Soundarya Lahari - Part 133

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Even in the Sangam Age (of Tamil) there was a woman by name ‘KAmak-kaNNi’ which is nothing but the Sanskrit ‘KamAkshi’. Well, all this is a digression from my thought that ‘Mani-mekhalai’  finally comes to the town (Kanchi) which has the same name as hers! 

By the mention of ‘KanchI’ the author has hinted at the deity of his devotion. There are scores of feminine deities in this country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.  KshIra-bhavAni (in Kashmir),  BhagavatI (in Kerala), ChamunDeshvarI and ShAradAmbA (in Karnataka), JnAnAmbA, BhramarAmbA and  Kanaka-durgA (in Andhra),  TulajA BhavAni (in Maharashtra), ambAji (in Gujarat), Vindhya-vAsinI and anna-pUrNeshvarI (in Uttarpradesh), KALI (in Bengal), KamAkhyA (in Assam), VaishNavI (in Jammu) and finally,  MeenAkshI, akhilANDeshvarI, dharma-samvarddhanI, KamalambAL, BalAmbAL,  and Shiva-kAma-sundarI (in Tamilnadu).

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