The second king pandiya ie: Malayadwaja Pandiya the ruler of Madurai, and wife Kanchanamalai who performed a great putra kameshti yaga. the lord parvathi appered out of the Holy fire as a girl child. The girl came out with three breast. The king and all were shocked and a voice arise and it stated that the third breast would vanish soon the girl meets her future husband. The king named the girl as Tadaatagai. Tadaatagai learned all the 64 sastras and brave. As the time came when Tadaatagai was to be coronated, she was named as Meenakshi and she had to wage was on the three world across eight directions.After conquering Sathjaloka, Vaikunta,and Amaravati, She advaced to kailsha to defect Lord Shiva. By defecting all the bhootha ganas and Nandhi the girl moved toward Shiva. That moment she looked Shiva she unable to fight and realized that Siva is her future husband.That came to know by the vanish of the third breast. The king arranged all the grand function for his daughter marriage. In that lord Vishnu ,the brother of Meenakshi, prepared to travel from his holy abode viaikutam to attend the marraige. due to the tricks by Indra he was delayed to attend the marriage.But the marriage was presided over by local god from Thirupparankundram pavalaakanivaai Perumal. After marriage the pair ruled the Madurai. The marriage is celebrated as Chitirai Thiruvizha and Azhakar Thiruvizha.
Goddess Meenakshi can be distinctly identified because she is always represented as a graceful
lady wearing a green saree holding a Parrot in her right hand. The name Meenakshi can be split
into “Meen” meaning Fish and “Akshi” meaning Eyes, thus giving the meaning as the “Lady with
the Eyes of a Fish”.
About Temple
Meenakshi Temple is an architectural wonder. The temple which was choosen for the seven wonders of the world.This is located the center of the Maduari and the streets around the temples are looking like lotus shape. The Moolavar in this temple is Sundareswarar. The temple is about around 1500 years old.Total area of the temple is 45acre, with12 gopurams. And in that 4 Raja gopurams which faces 4 directions. South gopuram is the tallest among all with leves(ie: nellai)and about 52m height.The oldest among them is the East tower
built in 1238. The shrines of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareshwara are covered on top by
a golden vimanam or a shikhara. The ceilings of the inner corridors are colorfully painted and
provide a beautiful visual experience. It is estimated that around 33,000 exquisite sculptures are
found in the Temple complex.
This gopurams are renovated and constructed by different Kings. Meenakshi amman gopuram was renovated by Kulathi muthaliyar during 1570 and The renovation and rebuilding of the Meenakshi Temple started under King Viswanatha
Nayak. The Meenakshi Temple was then expanded into its current state under the reign of
Thirumalai Nayak during 1623 – 1655. He was responsible for the construction of several
mandapams inside the Meenakshi Temple complex, especially the Vasantha Mandapam
and the Kilikoondu Mandapam (Corridor of Parrots).
The moolavar Sundareswara is suyambhu
(self-manifested).The moolavar having two gopurams the material is full gold. No matter, how many times you have visited the temple, each time you chance upon something
new. Many times you are left wondering about the magical power of the architectural wonder
and the stories behind.
Sculpture of Lord Shiva
Sculpture depicting Arjuna in Penance
Lord Narasimha & Lord Shiva
Lord Shiva 25 heads and 50 hands
The idol of Shri Meenakshi Amman is made of greenish black stone. The Linga of Lord Pilgrimage Sundareshwara is believed to be one of the 68 Swayambhu Lingas worshiped in India. The
Swayambhu Lingas are believed to be the representations of Lord Shiva that have risen
from the ground by themselves. They have not been manmade and are naturally occurring.
The Linga is supported by 64 Bhootaganas, 32 Lions, and 8 Elephants.
The Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the Pancha Sabhai Sthalangal of Lord Nataraja, a
form of Lord Shiva. Pancha means Five, Sabhai means hall and Sthala mean place. Lord
Nataraja is referred to the form of Lord Shiva when he performs the different forms of
Cosmic Dance. These five Sthalas or places represent the different forms of cosmic dance
performed by Lord Nataraja. They are symbolized in sculptures depicting the respective
postures and made out of precious elements. The sculpture of Lord Nataraja worshiped at
the Meenakshi Amman Temple is called “Velli Ambalam Natarajar” and it is made of
“Velli” meaning “Silver”. The uniqueness of this representation is that Lord Nataraja is
shown with his right leg raised instead of the usually left leg as represented in the other
depictions. The other four Temples with such unique sculptures are located in
Chidambaram (Gold), Thiruvalangadu (Emerald), Tirunelveli (Copper) and Coutrallam (Art).
The Porthamarai Kulam, meaning the “Pond with the Golden Lotus” is the name given to
the sacred Temple Tank. It is also called as Adi Theertham, Shiva Ganga, Utthama
Theertham, Gnana Theertham and Mukthi Theertham. It is believed that the tank was
initially created by Lord Shiva himself when he thrust his Trishul into the Earth on request
from Nandi.
It was believed in ancient times that the worthiness of any new literature can be judged by
placing the book on the surface of the tank. The poor quality literature would sink while the
scholastic ones would remain afloat. It is believed that taking a bath with the water from the
Theertham will provide Mukti or Moksha in life. But bathing is not allowed.
The imposing 14 Gopurams of the Temple
Complex are awe inspiring and intricately carved. The numerous Mandapas of the Temple
like the Thousand Pillars Mandapam, Ashta Shakthi Mandapam, Kambatadi Mandapam,
Puthu Mandapam, Viravasantharaya Mandapam, Kalyana Mandapam, Mudali Pillai
Mandapam and the Mangayarkarasi Mandapam tell us stories about Lord Shiva and
Goddess Parvati sculpted out of rock. There are several legends of Lord Shiva depicted in
statues like the Thiruvilayadal (Games of Lord Shiva), Mahabharatha, Bikshadanar, and
Ramayana.
A unique fact that can be observed about the placement of shrines is that the shrine of Lord
Sundareshwara is exactly one-fourth of the total area of the temple. The shrine of Goddess
Meenakshi is exactly one-fourth of the area of Lord Sundareshwara’s shrine. This might
indicate that in the earlier times, Lord Shiva was given ritualistic importance over Goddess
Meenakshi.
Ganapathi idol,Meenakshi amman temple.
A huge Ganapathi idol is worshiped just outside the sanctum out of Goddess Meenakshi.
This idol is supposed to be at least 1500 years ago. It was discovered by the King
Thirumalai Nayak during the digging of the Temple area for its renovation. As one comes out of the sanctum of Goddess Meenakshi, one must look up to the ceiling to
see a recently painted 3-Dimensional image of Lord Shiva’s Linga. The Linga gives us an
illusion of following us as we circle around it below.
Bhadra Kali,Meenakshi amman temple.
Hanuman Idol,Meenakshi Amman Temple
Pudhumandapam is the area around meenakshi amman temple.In olden days it is under temple permises. Now it is acting as shopping complex.
Meenakshi Amman idol,Pudumandapam,Madurai.
Nandi,Pudhumandapam,Madurai
Meenakshi Marriage,Pudhumandapam.
Ravanan tenheaded(carrying siva and parvathi),Pudhumandapam,meenakshi temple,Madurai.
Ukrathandarvar,Pudhumandapam,meenakshi temple,Madurai.
Veeputhi pillaiyar,near lotus pond,Meenakshi temple,Madurai
cylindrical stone drum for sandal paste,Killi Mandapam,Meenakshi temple
Dharmar,
Arjunan,Meenakshi temple
Bhima,Meenakshi temple
Shaga dev,Meenakshi temple.
Beautiful and bright frescoes depicting temple legends on the walls adjacent to the Lotus pond.
