Temples Madurai

There are 12 massive gopurams in the temple, the four tallest gopurams at the outer walls (The tallest is the southern gopuram, measuring 49 metres). There are four entrances. The main entrance is to the Meenakshi Amman shrine.

Ashta Shakthi Mandapam is reached from the eastern gateway. It was built by Thirumalai Nayakar's wives Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai. The scenes from the Thiruvilayadals of the Lord and from Meenakshi Amman's life as a princess are depicted on the pillars of this mandapam.

The golden lotus pond (Potraamarai Kulam) is located to the left of the Meenakshi shrine. The Tamil Sangam used to value the literary works by placing them in the waters of this tank. Only those works which rose back to the surface were accepted as great masterpieces. Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural was accepted at this pond.

On the western side of this tank are the Oonjal Mandapam with the deities and the Kilikootu Mandapam (hall of parrots), with parrots chanting the name of Meenakshi. Every Friday the gold idols of the Lord & Meenakshi are placed on the Oonjal (swing ) & worshipped with hymns & offerings.

Sundareswarar gives darshan in the form of a linga, supported by 64 bhootaganas, 32 lions and 8 elephants. He is also known by other names such as Chokkanathar, Karpurachokkar. The stump of the Kadamba tree under which Indra worshipped the Lord can be seen in the outer corridor.

The Kampathadi Mandapam and Velli Ambalam are situated in the outer corridor. The scenes from the wedding cermeony of Sundareswarar & Meenakshi are depicted in the pillars of this hall. This place is one of the 5 (Pancha Sabhais) sabhas of Nataraja where Siva dances. (The other dance halls are Chidambaram, Tiruvaalankadu, Tirunelveli and Kutralam). There is a unique idol of Nataraja dancing with his right leg raised to the shoulder instead of the left. The Lord is considered to have danced thus, at the request of King Rajasekara Pandyan. Since the idol of Nataraja is covered with silver leaves, it is called Velli (silver) Ambalam.

Legends from the Tiruvilayaadal Puraanam are depicted on the walls of the temple. The idols of Saraswathi, Durgai, Siddhar, Lakshmi, Kasi Viswanathar, Lingodhbava murti, Nayanmars can be worshipped in the outer prakara. The holy Kadamba tree is also preserved & worshipped.

The thousand pillared hall is an architectural & engineering marvel, built in the 16th century. The pillars have the Yazhi figure sculpted on them. There are musical granite pillars just outside this mandapam, which when struck yield different musical notes. On the east is the Vasantha Mandapam or the Pudhu Mandapam. Scenes of the wedding & life-size figures of the Nayak rulers can be seen here.

There is a huge idol of Lord Ganesha as you move from the kilikoontu mandapam to Lord Sundareswarar's sannadhi. This Ganesha known as Mukkuruni Vinayakar was unearthed by Tirumalai nayakar while he was digging a temple tank 3 kms from the Meenakshi Amman temple.

Madurai is also known as the festival city. All the usual festivals are celebrated, yet the Chithirai festival that is held in April/May (for 3 days), is very important when the celestial marriage of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar is celebrated, drawing a huge crowd of people from all over the state.

Legends
Goddess Parvathi was reborn as Meenakshi (eyes like a fish). Malayadhwaja Pandyan & his wife Kanchanamala performed the Puthrakameshthiyaga, praying for a child. Meenakshi was born with three breasts from the sacrificial fire. The king was upset, but was pacified by a divine voice that the third breast would vanish, when Meenakshi met the man she was to marry. They named her Thadaathakai and she grew up to be a daring queen, gaining victory in all her conquests. During her conquests, she met Lord Siva in Kailasam, and instantly her third breast vanished. Lord Siva bade her to return to Madurai, with the promise that he would marry her in 8 days. Lord Siva appeared as Sundareswarar to wed Meenakshi who was given away in marraige by her brother Lord Vishnu. This scene is seen depicted in the temple. Meenakshi & Sundareswarar ruled Madurai before returning to Kailasam.

A lotus shaped city is said to have been built by the Pandyan king Kulasekhara around the siva linga worshipped by Indra in the forest of Kadamba trees. When Lord Siva came to bless them, nectar dripped from his matted locks & hence the city was named Madhurapuri (madhu - honey), & is now known as Madurai.

Maha Kumbhishegam - Meenakshi Amman Temple Madurai

In view of the Maha Kumbabhishegam to be held on April 8, 2009, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple will remain closed from 2.4.2009 to 7.4.2009.

However the devotees will be allowed to worship at the yagasala located in the North Aadi street.

Archanas and special offerings will not be performed between 8th April and 10th April and only dharshan is allowed.

Temple will be closed on 11.04.2009
We would like to inform the Devotees that The Sree Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.

Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai KUMBABHISHEGAM on 08.04.2009

Rs.30/- should be paid for taking photographs inside the Temple. Videography not allowed.

For special entry at Meenakshi Amman Shrine Rs.10/- should be paid. No special entries between 18:00 and 21:00 on Fridays.
(Top view of the Temple, click to enlarge and set as wallpaper)


Gross income of this temple is about Rs.4,25,00,000/-. There are 845 mercantile buildings are under the control of this temple in the city. There is a lodge named 'Birla Vishram', run by this temple, is located in the western side, for tourists.

According to legend, the sacred Suyambulingam discovered by the king of Gods `Indiran' at Kadambavanam, was later enshrined by him in Madurai. The fact that the Lord is seen on the vehicle of `Indira' in this temple is said to be proof for this.

Many historical evidences of the temple have been found dating back from early A.D

Thirugnanasambandar the Hindu Saint has mentioned the temple in his songs which go back to early 7th century. The lord has been described as `Aalavai Iraivan' in his songs.

The temple was almost completely destroyed in the year 1310 following the invasion of the Islamic coqueror Malikkapur. As kings who were followers of Islam were noted for their intolerance towards other religions, the invaders destroyed most of the ancient sculputures of the temple.

The temple was restored to its pristine glory in the late 14th century when the Hindu Kings came back to power in Madurai. This can also be termed as a new beginning of a new era in the history of the temple, when it was almost rebuilt.

The King Thirumalai Naicker played an important role in the construction of the new form of the temple.

Ashta Shakthi Mandapam

When you enter the temple from the eastern gate then you will enter into a mandapam that was built by the wives of Thirumalai Nayakar namely Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai. In the early days, food was distributed to devotees who traveled from a very long distance. The Thiruvilayadals of Lord Shiva is being depicted in the sculptures in the mandapam. The birth of Meeenakshi and her life as a princess is also depicted.

There is also a story behind Meenakshi who ruled as the princess over Madurai. Malayadwaja Pandya was ruling over the place in the days but he was childless. As it worried the kind and his wife, they performed yagnas and prayed to God for a child. From the fire came a little girl who had three breasts. The king was very much worried about it but he then heard a voice which said that the third breast will disappear when she meets his consort. The princess learnt all the skills and turned into a very brave princess and she was the one who stood the first in the times of war. It was in the battle field of the Kailas that the princess lost her heart to Lord Shiva. Her third breast also disappeared and their wedding took place. She then realized that she was none other than Parvati, Shiva’s wife. From then they ruled over the city of Madurai as Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. The wedding of the Lord Shiva and Meenakshi takes place every year as a very grand festival and there is the procession of the Lord and Meenakshi for 9 days and the wedding takes place on the tenth day in the month of Chithrai.

Towers - Temple

Today the towers of the number that number to about 12 are the landmarks in the city. They are the;

1. East Tower – The east tower has height of 161'3". There are about 1011 sudhai figures in the Gopura.
2. South Tower – The south tower has height of 170'6". There are about 1511 sudhai figures in the Gopura.
3. West Tower – The west tower height is 163'3" with about 1124 sudhai figures in the Gopura.
4. North Tower – The north tower height is 160'6" with less number of sudhai figures than the other towers.

Sri Maha Shivaratri

Sri Maha Shivaratri - The Night of Universal Lord Shiva. Shiva means "Auspicious". This is one of the famous festival celebrated by all Hindus in honor of Lord Shiva. The festival would be on Monday, February 23, 2009. The ceremonies mainly take place at night in all shiva temples. The legend says Lord Shiva married Parvati Ma on this occasion. On the auspicious occasion, devotees observe fast and keep vigil whole night. Mahashivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the Tandava. The devotees offer fruits, flowers and bel leaves otherwise called as Vilva leaves to Lord Shiva Linga on this day. Bel leaf is the favorite of Lord Shiva.

Legend of Maha Shivaratri

A tiger was chasing a man and the man out of fear ran and ran and finally climbed a tree and sat on its branch. He did not know the tree which he climbed was the bel (Vilva) tree. The tiger was also following the man and sat just under the tree. A Shiva Linga was available under the tree. The man out of fear started plucking the leaves (bel leaves) and dropped them one by one just below the Shiva Linga the whole night. Next day morning, Lord Shiva appeared before the man and blessed him. The man attained moksha which means soul liberation. Hence the people believed that observing fast and performing abhisekams & pujas on Shiva Linga during the Shivaratri occasion will facilitate the soul liberation.

Masi Magam Festival

Masi Magam - This is the very most special and important occasion comes in the Tamil month of Masi in the star "Magam". Sometimes this day comes on the full moon day of Masi month. Twelve years once, Masi Mahamagam Festival is celebrated in the Kumbakonam. On this occasion, lots of thousands of devotees visit the Kumbakonam and participate in the Mahamagam festival and take a holy bath at Mahamagam Theertham.

Another important feature is that Lord Shiva burnt "Manmadhan (Kama)" on this day. Kama, God of Love who is represented as a winged youth bearing bow and arrows. Kama uses the cane of sugarcane as the shaft of his bow and a line of buzzing bees as his bowstring. Manmadhan disturbed the meditation of Lord Shiva, so He got angry and burnt him. In Madurai, this festival is celebrated in the name of "Kaama Thaganam". On this occasion, Lord Shiva burnt him at the four corners of Masi streets of Madurai.

Thousand Pillar hall

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. It is considered culturally important and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. 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 A.D.). He was also the founder of Poligar System, the quasi-feudal organization of the country, which was divided into multiple palayams or small provinces and each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief. At the entrance of the Mandapam, we can still see his statue; the majestic pose of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a beautiful horse-back which flanks one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is still periodically crowned with garlands by modern worshippers. 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.