Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman (Tamil: மாரியம்மன்), is a Hindu goddess of weather, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India.[3][4] Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, the largest being the Ādi Thiruviḻa. Her worship mainly focuses on bringing rains and curing diseases like cholera, smallpox, and chicken pox. Mariamman is worshipped in accordance with local traditions such as Pidari or the Gramadevatai. She is considered as a guardian deity (kaval deivam) by many South Indian village-dwellers. She is also the regional form of hindu goddess Parvati. Her consort is lord Shiva. At samayapuram, she is the sister of Ranganathaswamy. She is also worshipped in Karnataka as Marikambe, who is a manifestation of Adi-Parashakti or Mahadevi. Origin Mariamman embedded in a trident, 1st century, Chola period, Tamil Nadu, India Mariamman's worship originated in the traditions of Dravidian folk religion.[5] She is the main Tamil mother goddess, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Mariamman has since been associated with Hindu goddesses like Parvati,[6] Kali, Durga,[7] Rukmini,[8] Sita,[9] Draupadi,[10] as well as with her northern Indian counterpart Shitala, her eastern Indian counterpart, Olai Chandi, and her western Indian counterpart of Mogal mata. The word Mari (pronunciation: /mɒri/) has the Sangam Tamil origin meaning "Rain", and the Dravidian root term Amman means "Mother". She was worshipped by the ancient Tamils as the bringer of rain and thus also the bringer of prosperity, since the abundance of their crops was dependent largely upon adequate rainfall. The cult of the mother goddess is treated as an indication of a society which venerated femininity. The temples of the Sangam days, mainly of Madurai, seem to have had priestesses to the deity, which also appear predominantly as goddesses.[11] In Sangam literature, there is an elaborate descrip

Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman (Tamil: மாரியம்மன்), is a Hindu goddess of weather, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India.[3][4] Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season of Ādi throughout Tamil Nadu and the Deccan region, the largest being the Ādi T