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STORIES · THE MAHĀBHĀRATA · Tamil · regional retelling

Gandhari worshipped as a goddess in Tamil Nadu

Popular

In Tamil villages the mother of the Kauravas gets a temple and a fire-walk.

Many Tamil castes venerate Gandhari as a goddess, and fire-walking is also performed at Gandhari Amman festivals. Around 300 temples to Draupadi/Panchali Amman exist, with nightly Mahabharata recitals, all-night koothu and fire-walking.

Who: Gandhari, Draupadi

Bound to

Draupadi's cult at Gingee and the buffalo king Pothuraja trivia-about

Places: Tamil Nadu

Where this comes from

• folk-oral · Janata Weekly: Women in the Tamil Mahabharatas

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