Brahmans (Hindus) did not worship goddess in the ancient days. It was Samanas (Buddhits) worshiped the Samni / Bikkuni / female Bodhisatva / Tara/ Yakkini etc. Manimegala was a popular deity in Buddhist tradition in the ancient days. The Manimegala, the daughter of Mathavi also become a symbol of worship. The Buddhist worship was called paying homage (namami - vanaguthal) for the great work the did in their life. Later the Hindus worshiped it as mythical God. Even Buddha Statues are worshiped as Hindu God in many places including in Buddha Gaya. Let us bring back our ancient tradition in original form. Let us remember and pay homage to the great people who contributed great things for the humanity. According to Pandit, Avvai was a daughter of a king and she become a nun at very early age. She was the one found medicine (neem) for chickenpox. The story is also close to Manimegali. But Pandit gives some of the relavent stories from some of the temples and says Mariamma is Avvai (a Buddhist nun of ancient Buddhist India).