Taṉ Kaip Pukka Māṅkaṉi Piṉṉaik Kāṇāṉ

The legend of Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār (the Lady Saint from the city of Kāraikkāl) is narrated in Periyapurāṇam by Cēkkiḻār. My story is an allegorical interpretation of the saint's husband's decision to abandon her.

Paramadatta gave his wife Punītavatī two mangoes, and she served one mango to a Śaiva renunciate who came to her door. When Punītavatī gave Paramadatta his meal, he liked the remaining mango's taste and asked for the other one. Wanting to fulfil his desire, Punītavatī prayed to Śiva, and a divine mango appeared in her hand. As soon as Paramadatta tasted its impossibly sweet flavour, he knew that it was not an earthly mango, and he asked Punītavatī who had given it to her. When she told him how the miracle had happened, he thought it could not be true, and said, "Show me that you can pray to Śiva and obtain another fruit." Punītavatī prayed that her testimonial of the miracle would not be judged false, and again a divine mango appeared in her hand. Paramadatta was terrified to see his wife recreating the miracle, and imagining her to be a deity (aṇaṅku), he knew that he could no longer possess her sexually as her husband. He pretended to go away on business, settled in another city with a new wife, and named his daughter after Punītavatī to appease the deity. When Punītavatī was unable to convince Paramadatta that she was an ordinary human, she prayed to Śiva to transform her into a cadaverous spirit so that she could renounce her mortal identity and only serve God.

My story imagines Paramadatta mentally addressing his decision to Punītavatī, imagining their continuing sexual relationship to be as unnatural as a mortal eating divine mangoes on demand.

The title is Tamil and means "He saw another mango fruit entering her hand."

Cover Credit: @PriyaArshiSarun