Vasavi Jayanthi Celebrated at Meenakshi Temple on May 27

By Saipranav Kurapati

PEARLAND: Sri Meenakshi Temple celebrated Vasavi Jayanthi on May 27th, 2017 in a grand manner, and I had the honour of telling the great story of Vasavi during the sit down lunch. Goddess Vasavi is famously known as the first to preach non-violence. According to one legend Vasavi is considered to be a manifestation of Parvati, who was born into a Community known as the Vaisya community. She was born as the daughter of a great king and was an ardent devotee of the lord Shiva and dedicated her life to him by remaining unmarried. As she was beautiful it was understood that someone would fall in love with her. It turns out that someone was a Prince and he wanted to marry her at once. Vasavi’s dedication to lord Shiva caused her to refuse the offer. The enraged prince waged war on her kingdom. Vasavi being a preacher of non- violence, wanted to prevent bloodshed at any cost. She decided to end her life by sacrificing herself to Agni, the god of fire. Along with her went 102 people who supported her views. These people’s families came to be the true Vaishyas and we are still here today to celebrate her dedication.

A grand Pooja was held including Homam, Purnahuthi, Abhishekam, Alankaram, and Aarthi. The event ended with a procession of devotees chanting the goddess’s praises and was a sight to cherish by all. We are the Vaishyas, and we have Sri Vasavi Mata to protect and guide us!

Saipranav Kurapati is a 7th grade student in Katy, Texas.