| Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple - Madurai |
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple is dedicated to Sundareshvara (lord Shiva) and his consort Meenakshi(Parvathi). The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. Temple has a stunning architecture and a significant testimony for Vishwakarma Brahmins for their master architecture in sculpting this temple.
The Meenakshi temple is an excellent example of Dravidian architecture, with gopurams or multi pillared halls, covered from top to bottom, in a profusion of multicoloured images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical figures. The temple occupies an area of around six hectares, and has four entrances to it. The museum called the Temple Art Gallery, is located within the temple and contains beautiful stone and brass images, examples of South Indian scripts, friezes and attempts to explain the Hindu pantheon and many other legends associated with it.
The temple is a massive structure spanning in the area of 45 acres (180,000 m2). 12 magnificent gopurams that are elaborately |
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| sculptured and painted housed in the temple complex. The temple gopurams are covered in scaffolding which completely obscures them from view. Significant symbol for the Tamil people Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple believed to have been built only recently in the early 17th century. |
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| According to Hindu legend, Parvati descended to earth in the form of a small child in response to the great penance of Malayadwaja Pandya, the ruler of Madurai. She began ruling the city after growing up to adulthood. The Lord appeared on earth and proposed to her. Sundareswarar (lord Shiva) to marry Meenakshi, an incarnation of [Parvati] came to earth. The biggest event on earth, with the whole earth gathering near Madurai was the marriage of Sundareswarar and Meenakshi. |
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| East Tower, South Tower, West Tower, North Tower are the four outer most towers present in the temple complex and are the land mark of the temple each with nine storeys. |
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| Madurai is firmly anchored in Tamil literature and tradition. It is home to many poets and artisans and houses an abundance of literary wealth of both classical and modern Tamil. It was the seat of the Tamil Academy in the past. The city has been a centre for learning and pilgrimage for centuries. The three Tamil Sangams evolved and flourished here. The city's ancient Tamil kings were great warriors, poets and connoisseurs of art. Tamil literature flourished because of their generosity and literary fervor. |
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| The lake Potramarai |
| The sacred pond inside the temple, Potramarai Kulam, is a very holy site for devotees. The Pond with the Golden Lotus is the meaning of the given to the pond and the lotus that grows in it has a golden color. No fish or other marine life would grow here was Lord Shiva promised a stork and thus no marine animals are found in the lake. The lake is supposed to be a judge for judging a worth of a new literature. |
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| Thousand Pillar Hall |
| The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam or Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars and is considered culturally important. The temple is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Ariyanatha Mudaliar Prime Minister and General of Viswanatha Nayak of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.) in 1569 built The Thousand Pillared Hall. The majestic pose of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a beautiful horse-back which flanks one side of the entrance to the temple is one of the attractions of the temple. Each pillar is carved and is a monument of the Dravidian sculpture. Towards the west, are the Musical Pillars just outside this mandapam. Each pillar produces a different musical note when struck. The marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April in the kalyana mandapa, to the south of the pillared hall. |
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| Festivals |
| Meenakshi Thirukalyanam, the divine marriage of Meenkashi that is celebrated in April every year is the most important festival associated with the temple. Most Tamilnadu temples celebrate their annual festivals during that one month period. There are a number of events including the Ther Thiruvizhah(Chariot festival) and Theppa Thiruvizhah (Float festival) are celebrated. Apart from this, major Hindu festivals like Navrathri, Shivrathri are celebrated in a grand manner. |
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