Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
The old city of Madurai is more than 2500 years old and was built by the Pandyan king Kulasekhar in the 6th century. But this hero's tenure is called the Golden Age of Madurai when art, architecture and learning flourished. The city includes its most famous monuments including the most beautiful buildings such as the Meenakshi Temple, which was built during the Nayak rule.
The temple of Meenakshi - Sundareswara located in the heart of the city of Madurai is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, the wife of Lord Shiva. It is one of the important places of Hindu pilgrimage with it being a tourist attraction from India and abroad. For the people of Madurai, this temple is the center of their cultural and religious life.
It is said that the people of the city wake up not only by hearing the sound of nature but also by the temple chanting. All the major festivals of Tamil Nadu are celebrated with reverence here. The most important festival in this is the Chitrai Festival, which is organized in April - May. When Meenakshi and Sundareswarar's wedding is organized by astronomical method and it is attended by a group of people from all over the state.
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| meenakshi temple piller |
The sculptural pillars are covered with distinctive murals that are full of scenes from the time of her marriage to Princess Meenakshi and Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is represented through the linga in the temple of Sundareswara beyond the courtyard. The pillars made here are adorned with the marriage scenes of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar. There are about 985 richly carved pillars here and all surpass each other in beauty.
Folk tale
Goddess Meenakshi is considered the daughter of King Mallaya Dwaj Pandia and Queen Kanchan Mala, who was born after many yagyas. This three-year-old girl was revealed by the fire of the last yagna. Prince Meenakshi grew up and turned into a beautiful woman who won the struggle of many lands and challenged the mightiest kings. When it is revealed that the princess is actually born again to Parvati ji, who has come on earth to honor the promise given to Kanchan Mala in her previous life. Thus Shiva came to Madurai as Sundareswarar to marry Meenakshi and ruled here for many years and both started their journey to heaven from the place where this temple is located today.
The splendor and historical significance of this double temple complex reflects the pride of the ancient times in the city, but today Madurai is the most important cultural and commercial center of India. Modernity has reached this city but it is not at the cost of their rich culture and strong tradition.
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| meenakshi temple stone art |
Every Friday, golden statues of Meenakshi Devi and Lord Sundareswara are swinged in a swing
Life Mantra Desk. There is Meenakshi Temple in Madurai city of Tamil Nadu. This temple is famous worldwide due to its design. The sanctum sanctorum here is believed to be around 3500 years old. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is said about the temple that Lord Shiva came here on earth to marry Goddess Parvati (Meenakshi) in the form of Sundareswarar. The temple is located at the same place.
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| meenakshi temple god |
This temple is spread over 45 acres
The huge courtyard here houses Sundareswarar (group of Shiva temples) and the temple of Meenakshi Devi on the left. The Shiva temple group has an attractive statue of Lord Shiva in Nataraja Mudra. This statue is situated on a silver altar. There are many craft figures outside, which are built only on each stone, as well as Ganeshji's temple. Spread over 45 acres, the smallest dome of this temple has a height of 160 feet. Apart from the two main temples Sundareswarar and Meenakshi, there are many other temples where Lord Ganesha, Murugan, Lakshmi, Rukmani, Saraswati Devi are worshiped.
Golden lotus is made
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| meenakshi temple inner art |
There is also a pond in the temple called 'Porth Marai Kulam' which means a golden lotus pond. The 165 feet long and 120 feet wide lotus of gold is exactly in the middle of the pond. Devotees believe that this pond is inhabited by Lord Shiva. There are mythological stories of Lord Shiva written on the pillars inside the temple and there is a statue of Goddess Lakshmi on eight pillars. Apart from this, there is a very big and beautiful hall, which has 1000 pillars. There are lions and elephants on these pillars.
Gopuram is 170 feet high
The temple has 4 main gates (gopurams) to go in, which are interlinked. There are a total of 14 gopurams in the temple. The 9-storey southern gopuram of 170 feet is the highest among them. All these gopurams have beautiful figures of various deities and Gandharvas. Every Friday, Meenakshi Devi and Sundareswara swing the golden idols of God, in which thousands of devotees are present for their darshan.
Minakshi Temple
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