Kanaka Thadanga earrings – of modesty and shame

Once Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati argued about who was more powerful. They decided to settle this dispute through a dance duel. Shiva, as the master of dance would perform a step and Parvati had to replicate the step perfectly without missing a beat and vice versa. A huge crowd gathers to watch this divine performance, at Chidambaram which turns out to be an epic dance battle.

During the course of the dance, one of Shiva’s earring falls down. Parvati, who is super competitive throws her kanaka thadanga down as well. Shiva picks up his earring using his leg and lifts it upright to fasten the earring to his ear, creating the Ūrdhva tāṇḍava posture.

Parvati, is now in a dilemma. Lifting her leg up meant exposing herself to the gathered crowd and her sense of modesty did not allow it. However, not following the routine meant that she had to accept defeat. In the end, she bows away thinking that it is better to suffer defeat at the hands of one’s husband rather than being shamed publicly by those around. Shiva’s male power and dominance is celebrated and Parvati is unfortunately labelled as the loser of the contest.

Kanaka Thadanga

Parvati is furious upon losing and is pacified by Lord Brahma, the creator of the world. Hurt, she moves away. Resentment and unrest between the couple lingers for a long time. The Sthala purana – temple myth, at Kaniyur, near Thiruvallur states that Shiva in order to make peace with his wife presents her with a pair of exquisite gold earrings – Kanaka Thadanga to make up for the one that she had lost and to soothe her ego. He requests her to bury the hatchet and reunite with him once again. She accepts the gesture and eventually reunites with him.

Listen to the story

References and Further reading

Arni, Samhita. 2017. “Madurai, Thillai and a Space Within.” The Hindu. The Hindu. December 7, 2017. https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/interesting-ideas-of-marriage/article21289942.ece.

Ramadoss, S. 2021. “Ear Rings – Divine in Mythology.” Karaikudi Express. April 25, 2021. https://karaikudiexpress.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/jimikki-kammal/.

Note

All stories have been collected from various sources, including oral histories and temple histories and compiled to form one narrative. Hence, there may be differences from the master narrative. The project hopes only to be a curator of stories and not an expert on history, religion and iconography.