculture, and hunters. In the latter form, she is sometimes referred to by other names and epithets in the Tamil tradition of South India and Sri Lanka, such as Atha, Mari, Suli, and Neeli. She was later syncretised with the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
goddesses
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...
,
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...
and
Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
. She is among the earliest documented goddesses in the Tamil
Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
, and also found in later Tamil literature. She is mentioned in the many poems in '' Paripāṭal '', though the dedicated poem to her in among those that have been lost to history. She is mentioned in the ''Pattuppattu'' anthology – the long Tamil poems dated between 300 BCE to 300 CE, including the ''
Neṭunalvāṭai __NOTOC__ ''Neṭunalvāṭai'' ( ta, நெடுநல்வாடை, ''lit''. "good long north wind", metonymically "cold season") is an ancient Tamil poem in the Sangam literature. Also referred to as ''Nedunalvadai'', it is a blend of a lo ...
'', '' Maturaikkanci'', '' Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai'', and ''
Paṭṭiṉappālai __NOTOC__ ''Paṭṭiṉappālai'' ( ta, பட்டினப் பாலை) is a Tamil poem in the ancient Sangam literature. It contains 301 lines, of which 296 lines are about the port city of Kaveripoompattinam, the early Chola kingdom a ...
''. In the Tamil epic '' Silappadikaram'' (c. 2nd-century), she is said to be the goddess of the Pālai region. Her name is derived from the Tamil word ''korram'', which means "victory, success, bravery". The earliest references to Kotravai are found in the ancient
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
grammar Tolkappiyam, considered to be the earliest work of the ancient
Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...
. She is also seen as a mother goddess, a symbol of fertility and success in agriculture. Traditional rural communities offer the first harvest to her. As war goddess who is blood thirsty, some texts such as the '' Silappadikaram'' and '' Agananuru'' mention that warrior devotees would, in a frenzy, offer their own head to the goddess. In Tamil Nadu, the
blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the shoulder. Ma ...
(Kalaimaan) is considered to be the vehicle of the Tamil goddess Korravai She is sometimes shown as riding a lion, as in the 7th-century mandapam of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. Both the lion and blackbuck is shown with a standing Korravai in a rock-relief panel at the Varaha mandapam of Mahabalipuram. She is depicted as a deity with several arms holding different weapons. She is said to be mother of the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
god
Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...
. Animal sacrifices and dancing rituals are a part of the worship of this goddess.


Notes and references


Bibliography

* Mahalakshmi, R. (2009). "Caṇkam literature as a social prism: an interrogation". Chapter 3 (29–41) in Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (editor).
A Social History of Early India
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Pearson Education Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege ...
, India. * {{Cite journal , doi = 10.2307/3248984 , author = Harle, James C. , year = 1963 , title = Durgā, Goddess of Victory , jstor = 3248984 , journal =
Artibus Asiae ''Artibus Asiae'' is a biannual academic journal specialising in the arts and archaeology of Asia. Along with the '' Ostasiatische Zeitschrift'' (founded in 1912) it was one of the most successful journals in its field in the German-speaking part o ...
, volume = 26 , issue = 3/4, pages = 237–246 * Kersenboom-Story, Saskia C. (1987).
Nityasumaṅgalī
devadasi tradition in South India''.
Motilal Banarsidass Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House (MLBD) is an Indian academic publishing house, founded in Delhi, India in 1903. It publishes and distributes serials, monographs, and scholarly publications on Asian religions, Buddhology, Indology, Eas ...
. * Kinsley, David R. (1988).
Hindu goddesses
visions of the divine feminine in the Hindu religious tradition''. Hermeneutics: Studies in the History of Religions 12.
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...
. * Tiwari, Jagdish Narain (1985). ''Goddess Cults in Ancient India (with special reference to the first seven centuries A.D.)''. Sundeep Prakashan. dapted from his PhD thesis accepted by the Australian National University in 1971.] Hindu goddesses Tamil deities War goddesses Nature goddesses Lion deities