Devi Uma Parameshvari, Great Goddess Uma

Devotees of the Great Goddess understand her as a personification of supreme feminine power. In Tamil Nadu, her iconography is relatively consistent, although she might be called by different names depending on the form of Shiva she accompanies. Her right arm is positioned to hold a lotus or blue lily, her left hand rests gracefully at her side, and her sensuous figure is accentuated by the triple-bend stance. An image of Uma must be present at all temple ceremonies for Shiva, or else the ritual is incomplete.