Kannaki Amman

Kannaki Amman (Tamil: கண்ணகி அம்மன், IAST: Kaṇṇaki am'man, Sinhala: පත්තිනි අම්මා, Malayalam: കണ്ണകി ഭഗവതി kaṇṇaki bhagavati) is the deified form of Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Cilappatikāram. She is primarily worshipped in Sri Lanka and Kerala, and in a minor way in few parts of Tamil Nadu. As a goddess of chastity, she is venerated by Indian Tamils and Malayalis, Sri Lankan Tamil Shaivites, and also by the Sinhalese Buddhists as Pattini Amma. In regional Hindu tradition, her tale is interpreted as the story of Durga demanding justice after the death of her husband, Kovalan, who is identified as a form of Shiva.