origin of mAl

[Mani Varadarajan]

I originally wrote:
> > Dear Indologists,
> >
> > Is there any account of the birth of mAl/mAyOn
> > in Tamil literature? I am looking for something
> > similar to murukan's birth from koRRavai, later
> > fused with Durga/Parvati.

To which Mr. Periyannan replied:

> If by "pArvati" you meant "the lady of the hills",
> and by "koRRavai" "the goddess of the desert/arid terrain",
> then the birth of murukan2's birth from pArvati ...

No, I am asking about the birth of mAl (vishNu),
not murukan.

koRRavai, according to Zvelebil, is the ancient
Tamil goddess of war, whose identity was later
fused with that of the Sanskrit deity pArvatI,
once murukan and subrahmaNya/skanda become
indistinguishable.

Mani