Shri Pathirakali Mariamman Temple ( ta, ஸ்ரீ பத்திரகாளி மாரியம்மன் திருக்கோவில்) is one of the oldest temples in Madurai district. The Thirumangalam city is known that the mangalyam for goddess

Meenakshi Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort of ...

of Madurai was designed and done here, so the name Tiru+Mangal(y)am came. In other way, it is said that when lord Murugan married Theivanai in Thiruparankundram (nearest to Tirumangalam), the "Tirumangalyam" was made here and hence the name came The temple is located south from Madurai in India. The main shrine would be Shri Mariamman and the Utsava Deity were Shri Pathirakaliamman and Shri Mariamman. The temple was built in 1852 onward by the Thirumangalam Pandiyakula Kshatriya Nadar Uravinmurai. Along with the Temple, they also organized an educational trust named PKN Vidhyasala with 9 Educational Institutions has provided education to thousands of people around the district since 1908.

History

In the early 18th century, the

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...

s were a community mostly engaged in the palmyra industry, including the production of toddy. However, there were a few subsects comprising wealthy landlords and money lenders.Bishop Stephen Neill: from Edinburgh to South India By Dyron B. Daughrity
/ref> Although numerically dominant in the area, the Nadars had a minimal interaction with other communities and they were themselves divided by their various endogamous subcastes, and thus lacked communal cohesion. While the majority of the Nadar population of the region were poor, landless laborers. Due to their association with toddy, the Nadars were considered lower than other middle castes, but relatively higher than the low castes, and were also prohibited to enter temples built by higher ranked castes. And after the following years

people in every region decided to build a temple and a grocery shops for themselves. Andso in Nadars of Thirumangalam have also decided to build a temple at the heart of the city and they started working for the basement. And there, they founded a Goddess statue along with the some gods of

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

. They planned to establish a temple around there. They built a temple with the Dravidian Architecture and the Kumbabishegam was held. Then the temple extends with the Lord GopalaKrishnar, Lord Ahora Veerapathrar, Lord Natarajar, Lords Appar, Sundarar, Manickavasagar, Thirugnana Chambanthar, Thirunavukkarasar, Lord Chandikesuwarar and the Navagrahas. And the first Kumbabishegam was conducted in 1857. The temple was constructed and Managed by the Tirumangalam local people of Nadar community under the leadership of Pandiyakula Kshatriya Nadar Uravinmurai Trust.

References
/h1>
* * * *{{cite book , first=M. , last=Immanuel, authorlink= , year= 2002, title= The Dravidian Lineages: The Nadars Through the Ages. A Socio-Historical Study. From Indus Valley Civilization to present time, edition= , publisher=Historical Research & Publications Trust, location = 137/H-4 Bethel Nagar, Nagercoil-629004, Tamil Nadu, India, isbn= , url = Hindu temples in Madurai district