Tourism > India > Tamilnadu > Temples in Tamilnadu > Meenakshi Temple

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

The magnum opus of India’s ‘Athens of the East’ Madurai city lays in its beautiful ane revered or. The sprawling and majestic temple complex enshrinig Lord Sundareshwara (Shiva) and his fish eyed wife Meenakshi is one of the oldest temples in the country and is an hallmark of ancient Tamil culture. The creation of the temple originally built by Kulasekara Pandya is however credited to the endeavors of the Nayak emperors.

The majestic Meenkshi Temple is enclosed within a high-walled crenellated structure. The focal point of the temple complex is the revered sanctum of Lord Sundareshwara and his spouse Meenakshi flanked by several small and ornate stucco shrines. The intricate temple architecture is one of a kind and is an amalgam of 12 imposing gopuras or towering gateways leading to the cardinal points and the core temples and the 12 nine-storied temple towers whose walls depict sculpted deities, mythical animals and monsters painted in vibrant hues. The chief temple tower landmarks include the:

* East Tower

* South Tower

* West Tower

* North Tower portraying the elaborately sculpted sudhai figurines.

Each of the shrines of the stately sanctum narrates a different story. At the eastern entrance the impressive Ashta Shakthi Mandapam is located. This grand hallway served the purpose of an eating-place for the devotees visiting the shrine. Built by the wives of emperor Thirumalai Nayakar, the statuettes recount the tale of Lord Shiva’s genius and heroism and the story of his wife princess Meenakshi’s maiden life.

Adjacent to the Ashta Shakthi Mandapam rests the Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam whose pillars portray a unique animal Yalli, possessing a lion’s body and an elephant’s head.

The temple complex also houses a golden lotus tank, the Potramaraikulam in whose holy waters devotees would take a dip in to absolve themselves of all their sins.

The Oonjal Mandapam, located at the tank’s western extremity comprises of a swing and parrot cage. Every Friday the deities are placed on the swing while the devotees surround them chanting holy hymns. The trained parrots that keep chanting Meenakshi’s name further enhance the charm of the Oonjal Mandapam.

The beauty of the Swami Sundareswarar Shrine sited near the legendary Kadamba tree, the foyer Velli Ambalam containing an idol of Lord Nataraja (Shiva as the Lord of Dance) adorned in silver leaves, the aesthetic thousand pillar Mandapam depicting Dravidian figurines, the Musical pillars which strike a melodious note and the Vanta- Mandapam (the hall which celebrates Holi) cannot be expounded by mere words.

Several festivals like the Chithirai, Avanimool, Navarathri and Float Festival are celebrated with gaiety in the temple premises.

Meenakshi Temple, a hallmark of ancient history and traditional customs is a must see destination of India.

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva (in the form of Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord) and his consort, Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi). Madurai's Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple was originally built by the Pandya King Kulasekara. This is the place where Lord Nataraja performed the dance raising his right leg.

The complex houses 12 magnificent Gopurams or towers including two golden Gopurams for the main deities, that are elaborately sculptured and painted. The tallest temple tower is 51.9 metre high.

Thousand Pillar hall of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built with the oldest Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunleveli as a model. The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam or Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars. The Thousand Pillared Hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569. He was the Prime Minister and General of Viswanatha Nayak of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600 AD).

Each pillar is carved and is a monument of the Dravidian sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the 1200 years old history are displayed. Just outside this mandapam, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note. The kalyana mandapa, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April.

Festivals

The most important festival associated with the temple is the Meenakshi Thirukalyanam (The divine marriage of Meenkashi) that is celebrated in April every year. During that one month period, in which most Tamil Nadu temples celebrate their annual festivals, there are a number of events including the The 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. Like most Shakti temples in Tamil Nadu, the Fridays during the Tamil months of Aadi (July 15 - Aug 17) and Thai (Jan 15 to Feb 15) are popularly celebrated with thousands of devotees thronging to the temple. In every Tamil month some festive occasions will happen in the temple like Aavani Urchavam, Maarghazi Urchavam, Navaraathri etc.

How to Reach

Madurai Airport is 9 km from the city and the Railway station.

From Arapalayam bus stand, buses to places of western Tamil Nadu like Theni, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Salem operate and Periyar bus stand is where only city buses and private buses to major cities operate. It has good road connections to all major cities. National highways passing through Madurai are

NH 7 : Bangalore – Salem – Dindigul – Madurai – Tirunelveli – Kanyakumari

NH 45B : Trichy – Madurai – Thoothukudi

NH 49 : Madurai – Rameswaram

NH 49 Extn : Madurai – Theni – Bodi – Kochi.