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Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, also known as Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman Thirukkovil, is a historic
Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
located on the southern bank of the
Vaigai River The Vaigai is a river in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India; it passes through the towns of Theni, Madurai, Manamadurai, Paramakudi and Ramanathapuram. It originates in Varusanadu Hills, the Periyar Plateau of the Western Ghats range, ...
in the temple city of
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess
Meenakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...
, a form of
Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...
, her consort ''Sundareśvarar'', a form of
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
and her brother ''Aḻagar'', a form of
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
. The temple is theologically significant as it represents a confluence of the
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
,
Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
and
Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
denominations of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
. The temple is at the centre of the ancient temple city of
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
mentioned in the Tamil Sangam literature, with the goddess temple mentioned in 6th-century CE texts. This temple is one of the
Paadal Petra Sthalam The Paadal Petra Sthalams (), also known as Devara Sthalams, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Shaiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the ...
s, which are 275 temples of
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
that are revered in the verses of Tamil Saiva
Nayanars The Nayanars (or Nayanmars; , and later 'teachers of Shiva') were a group of 63 Tamils, Tamil Hindu saints living during the 6th to 8th centuries CE who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva. Along with the Alvars, their contemporaries who were de ...
of the 6th-9th century CE. The west tower (''gopuram'') of the temple is the model on which the
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
State Emblem is based.


Overview

Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was built by
Pandyan The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...
Emperor
Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I () was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1190–1216. Accession and background Kulasekaran acceded to the Pandyan throne after his father Vikkirama Pandyan in 1190. Vikkirama Pandyan had gained ...
(1190 CE–1205 CE). He built the main portions of the three-storeyed
Gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...
at the entrance of Sundareswarar Shrine and the central portion of the Goddess Meenakshi Shrine, which are some of the earliest surviving parts of the temple. The traditional texts call him a poet-saint king, additionally credit him with a poem called Ambikai Malai, as well as shrines (koil) each for
Nataraja Nataraja (/ n̪əʈəɾɑd͡ʒᵊ/ ,, ; , ''Naṭarājar'' Telugu: నటరాజు,''Naṭarāju''), also known as Adalvallan (), is a depiction of Shiva, one of the main deities in Hinduism, as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is ca ...
r and Surya near the main temple,
Ayyanar Aiyanar (, ) is a Village deities of South India, Tamil folk deity venerated in South India and Sri Lanka. His worship is prevalent amongst rural Tamils, Tamil people. Some studies suggest that Ayyanar may have also been worshipped in Southeast ...
in the east, Vinayagar in the south, Kariamalperumal in the west and
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
in the north. He also built a Mahamandapam. Kulasekara Pandya was also a poet and he composed a poem on Meenakshi named Ambikai Malai. Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I built a
gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...
in 1231, then called Avanivendaraman, later rebuilt, expanded and named as Sundara Pandya Thirukkopuram. Chitra gopuram (W), also known as Muttalakkum Vayil, was built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II (1238-1251). This gopuram is named after the frescoes and reliefs that depict secular and religious themes of Hindu culture. Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II also added a pillared corridor to the Sundareswara shrine and the Sundara Pandyan Mandapam. It was rebuilt after the 14th-century damage, its granite structure was renovated by Kumara Krishnappar after 1595. Though the temple has historic roots, most of the present campus structure was rebuilt after the 14th century CE, further repaired, renovated and expanded in the 17th century by
Tirumala Nayaka Tirumala Nayaka (reigned 1623–16 February 1659) was the ruler of Madurai Nayak Dynasty in the 17th century. He ruled Madurai between 1623 and 1659. His contributions are found in the many splendid buildings and temples of Madurai. He belon ...
. In the early 14th century, the armies of
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
led by
Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died February 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, Nusrat Khan during the Alauddin Khalji's co ...
plundered the temple, looted it of its valuables and destroyed the Madurai temple town along with many other temple towns of South India.Madurai
, Encyclopedia Britannica, Quote: "The eenakshitemple, Tirumala Nayak palace, Teppakulam tank (an earthen embankment reservoir), and a 1000-pillared hall were rebuilt in the Vijayanagar period (16th–17th century) after the total destruction of the city in 1310."
The contemporary temple is the result of rebuilding efforts started by the
Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
rulers who rebuilt the core and reopened the temple. In the 16th century, the temple complex was further expanded and fortified by the Nayak ruler Vishwanatha Nayakar and later others. The restored complex now houses 14 ''
gopurams A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' (Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Malayalam: ഗോപുരം) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South In ...
'' (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50 m in height, with the southern gopura tallest at . The complex has numerous sculpted pillared halls such as Aayirankaal (1000-pillared hall), Kilikoondu-mandapam, Golu-mandapam and Pudu-mandapam. Its shrines are dedicated to Hindu deities and Shaivism scholars, with the '' vimanas'' above the ''
garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...
s'' (sanctums) of Meenakshi and Sundaresvara gilded with gold. The temple is a major pilgrimage destination within the
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
tradition, dedicated to Meenakshi Devi and Shiva. However, the temple includes
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
in many narratives, sculptures and rituals as he is considered to be Meenakshi's brother. This has made this temple and Madurai as the "southern Mathura", one included in Vaishnava texts. The Meenakshi Amman temple also includes Lakshmi, flute playing Krishna, Rukmini, Brahma, Saraswati, and other Vedic and Puranic deities, as well as artwork showing narratives from major Hindu texts. The large temple complex is the most prominent landmark in Madurai and attracts tens of thousands of visitors a day. The temple attracts over a million pilgrims and visitors during the annual 10-day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival, celebrated with much festivities and a ''ratha'' (chariot) procession during the Tamil month of Chittirai (overlaps with April–May in the Georgian calendar, Chaitra in North India). The Temple was adjudged the best 'Swachh Iconic Place' in India on 1 October 2017 under
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or Clean India Mission is a country-wide campaign initiated by the Government of India on 2 October 2014 to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management and to create Open Defec ...
.


Location

The Meenakshi Amman temple is located in the heart of historic Madurai city, about a kilometre south of the Vaigai River. It is about southwest of
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, the state capital. The temple complex is well connected with a road network (four lane National Highway 38), near a major railway junction and an airport (
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
: IXM) with daily services. The city roads radiate from the temple complex and major ring roads form a concentric pattern for the city, a structure that follows the '' Silpa Sastra'' guidelines for a city design. Madurai is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the groves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity. The region is believed to have been covered with Kadamba forest and hence called Kadambavanam.


Etymology

Meenakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...
(, ) is a term meaning "fish-eyed", derived from the words ''mina'' ("fish") and ''akshi'' ("eyes"). She was earlier known by the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
name ''Thadadakai'' ("fish-eyed one")'','' which was called later as Meenakshi. According to another theory, the name of the goddess means "rule of the fish", derived from the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
words ''meen'' (fish) and ''aatchi'' (rule). She is also known by the Tamil name "Angayarkanni" or "Ankayarkannammai" (literally, "the mother with the beautiful fish eyes").


Legend

The goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple, unlike most Shiva temples in
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
where
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
is the principal deity. According to the Tamil text '' Tiruvilaiyatarpuranam'', King Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a
Yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...
seeking a son for succession. Instead, a daughter was born out of the fire who was already 3 years old and had three breasts. Shiva intervened and said that the parents should treat her like a son, and when she meets her husband, she will lose the third breast. They followed the advice. The girl grew up, the king crowned her as the successor and when she met Shiva, his words came true, she took her true form of Meenakshi. According to Harman, this may reflect the matrilineal traditions in South India and the regional belief that "penultimate piritualpowers rest with the women", gods listen to their spouse, and that the fates of kingdoms rest with the women. According to Susan Bayly, the reverence for Meenakshi is a part of the Hindu goddess tradition that integrates with the Hindu society where the "woman is the lynchpin of the system" of social relationships. The marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was a grand event, with all gods, goddesses and living beings gathered.
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi, giving her away to Shiva at the wedding.


History

The town of
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
is ancient and one mentioned in
Sangam era The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connotes ...
texts. These are dated to be from the 1st to 4th century CE. Some early Tamil texts call Madurai as ''Koodal'', and these portray it as a capital and a temple town where every street radiated from the temple. Goddess Meenakshi is described as the divine ruler, who along with Shiva were the primary deities that the southern Tamil kingdoms such as the
Pandya dynasty The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...
revered. The early texts imply that a temple existed in Madurai by the mid-6th century. In medieval literature and inscriptions, it is sometimes referred to as Kadambavanam (lit. "forest of Kadamba") or ''Velliambalam'' (lit. "silver hall" where Shiva danced). It was described to be the Sangam of scholars, or a place where scholars meet. It is mentioned in the Tamil text ''Tiruvilayadalpuranam'' and the Sanskrit text ''Halasya Mahatmya''. It is one of the shrines of the 275
Paadal Petra Sthalams The Paadal Petra Sthalams (), also known as Devara Sthalams, are 276 temples that are revered in the verses of Shaiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the ...
. Early Tamil texts mention the temple and its primary deity by various epithets and names. Thirugnanasambandar, the Saiva saint of Saiva philosophy for example, mentioned this temple in the 7th century, and described the deity as Aalavaai Iraivan. The origin of the temple is mentioned in these early Tamil texts, some in the regional Puranam genre of literature. All of these place the temple in ancient times and include a warrior goddess, but the details vary significantly and are inconsistent with each other. Some link to it deities they call Aalavaai Iraivan and Aalavaai Annal, or alternatively Angayar Kanni Ammai. Some link its legend to other deities such as Indra who proclaim the primacy of the goddess, while some describe Hindu gods appearing before ancient kings or saints urging wealthy merchants to build this temple in the honour of a goddess. One legend describes a childless king and queen performing yajna for a son, they get a daughter who inherits the kingdom, conquers the earth, meets Shiva ultimately, marries him, continues to rule from Madurai, and the temple memorializes those times. Scholars have attempted to determine the history of the temple from inscriptions found in and outside Madurai, as well as comparing the records relating to South Indian dynasties. These largely post-date the 12th century.


Invasions and destruction

In the north of India, the Indian subcontinent was conquered by the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
. Muslim armies began raiding central India for plunder by the late 13th century. After subduing and extracting huge wealth along with promised annual tributes from the Marathas
Yadavas of Devagiri The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of the D ...
in 1308, the Telugu Kakatiyas of Warangal in 1310 and the Kannada Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra in 1311, Sultan Ala ud Din Khalji's infamous eunuch Muslim general,
Malik Kafur Malik Kafur (died February 1316), also known as Taj al-Din Izz al-Dawla, was a prominent general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He was captured by Alauddin's general Nusrat Khan Jalesari, Nusrat Khan during the Alauddin Khalji's co ...
, and his
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
forces in 1311 went deeper into the Deccan peninsula for loot and to establish annual tributes to be paid by the
Hindu king In Hinduism, kingship was a monarchy institution guided by the religious laws of Hinduism, with corresponding complex and hierarchical structure. Hindu monarchies headed by Hindu kings were widespread in South Asia since about 1500 BC and later i ...
s. The records left by the court historians of the Delhi Sultanate state that Malik Kafur raided
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
,
Chidambaram Chidambaram is a major town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to b ...
,
Srirangam Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...
,
Vriddhachalam Virudhachalam, also called Vriddhachalam, is a Municipality and taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The ancient name of this town is Thirumudhukundram. As per the 2011 census, the town had a population of ...
,
Rameswaram Rameswaram (; also transliterated as Ramesvaram, Rameshwaram) is a municipality in the Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about from ...
and other sacred temple towns, destroyed the temples which were sources of gold and jewels. He brought back enormous loot from Dwarasamudra and the Pandya kingdom to Delhi in 1311. The Islamic invasion in the 14th century brought an abrupt end to the patronage of Tamil Hindu temple towns. The Tamil Hindus revived these towns but in some places such as Madurai, it took a long while. After the conquest and destruction, the Delhi Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (; ; 1290 – 20 March 1351), or Muhammad II, also named Jauna Khan as Crown Prince, further known by his epithets, The Eccentric Prince, or The Mad Sultan, was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from 4 February 1 ...
appointed a Muslim governor in Madurai named Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, who seceded in 1335 from the Delhi Sultanate and began the
Madurai Sultanate Ma'bar Sultanate, also known as the Madurai Sultanate, was a short lived kingdom based in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India. It was dominated by Hindustani speaking Muslims. The sultanate was proclaimed in 1335 CE in Madurai led by Jala ...
. The Sultanate sought tributes from the temple towns, instead of supporting them, and on some occasions damaged them heavily and imposed tyranny upon the local populace. The Muslim Madurai Sultanate was relatively short-lived, with the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire under
Bukka Raya Bukka Raya I (reigned 1356–24 February 1377) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty.Phrof A V Narasimha MurthyRare Royal Brothers: Hakka and Bukka He was a son of Bhavana Sangama, claimed by Harihara II to be of ...
removing it in 1378 CE. According to one poetic legend called ''Madhura Vijayam'' attributed to
Gangadevi Gangadevi, also known as Gangambika, was a 14th-century princess and Sanskrit-language poet of the Vijayanagara Empire of present-day India. Life and work Gangadevi was the wife of Veerakamparaya, son of the Vijayanagara monarch Bukka Raya I ...
, the wife of the commander
Kumara Kampana Kumara Kampanna, also known as Kampanna Udaiyarhttps://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_22/part_1/kampana_udaiyar_2.html and Veerakamparaya, was an army commander and the prince in the Vijayanagar Empire. He was ...
, she gave him a sword, urged him to liberate Madurai, right the wrongs, and reopen the Meenakshi temple out of its ruins. The Vijayanagara rulers succeeded, cleared the ruins and reopened the temple for active worship. They restored, repaired and expanded the temple through the 16th century, along with many other regional temples.


Rebuilding

The temple was rebuilt by the Hindu
Nayak dynasty The Nayaka dynasties refers to a group of Hindu dynasties who emerged during the Kakatiya dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire period in South India. Many of these dynasties, such as the Madurai Nayaks and the Thanjavur Nayaks, were originally ...
ruler Vishwanatha Nayak in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Nayaka rulers followed the Hindu texts on architecture called the ''
Shilpa Shastras ''Shilpa Shastras'' ( ') literally means the Science of Shilpa (arts and crafts).Stella Kramrisch (1958)Traditions of the Indian Craftsman The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281, Traditional India: Structure and Change (Jul. - Sep., ...
'' in redesigning the temple city plan and the Meenakshi temple. The city was laid out in the shape of concentric squares and ring roads around them, with radiating streets culminating in the Meenakshi-Sundaresvara temple. These streets use traditional Tamil Hindu month names, such as Adhi, Chitrai, Avani-moola, Masi and others. In each of these months, the Hindus started their tradition of taking the temple bronzes festively through the street of the same name. The temple and the city were once again east facing to greet the rising
Surya Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun#Dalal, Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchaya ...
(sun god). The temple city grew again around the new temple, with human settlements structured as per their castes, with the royalty, Kshatriyas and Vaishya merchants living on the southeast side of the temple, the Brahmins in a special quarter close to the temple, while others in other areas and fringes of the city. The king started a procession tradition linked to the temple to link his authority with the divine and maintain the social system. In contrast, the procession reflects the traditional matrilineal social values, the brother-sister-groom kinship values that better explain its popularity. The warrior goddess worship tradition is ancient in the Tamil Hindu tradition, and it dramatically expanded after the 14th-century wars. The work completed by Vishwanatha Nayaka in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of
Tirumala Nayaka Tirumala Nayaka (reigned 1623–16 February 1659) was the ruler of Madurai Nayak Dynasty in the 17th century. He ruled Madurai between 1623 and 1659. His contributions are found in the many splendid buildings and temples of Madurai. He belon ...
(1623–55). Tirumala Nayaka, a
Hindu king In Hinduism, kingship was a monarchy institution guided by the religious laws of Hinduism, with corresponding complex and hierarchical structure. Hindu monarchies headed by Hindu kings were widespread in South Asia since about 1500 BC and later i ...
, took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the ''Vasantha Mandapam'' for celebrating ''Vasanthotsavam'' (spring festival) and ''Kilikoondu Mandapam'' (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and ''Meenatchi Nayakar Mandapam'' were built by
Rani Mangammal Rani Mangammal (''Mangamma;'' died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day Madurai, India) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704. She was a popular administrator and is still ...
. The initiative for some changes to the structure was under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayaka Dynasty. During the colonial era, the population around the Meenakshi temple attracted a hub of Christian missionary activity headed by competing missions from Portugal and other parts of Europe. The British rulers first gave endowments to the temple and the British troops participated in temple festivities to gain socio-political acceptance. Lord Clive, for example, donated jewels looted by the East India Company from Sringapatam, but in 1820 they withdrew from their roles as temple patrons and participated in temple festivities. The missionaries ridiculed the temple artwork and criticized the temple practices while introducing themselves as "Roman Brahmins" and "Northern Sanniasis" ic The missionary efforts were largely unsuccessful with people continuing to patronize the temple after baptizing. The missionaries wrote back that the Tamils were "baptizing, but not converting", for they baptize if "someone wants a wife who is Christian" or medical aid when they have a disease, and material aid if they are poor. After the end of the Nayakas, the start of the Madras presidency and the withdrawal of the colonial British from support, the temple condition degraded. In 1959, Tamil Hindus began collecting donations and initiated restoration work in consultation with engineers, Hindu monasteries, historians and other scholars. The completed restoration was celebrated with a ''Kumbhabhishekam'' in 1995. The temple is sometimes spelt as Minaksi and the city as Madura in 17th to early 20th-century texts. The temple has its traditional version of history that it calls ''Shiva-lilas'' (sports of Shiva), and sixty four of these episodes are painted as murals around the temple walls. These depict the many destructions of Madurai and the temple, then its rise from the ashes and ruins of the destruction every time.


Temple entry agitations of Nadars

In November 1895, the Nadars of
kamuthi Kamuthi also spelled Kamudi actually stands for Kavinmigu Mullai Thirunagar. Kamuthi is a Panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Kamuthi is known for being the home of the Kamuthi Solar Power Project, a l ...
petitioned to the Meenakshi Sundaraswara temple, which was under Ramnad M. Baskara Sethupathi's trusteeship of the Raj, for permission to hold a ritual feast. Their petition was accepted, but it should be performed without the entry of Nadars into the temple. An anti-Nadar coalition was created by Vellasami Thevar, the inherited ruler of a vast land under the Raja of Ramnad and the grandfather of the late Muthuramalinga Thevar. He prohibited the Nadars from asserting their freedom. He ordered the allegiance of the society of Maravar and insisted on a distinction between all classes. A group of 15 Nadars belonging to the family of Erulappa Nadar entered the temple in Kamudi in May 1897, performing puja to the chief deity themselves. The Maravars and the Ramnad Zamindar M. Baskara Sethupathi objected to it and lodged a complaint against fifteen members of the family of Erulappa Nadar arguing that they had polluted the temple and requested the payment of 2500 for purification rituals. The court decided on 20 July 1899 that neither the accused nor any member of their community had the right to enter any part of the temple. For the required
ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...
ceremonies at the temple, the defendants were ordered to pay the amount of five hundred rupees. The Nadars appealed to the High Court of Judicature in Madras, unhappy with the judgment of the subordinate judge of Madurai, with funds of 42,000 raised from members of the community. The judgment went against the Nadars, then they took their appeal to the London Privy Council. The Privy Council approved the decision of the Subordinate Judge of Madurai, citing the High Court's decision of 1908. The District Magistrate of Madurai suggested that the stay of the public force be extended to another term on the ground that the Privy Council 's decision on the Kamudi Temple Entry case could again cause trouble.


Post-1923

The temple is maintained and administered by the
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu manages and controls the temple administration within the state. The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act XXII of 1959 controls 36,425 ...
of the
Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...
.


Description

The temple complex is the centre of the old city of
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
. It consists of monuments inside several concentric enclosures, each layer fortified with high masonry walls. The outer walls have four towering gateways, allowing devotees and pilgrims to enter the complex from all four directions. After the city's destruction in the 14th century, the Tamil tradition states that the king Vishwantha Nayaka rebuilt the temple and the Madurai city around it under the principles laid down in the ''
Shilpa Shastras ''Shilpa Shastras'' ( ') literally means the Science of Shilpa (arts and crafts).Stella Kramrisch (1958)Traditions of the Indian Craftsman The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 71, No. 281, Traditional India: Structure and Change (Jul. - Sep., ...
'' (Sanskrit: '). The city plan is based on concentric squares with streets radiating out from the temple. Early Tamil texts mention that the temple was the centre of the city and the streets happened to be radiating out like a lotus and its petals. The temple ''
prakaram A prakaram (प्राकारः in Sanskrit), also spelled pragaram or pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer part around the Hindu temple sanctum. They may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the innermost prakaram. ...
s'' (outer precincts of a temple) and streets accommodate an elaborate festival calendar in which processions circumambulate the temple complex. The vehicles used in the processions are progressively more massive the further they travel from the centre. The temple complex is spread over about . The courtyard is close to a square with each side of about , but more accurately a rectangle with one side about longer. The complex has numerous shrines and mandapas, of which the most important and largest are the two parallel shrines in the innermost courtyard, one for Meenakshi (B on the plan) and the other for Sundareshvara (A). Additionally, the complex has a golden lotus sacred pool (L) for pilgrims to bathe in, a thousand-pillar hall
choultry Choultry is a resting place, an inn or caravansary for travelers, pilgrims or visitors to a site, typically linked to Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples. They are also referred to as . The temple is embedded inside a commercial hub and traditional markets. According to Holly Reynolds, a closer examination of the temple plan, as well as the old city, suggests that it is a mandala, a cosmic diagram laid out based on principles of symmetry and loci. The temple complex has had a living history, has been in use for almost all of its history except for about 60 years when it was closed and in ruins after its destruction in the 14th century. The temple has continued to evolve in the modern era. For example, before the colonial era, the temple complex itself was inside another layer of the old city's fortified walls. The British demolished this layer of fortification in the early 19th century. The surviving plan of the temple complex places it within the old city, one defined by a set of concentric squares around the temple.


Walls

The ancient temple complex was open. The courtyard walls were added over time in response to the invasion and the plunder of the temple complex. According to the text ''Thirupanimalai'', the Vijayanagara commander Kumara Kampana after completing his conquest of Madurai, rebuilt the pre-existing structure and built defensive walls around the temple in the 14th century. Lakana Nayakar added the defensive walls around the first prakara (courtyard), as well as expanded and renovated the Mahamandapa and Meenakshi shrine in the middle of the 15th century. After the destruction of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in the late 16th century by a coalition of Islamic Deccan sultanates north of Karnataka, the Madurai region declared its sovereignty. Visvanatha Nayak then poured resources to heavily fortify the temple complex, and set a new plan for the temple complex. The Nayaka ruler also gilded the vimana of the primary shrines with gold. Chettiappa Nayakkar rebuilt the Dvarapala mandapam in front of the Sannadhi gopuram, as well as the north colonnade of the Golden Lotus Tank, the second protective wall around the Meenakshi Devi's shrine.


Gopurams

The shrines of Meenakshi temple are embedded inside three walled enclosures and each of these have four gateways, the outer tower growing larger and reaching higher to the corresponding inner one. The temple has 14
gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...
s, the tallest of which is the southern tower, which rises to over and was rebuilt in the late 16th century. The oldest ''gopuram'' is the eastern one (I on plan), built by
Maravarman Sundara Pandyan Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I was a Pandyan king, who ruled regions of South India between 1216–1238 CE. He laid the foundation for the Pandya revival, after being dominated by the Cholas for several centuries. Accession Sundara Pandyan ca ...
during 1216–1238. Each ''gopuram'' is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with sculpture painted in bright hues. The outer ''gopurams'' are high pyramidal tower serving as a landmark sign for arriving pilgrims, while the inner ''gopuram'' are smaller and serve as the entrance gateways to various shrines. The temple complex has 4 nine-storey gopurams (outer, raja), 1 seven-storey gopuram (Chittirai), 5 five-storey gopurams, 2 three-storey, and 2 one-storey gold-gilded sanctum towers. Of these, five are gateways to the Sundareshvara shrine and three to the Meenakshi shrine. The towers are covered with stucco images, some of whom are deity figures and others are figures from Hindu mythology, saints or scholars. Each group or sets of panels in each storey present an episode from regional or pan-Hindu legend. The four tallest gopurams on the outer walls alone depict nearly 4,000 mythological stories.Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Thirukkoil – Temple Towers
, Madurai Meenakshi Temple, Government of Tamil Nadu
Some of the major gopurams of the Meenakshi temple complex are: * Portions of the three-storeyed gopura at the entrance of Sundareswarar Shrine and the central portion of the Goddess Meenakshi Shrine are some of the earliest surviving parts of the temple. These were constructed by King Kulasekara Pandya (1190–1216 CE). The traditional texts call him a poet-saint king, additionally credit him with a poem called Ambikai Malai, as well as shrines (koil) each for Natarajar and Surya near the main temple, Ayyanar in the east, Vinayagar in the south, Kariamalperumal in the west and Kali in the north. He also built a Mahamandapam. Kulasekara Pandya was also a poet and he composed a poem on Meenakshi named ''Ambikai Malai''. * Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I built a gopura in 1231, then called Avanivendaraman, later rebuilt, expanded and named as Sundara Pandya Thirukkopuram. * Chitra gopuram (W), also known as Muttalakkum Vayil, was built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II (1238–1251). This gopuram is named after the frescoes and reliefs that depict secular and religious themes of Hindu culture. Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II also added a pillared corridor to the Sundareswara shrine, and the Sundara Pandyan Mandapam. It was rebuilt after the 14th-century damage, its granite structure was renovated by Kumara Krishnappar after 1595. * Vembaturara Ananda Nambi built the early version of the three-tiered gopuram in 1227. Like other gopurams, it too was destroyed in the 14th century and later rebuilt. This gopuram is found between Meenakshi shrine and the Kilikuttu (parrot) mandapam. Some inscriptions refer to it as Vembathurar gopuram. * The gopuram east to the Sundareshwara shrine is 5 storeyed. It was completed about 1372 by Vasuvappan after the Vijayanagara rulers reopened the temple complex after remaining in ruins and dormant for about five decades. The gopuram west to the Sundareshwara shrine is also 5 storeyed, and was completed around 1374 by Mallapan. * According to the inscriptions found on the foundation of the gateways, Visvappa Nayakkar built the Nayaka gopuram in the second prakara around 1530, while Palahai gopuram was built about the same time by Mallappan. Both the gopuram have similar style and architecture, likely built by a collaborating group of same artists. * Kadaka Gopuram in Meenakshi's shrine was built by Tumpichi Nayakkar around the mid 16th century, but different texts give different dates. It is five-storeyed, was walled up and closed through 1963 for unclear reasons. This gopura was reopened after the renovations were completed in 1963. * The gopuram near the Ganesha shrine (Mukkuruni Vinayakar), also called the Nadukkattu gopuram or Idaikattu gopuram, was built by the Siramalai Sevvanthimurti Chetti family. It is called Nadukkattu because it is between the shrines of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. They also rebuilt and renovated the Idabhakkuri Gopuram, a five-storey tower on the northern segment of the Adi Street. * The nine-storey southern gopura, the highest tower, was also built by the Siramalai Sevvanthimurti Chetti family, a wealthy Hindu who lived near Thiruchirapalli. It was completed in the second half of the 16th century. The gopuram is notable for its extensive artwork with over 1,500 mythological characters in panels that narrate legends from the Hindu texts, particularly the . * Mottai gopuram (lit. "bald" gateway) was started by Krishnappa Nayakkar, also called the North Raya gopuram (this is not on the plan, below the bottom edge). It was completed by the Amaravati Purur Vayinagaram Chettiyar family in 1878 CE. The Mottai gopuram for nearly three centuries did not have a roof structure, is simpler and has fewer stucco images than the other major entrances, giving it a relatively bald appearance and the local name. Before its completion in the 19th century, the gopuram made of stone and brick had even fewer stucco images.


Shrines

The Meenakshi temple has two separate shrines for the goddess Meenakshi (Parvati, Devi, Amman) and god Sundaresvara (Shiva, Deva, Cuvami), just like most Shaiva temples.C. J. Fuller (1980)
South Indian Temple: Mīnākṣī and Sundareśvara at Madurai
History of Religions, Vol. 19, No. 4 (May 1980), University of Chicago Press, pages 321-348
Both are open to the east. The Devi shrine is on the south side (B), while the Deva shrine is more centrally placed, to the north (A), thus placing the goddess as the ''pradhana murti'' or the "more important" right side within the complex. The goddess shrine has the green stone image of Meenakshi, standing in bent-leg posture. Her raised hand holds a lotus, on which sits a green parrot. Her left hand hangs by her side. This image is set in a square ''garbha griya'' (central sanctum). A copy of this image has been made from metal and is kept in the temple complex. The metal version is used for a festive procession. A distinct feature of Meenakshi in terms of iconography is the presence of parrot in her right hand. The parrot is generally associated with the
Sri Vaishnava Sri Vaishnavism () is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, predominantly practiced in South India. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god V ...
Alvar An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...
Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...
. The Sundareswarar shrine has a stone linga in its square plan sanctum, and this anicon is shaded under a stone cobra hood. In the northeast corner is another stone image of his consort. None of these travel during a festive procession. Rather, Sundareswarar is represented in the form of anthropomorphic Somaskanda image. There is another metal symbolic image of Shiva called the Cokkar, which is merely a pair of embossed feet on a metal stool. This symbol is kept near Sundareswarar sanctum all day, then carried in a ''palaki'' daily to Meenakshi's chamber every evening so that the two can symbolically spend the night together. In the morning, the temple volunteers wake the divine couple and the symbolic Cokkar image is carried back to the Sundareswarar sanctum. The shrine for Sundareswarar is the largest within the complex and its entrance is aligned with the eastern gopuram. The shrine for Meenakshi is smaller, though theologically more important. Both the Meenakshi and Sundareswarar shrines have gold plated ''Vimanam'' (tower over sanctum). The golden top can be seen from a great distance in the west through the apertures of two successive towers. The tall sculpture of
Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
carved of single stone located outside the Sundareswarar shrine in the path from Meenakshi shrine is called the ''Mukuruny Vinayakar''. A large measure of rice measuring three ''kurini'' (a measure) is shaped into a big ball of sacrifice and hence the Ganesh is called ''Mukkurni Vinayagar'' (three ''kurinis''). Kumara Kampana, states the ''Thirupanimalai'' text, donated jewels and made grants to cover the expenses for daily operations of the two shrines in the 14th century. The Tamil Hindus who had hidden the temple idols in Nanjil Nadu, brought them back and reconsecrated them ending the nearly five decades era when the temple had been closed under the Madurai Sultanate rule. The temple inscriptions suggest that the Vijayanagara rulers participated worship ceremonies in the temple and donated gold, through the 16th century. Lakana Nayakar built the ''Paliarai'' (bed chamber) in the mid 15th century for the icon goddess and god to symbolically spend their night together. The Nataraja shrine was also added in the 15th century by Arulalan Sevahadevan Vanathirayan, who also renovated the Thiruvalavaudaiyar shrine. The temple has other shrines, such as for
Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...
in the northwest corner of the second courtyard. It was built by Krishnappa Nayakar II.


Temple tank and surrounding portico

The Nayakas, who were the local governors for the Vijayanagara rulers, expanded the temple complex. In 1516, Saluvanarasana Nayaka added the sacred pool for pilgrims to take a dip, naming it Ezhukadal (seven seas, Saptasaharam). Chettiappa Nayakkar rebuilt the north colonnade of the Golden Lotus Tank, as well as Dvarapala mandapam in front of the Sannadhi gopuram. The sacred temple tank is called ''Porthamarai Kulam'' ("Pond with the golden lotus"). It is also referred to as Adhi Theertham, Sivaganga and Uthama Theertham. The pool is by in size. The pool walls were painted with frescoes. Only a fraction of 17th- and 18th-century paintings of Nayak period survives and one such portion is found in the small portico on the western side of the tank. It depicts the marriage of Sundareswarar and Meenkashi attended by Vijayaranga Chokkanatha and Rani Mangammal. The painting is executed on a vivid red background, with delicate black linework and large areas of white, green and ochre. The celestial couple is seated inside an architectural frame with a flowering tree in the background. The small six-pillared swing mandapam (Unjal) was built by Cheventhi Murthi Chetti during this period, and this remains in use currently for a Friday ritual and it also houses the model of the entire temple complex created in 1985.


Halls

The temple complex has many mandapas (pillared-halls) built by kings and wealthy patrons over the centuries. They are
choultry Choultry is a resting place, an inn or caravansary for travelers, pilgrims or visitors to a site, typically linked to Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples. They are also referred to as .Dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the Gada (mace), ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue i ...
'' (guardians) and supported by golden, rectangular columns that bear lotus markings. Along the perimeter of the chamber, granite panels of the divine couple are present. The hall is situated in the western bank of the temple tank. This mandapam also houses the model of the entire temple complex created in 1985. * Kambathadi mandapam (H) was built by Krishna Virappa Nayakkar (1572–1595). This choultry hall is known for intricately carved sculptures and eight Shiva forms: Ardanarishwara (half Parvati, half Shiva), Rudra (angry Shiva), Bhikshadanamurti (Shiva as a monk), Dakshinamurti (Shiva as yoga teacher, guru), Lingobhava (Shiva emerging out of a linga), Ekapathamurti, Rishaba, Somaskanda (Shiva, Parvati and Skanda), Chandrasekara, Nataraja (dancing Shiva) and Somasundara. * ''Ashta Shakthi Mandapam'' ("Hall of eight goddesses", O on plan) was built by two queens. It is the hall near the East gopuram, between the main entrance for visitors and the smaller gopuram leading to the Meenakshi shrine tower. The passage was named for eight forms of goddess
Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...
carved on its pillars: Koumari, Roudri, Vaishnavi, Maha-lakshmi, Yagnarupini, Shyamala, Maheswari and Manonmani. These reflect the feminine and power aspects of all major traditions of Hinduism. Other sculptures and paintings depict the ''Tiruvilayadal'' (holy games of Shiva). The sculptures of heroes of
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, the ''
Pancha pandavas In Indian football, Pancha Pandavas () or VADAS, refers to the East Bengal penta-forward-line consisting of Ahmed Khan, Appa Rao, P. Venkatesh, P.B.A. Saleh and K. P. Dhanraj, who played together for the club from 1949 to 1953. During the Pan ...
'' can be seen in the ''Pancha Pandava Mandapam'' (Hall of Pandavas). The hall also has four sculptures of Shiva scholars, as well as a statue of
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
added in 1923 while the Indians were midst their independence struggle from the colonial British rule. * ''Kilikoondu Mandapam'', also called ''Sangili mandapam'' (E), is near the Meenakshi shrine. The word Kilikondu means "parrot cage", and in past the parrots kept here were trained to say "Meenakshi". This pillared hall was completed in 1623 by Muthu Veerappa Nayakar. The cages were later removed. In contemporary times, girls perform the ''kolattam'' dance, a type of stick dance that involves acrobatics and forming chains with long ropes hanging from the ceiling, which is why it is called ''sangili''. These dances celebrate Hindu festival days. The ''Kilikoondu Mandapam'' is notable for its sculpture of characters from the ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'', a Hindu epic. It also has a yali sculpture on a pillar, inside whose mouth is carved a stone ball that freely rotates. * The ''Kambatadi Mandapam'' ("Hall of temple tree") with its seated Nandi (sacred bull) has various manifestations of Shiva carved and also contains the famous "Marriage of Meenakshi" sculpture. Other sculptures here include those Shiva and
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
in a dance competition, a golden flagstaff,
Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...
as Siddar. * The ''Vira vasantha raya mandapam'' (R) is to the south of the 1000-pillar mandapam, and was completed in 1611 by Muthu Veerappa Nayakar I. It contains a Nandi facing the main Sundaresvara sanctum. To the south of this hall is the ''kalyana mandapam'', or wedding hall. It is here that the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the ''Chithirai'' festival which falls sometime in or abouts April. * Pudumandapam, also called Vasantha mandapam (bottom of plan) was completed by Thirumalai Nayak in the 17th century. It is in front of the eastern tower, outside the current walled complex. It leads to the unfinished Eastern gopuram. It has 124 pillars, each with intricately carved sculptures of Meenakshi's wedding to Shiva, Kali, Nataraja, Surya, Chandra as well as common life scenes such as elephants eating sugarcane stalks are found in this mandapam. Its popularity led to shopkeepers occupying the pillared hall, some of which hide or make a complete view of the sculpture difficult. * ''Golu mandapam'' was built by Thittiyappa Chetti, a common man, in 1565 during the rule of Krishnappa Nayakkar. This mandapam is used during the Navaratri festival every year when goddess Meenakshi is decorated like a golu doll, in nine different forms on each of the nine days of the autumn festival. * The Thousand-Pillared Hall (Q) contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars, with two shrines occupying the space of the remaining 15. The hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569 and blends engineering skill and artistic vision. Ariyanatha Mudaliar was prime minister and general of
Viswanatha Nayak Viswanatha Nayaka was the Vijayanagara viceroy to Madurai in south India during the 16th century. He later became the ruler of Madurai after the fall of the Vijayanagara empire. He is the founder of the Nayak dynasty of Madurai.Saints, Goddess ...
a, the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559–1600). At the entrance of the hall is the statue of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a horse-back, flanking one side of the entrance to the temple. Each pillar in the hall is a carved sculpture. The more prominent among the carved figures are those of Rati (wife of Kama),
Karthikeya Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...
,
Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
, Shiva as a wandering mendicant. The ''Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam'' ("Hall of 1000 pillars") has two rows of pillars carved with images of '' yali'' (mythological beast with body of lion and head of an elephant). It is situated to the north of Sundareswarar flag staff hall. There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the temple are displayed. Just outside this hall, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note.


Other mandapams

* Lakana Nayakar expanded and renovated the Mahamandapa in late 15th century CE. * The Urchava Nayanar Mandapa and the small six-pillared mandapa in front of the Mahamandapa was rebuilt by Sundaratolydaiya Mavali Vanathirayar in the 15th century. * Chettiappa Nayakkar rebuilt the Dvarapala mandapam in front of the Sannadhi gopuram, as well as the north colonnade of the Golden Lotus Tank in the late 16th century. * Vanniyadi Natarajar Mandapam and Annakkuli Mandapam were built by a woman named Chellappen Mannikkam in the late 16th century. * Murthiyamman mandapam and Nandi mandapam were built by Krishnappa Nayakar (1564–1572). The Nandi mandapam was renovated again in 1877. * The ''Mudali Pillai Mandapam'' or ''Iruttu Mandapam'' (dark hall) is a wide and long hall built by Muthu Pillai during 1613. On the pillars of the halls, there are fine sculptures of Shiva narrating the legend of Bikshadanar. * The ''Mangayarkarasi mandapam'' is a newly built hall situated opposite to the wedding halls and bears the name of queen Mangayarkarasi who contributed to Saivism and Tamil language. To the south of ''Mangayarkarasi mandapam'' lies the ''Servaikarar Mandapam'', a hall built by
Marudu brothers The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were '' de facto'' rulers of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally execut ...
in 1795. The ''Nagara mandapam'' (Hall of beating drums) lies opposite to Sundareswarar shrine was built by Achaya Rayar, the minister of Rani Mangammal in 1635. The ''Kolu Mandapam'' is a hall for displaying dolls during the
Navarathri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festivals, Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calen ...
festival celebrated during September–October. This hall is situated in the second corridor of the Meenakshi shrine at the western side. The mandapas also feature community gathering halls. The Kanaka Sabha and Ratna Sabha are in the first prahara, Rajata Sabha in Velliambalam, Deva Sabha in the 100-pillared mandapam and Chitra Sabha in the 1000-pillared mandapam.


Deities inside the Temple

Along with these, there are statues of King Thirumalai Naicker with his wives within the temple complex.


Significance

The wedding of
Meenakshi Meenakshi (, ; also spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ) is a Hindu goddess. She is the tutelary deity of Madurai and is considered a form of the goddess Parvati. She is the divine consort of Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and the si ...
and Sundaresvara is a symbolic paradigm for human marriage according to anthropologist Christopher Fuller.Christopher Fuller (1995), The 'Holy Family' of Shiva in a south Indian temple, Social Anthropology, Volume 3, Issue 3, Cambridge University Press, pages 205-217 This event is commemorated with an annual festive procession that falls sometime around April. The temple implies an affinal, protective relationship between
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
and
Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
traditions of Hinduism, by making Shiva the husband of Meenakshi, and Vishnu her brother, a significant relationship in Dravidian kinship system. Meenakshi herself is a central part of the
Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
tradition of Hinduism, and represented as the dominant figure of the pair in this temple. The temple thus symbolically celebrates all three of its major traditions. According to the ''Tiruvilaiyatal Puranam'', of the list of 68 pilgrimage places in Shaivism, four are most important: Kashi (Varanasi), Chidambaram, Tirukkalatti and Madurai. The sacrality of Madurai is from this temple. The shrine of Sundareswarar is considered one of the
Pancha Sabhai The Pancha Sabhai Sthalangal () refers to the temples of Nataraja, a form of the Hindu god Shiva where he is regarded to have performed the cosmic dance called the Tandava. All these temples are located in Tamil Nadu, India. The five dance perfo ...
(five courts), where the Tamil Hindu tradition believes Shiva performed cosmic dance. The Tamil word ''velli'' means silver and ''ambalam'' means stage or altar. This massive Nataraja sculpture is enclosed in a huge silver altar and hence called "Velli Ambalam" (silver abode). The Meenakshi temple is also an economic center. The goods and services for temple-related pilgrims and visitors are a significant part of the Madurai economy.


Worship

The Meenakshi Amman temple is an active house of Hindu worship. Priests perform the puja ceremonies on a daily basis and during festivals. Volunteers and temple staff also participate in daily rituals, such as symbolically moving an icon of Sundaresvara in a palanquin to Meenakshi's chamber every night so that they can be together, then waking the two and returning Sundaresvara to his shrine every morning. There are periodic ''ratha'' (chariot) processions where one of the metal copy icon of the goddess is taken out of the temple in an elaborate car shrine decorated with colorful clothes and flowers, with volunteers pulling the car through the streets of Madurai and circumambulating the temple complex on one of the concentric roads in the old city. This symbolizes her mythical conquests and her presence in the secular life of the people. The temple has a six time pooja calendar everyday, each comprising four rituals namely ''abhisheka'' (sacred bath), ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offerings) and ''deepa aradanai'' (lamp ceremony) for both Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. The rituals and festivals are accompanied with music with ''
nadhaswaram The ''nadaswaram'' is a double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala and in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. This in ...
'' (pipe instrument) and ''
tavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in other South Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana) as well as in the North and East of ...
'' (percussion instrument), recitation of the
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
. The Hindus generally circumambulate the shrines clockwise first before entering the shrine for a ''
darshana In Indian religions, a ''darshan'' (Sanskrit: दर्शन, ; 'showing, appearance, view, sight') or ''darshanam'' is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. The term also refers to any one of the six traditional schools of Hind ...
''. Meenakshi is typically visited before Sundareswarar by the pilgrims, she considered the primary deity of the complex. Like most Shakti temples in Tamil Nadu, the Fridays during the Tamil months of ''Aadi'' (July–August) and ''Thai'' (January–February) are celebrated in the temple by thousands of devotees. "Avani Moola Utsavam" is a 10-day festival mainly devoted to Sundareswarar describes his various ''Thiruvilayadal'' meaning Shiva's sacred games.


Festivals

The Meenakshi temple hosts a festival in each month of the Tamil calendar. Some festivals attract significant participation, with the Meenakshi wedding-related festival attracting over a million people over 12 days. It is called the " Meenakshi Thirukalyanam". The festival is celebrated in the Chithirai month, which typically falls about April. It marks the divine marriage of Meenakshi, and is the most attended festival. The
wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...
of the divine couple is regarded as a classic instance of south Indian marriage with matrilineal emphasis, an arrangement referred as "Madurai marriage". This contrasts with the "Chidambaram marriage", with patrilineal emphasis, reflected by Shiva's dominance, ritual and mythology at the Shiva temple of Chidhambaram. The festival includes a procession, where Meenakshi and Sundareshwara travel in a chariot pulled by volunteer devotees, and Vishnu gives away his sister in marriage to Shiva. Meenakshi, the bride, is the royal monarch. During the one-month period, there are a number of events including the "Ther Thiruvizhah" (chariot festival) and "Theppa Thiruvizhah" (float festival). Other festivals include the Vasantham festival is celebrated in Vaikasi month. The Unjal Festival in Aani, the Mulai-Kottu festival in Aadi, the Aavani Moolam Aavani, the Kolattam festivals of Ayppasi and Karthikai months, the Arudhra Dharsan festival of Margali month, the Thai month utsavam that co-celebrated with the Mariyamman temple in Madurai, the Masi utsavam and Vasamtham utsavam in Panguni. In the Tamil month of Purattasi, the temple celebrates the
Navarathri Navaratri () is an annual Hindu festivals, Hindu festival observed in honor of the goddess Durga, an aspect of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess. It spans over nine nights, first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calen ...
festival, also known as Dasara or Dussehra elsewhere. During this autumn festival, the temple complex is lit up at night with garlands of lights and with colourful displays during the day. The mandapam halls display mythological scenes from Hindu texts using golu dolls. These displays are particularly popular with children, and families visit the displays in large numbers.Gods and gopurams in full glow
, The Hindu (1 October 2014)


Literary mention

Over the centuries, the temple has been a centre of education of culture, literature, art, music and dance. The temple is where Tamil tradition believes
Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: சம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ''Campantar''), also referred to as Thirugnana Sambandar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருஞானசம்பந்தர், Romanization, romanized: ...
helped establish Tamil Shiva bhakti. Kumaraguruparar, a 17th-century Tamil poet, composed ''Meenakshi Pillaitamil'' in praise of the deity of this temple.
Shyama Shastri Syama Sastri ( Telugu : శ్యామ శాస్త్రి; ; 26 April 1762 – 1827) or Shyama Shastri was a musician and composer of Carnatic music. He was the oldest among the Trinity of Carnatic music, Tyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshi ...
, one of the
Trinity of Carnatic music The Trinity of Carnatic Music, also known as the Three Jewels of Carnatic Music, refers to the outstanding trio of composers, composer-musicians of Carnatic music in the 18th centuryTyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Syama Sastri. Prolific in co ...
, composed a set of nine
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
songs in praise of Meenakshi of Madurai, which are referred to as ''Navaratnamalika''(Garland of nine gems). According to legend, when Sastri sang these songs in front of the deity the goddess responded visibly.


See also

Sri Meenakshi Temple (Pearland, Texas) The Sri Meenakshi Temple (also called the Sri Meenakshi Devasthanam) is a Hindu temple located in Pearland, Brazoria County, Texas, in the Houston metropolitan area. The temple's presiding deity is the goddess Meenakshi, an aspect of Parvati ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * Dehejia, V. (1997). ''Indian Art''. Phaidon: London. . * * * * Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, * * * * * * * * * * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * * * . * . * * * * * * * * . * * .


External links


"Madurai Meenakshi Temple Timings"
on 1Temples.com
"Madurai Meenakshi Temple 360 View"
on Dinamalar.com * {{Shiva temples Hindu temples in Madurai Parvati temples Padal Petra Stalam Pancha Sabhai Buildings and structures in Madurai Religious buildings and structures in Madurai Tourist attractions in Madurai Pandyan architecture Dravidian architecture Hindu temples sacked in the Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent Shiva temples in Madurai district