Minakshi

Also spelled as Meenakshi, this is the name of a fish-eyed goddess, an incarnation of the principal Hindi goddess Parvati. Portrayed as holding a green parakeet, she is notably worshipped in the south of India and associated with Tamil city, Madurai, where there is a temple for her.

There are a number of possible theories as to why she is called "fish-eyed", one being that it reflects the wide-eyed, unblinking appearance of fish; in a similar way, the goddess never stops watching her devotees. Alternatively, it could connect to an ancient belief that fish fed their young by looking at them: the goddess might be said to support her followers by glancing at them.

Pronounced meen-ahk-shee.