Devi Meenakshi is a reincarnation of Devi Parvati – the consort of Paramashiva who incarnated in the human body as the daughter of the Pandya king Malayadhvaja and his wife Kanchanamala, who ruled the Panya Kingdom from Madurai 2000 years ago.
Earlier in Kanchamala’s past life, she had gotten a boon from Goddess Parvati to mother the latter. Goddess Parvati’s boon came true when King Malayadhvaja and his wife Kanchamamala performed the Putra Kameshti Yaga – the sacred fire ritual to have progeny. During this Yaga, Goddess Parvati emerged out of the sacred fire as a baby. The baby, to the royal couple’s shock, had three breasts. When they worried about that, at once, an Ashariri Vak – a heavenly voice – was heard by them. The divine voice comforted them by telling them the baby was a divine girl and that her third breast would vanish once the girl met her fiancé. The gratified royal couple named the baby Tadadagai – the one who emerged out of the fire.
The girl Tadadagai, being the heir to the Royal throne, was meticulously trained in all the 64 arts explained in the scriptures. She excelled in every field, including martial arts. During an auspicious time, Thadadagai’s Pattabhishekam coronation was the queen of the Pandya kingdom. As a queen, when She had to prove Her supremacy, power, and courage, She traveled in all ten directions (including the Swarga and Patala) and easily defeated and conquered all the worlds. Finally, when she advanced towards the Kailash, She effortlessly defeated the Bhutaganas – the army of Lord Shiva. She even defeated the chief of Bhutaganas, the Adhikara Nandi Deva – the divine bull vehicle of Lord Shiva – who stopped her from proceeding further. Her conquering of all the worlds is called the Dig Vijayam. This divine play of Her is called the Dig Vijayam.
Tadadagai finally headed towards Lord Shiva – who appeared as Lord Sundareshwara – to defeat Him and conquer Kailash, The moment She set Her eyes on Lord Sundareshwara, Her third breast vanished. Unable to fight further, She bowed Her head out of blush and realized that He was destined to be Her husband. She surrendered and realized that He was the embodiment of Enlightenment. By realizing this, She fell in love with Him and realized She was an incarnation of Devi Parvati.
With this realization, the union of Shiva and Shakti happened, and She expressed the power to enlighten people just by Her look. From then on, she was known as Meenakshi – the one with eyes like the eyes of a fish. It is said that fish hatch their eggs just by looking at their eggs. Meenakshi accompanied Lord Sundareshwara to Madurai, and King Malayadhvaja arranged an unprecedented grand wedding ceremony. Lord Vishnu, the brother of Devi Meenakshi, was supposed to preside over the marriage and give away His sister in marriage to Lord Sundareshwara. But Lord Vishnu from Vaikunta could not make it for the marriage. So the incarnation of Vishnu Pavalakkanivai Perumal from the suburbs of Madurai presided over the marriage and gave Her away in marriage to Lord Siva Himself. This marriage was attended by all the celestial beings and became one of the rarest and most important events of the Cosmos. This celestial marriage is called the Meenakshi Tirukkalayanam. Meenakshi Tirukkalyanam expresses the highest principle of the union of Shiva and Shakti.
When Lord Vishnu was coming to Madurai, He heard the news that the marriage of Meenakshi and Sundareshwara was over, so He started returning to Vaikunta. On His way back to Vaikunta, He entered the river Vaigai, which flows in Madurai, to liberate a frog and bestow Enlightenment on it.
After their marriage, Meenakshi and Sundareshwara came around the Cosmos in a divine chariot to bless all beings in the Cosmos.
Meenakshi and Sundareshwara ruled the Cosmos from the south Indian city of Madurai for a long time, expressed many mystical powers by performing miracles, and established Dharma – the science of Enlightenment on Earth.
