Mariamman is seen almost in every village of Tamil Nadu. There is an interesting and legendary story as to why Mariamman is a gram devata or village deity. Mariamman was originally called Renuka. She was the wife of a rishi by name, Jamadagni. The sons of a cruel king by name Karthaveerya, killed Jamadagni. Seeing the cruel fate that befell her beloved husband, Renuka jumped into fire. But as she was an amsa or aspect of Shakti, her burning in fire would have terrible consequences for the world. Recognizing this, Devendra, king of the devatas, who is also the god of rains, immediately rained over the fire to pacify Renuka. The fire was extinguished. However, the garments that Renuka wore had all been burnt down and in the bargain, blebs had appeared all over her partially burnt body. Finding a huge neem tree nearby, she immediately draped herself in bunches of neem twigs and leaves. She reached a small colony of people nearby. She was hungry and so asked th