The Story of Purusha Devi

There was a land ruled by a female lineage of rulers, on the southernmost tip of Kerala. Female lineage, differentiated from matrilineal in the fact that only women inherited...The ministers, army chief and soldiers were all women. Purusha Devi was the embodiment of feminine courage and self-respect, in her land of prosperity. When Purusha Devi became pregnant, a nursery and a fort to protect it, were built near the palace. King Chemban Mudi of the neighboring Kingdom of Kovalloor, did...
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There was a land ruled by a female lineage of rulers, on the southernmost tip of Kerala. Female lineage, differentiated from matrilineal in the fact that only women inherited...The ministers, army chief and soldiers were all women. Purusha Devi was the embodiment of feminine courage and self-respect, in her land of prosperity. When Purusha Devi became pregnant, a nursery and a fort to protect it, were built near the palace. King Chemban Mudi of the neighboring Kingdom of Kovalloor, did not relish the rising of the fort. He placed many conditions before Pennarasu Nadu. The self respecting lady lords, rejected every one of them. In all male chauvinistic rage, Chempan Mudi attacked Pennarasu Nadu. Flabbergasted at the onslaught of the female army, he sought help of the neighboring king of Kadathi Nadu. Next day, the feminine army faced the joint forces of the enemy bravely, and caused great casualty to them. But before the numerous strength of the enemy forces, the women brigade faltered. Still the queen and her ministers rode on to the ranks of the enemy, inflicting great damage...When they could not hold on any longer, they thrust their swords into their own stomachs and committed suicide!Lamenting at being the cause for the death of so many brave and self respecting women, the kings of Kadathi Nadu and Kavalloor, killed themselves in the battlefield...The brave soldiers who appeared before Lord Shiva in Devaloka (heaven), got the boon of rebirth. Purusha Devi is being worshiped as Yesakki Amman in many temples.Purusdevi's is a rare story of women Warriors and lords in Kerala history. A story dating centuries; one about female dominance over male, successful in building an ideal Kingdom of plenty and prosperity and sustaining it that way with bravery and self respect; is a rarity not only in Kerala, but also in the wide world.The myth of male chauvinism that takes the feminine gender for granted as a weak people who can be brought under control with physical strength, is shattered. The fight of the feminine forces, motivated by firm conviction and their self-respect leading them to suicide in the face of defeat, is a heavy blow to the power of masculinity, represented by Kadathi Rajan and Chemban Mudi...Yesakki Amma is being worshiped in many temples of South Kerala and Tamilnadu. Her story today, lives in the 'Vill Pattu' in a mixture of Tamil and Malayalam dialects.Purusha Devi's story is being told here through graphic illustrations on the tenets of Kerala's mural art.