Meenakshi-Sundareswar Temple is also called as Meenakshi Amman Temple. Originally, the temple was constructed by Kulasekara Pandyan but later the temple was formed by Tirumalai Nayakar and designed by Viswanath Naikar. An architectural wonder in itself the temple has a hall with the thousand pillars called as Aayirangaal Mandapam with Yazhi stature carved on them. These pillars are made of granite and give way musical notes when hit.

Legend

The Meenakshi-Sundareswar temple is devoted to goddess Parvati known as Meenakshi and her spouse Lord Shiva is known as Sundareswar. The temple is alleged to be found by Indra when on a pilgrimage after agreeing to his misdemeanors. He found his burden was elevated after he reached the swayambu lingam of lord Shiva. He then endorsed the marvel to the lord and built the temple to preserve it. Today, the temple is used to worship lord Shiva’s swayambu lingam by devotees.

History

The temple was mentioned in the early 7th Century by Hindu saint as idol “Aalavai Iraivan”. The temple was destroyed by antagonists in the 1310 ruining all ancient elements, but the temples reconstruction initiative was taken by Viswanatha Nayak, the first Nayak of Madurai. The collector of Madurai in 1812 donated a set of diamond studded golden stirrups with red stones to the temple. It was believed that goddess Meenakshi has saved the collector from a terminal incident.

Architecture

The temple has 12 gigantic gopurams (a monumental tower usually at the entrance of temples of Dravidian architecture, especially found in Southern India) inside the temple and 4 huge gopurams near the outer wall of the temple. The complex is divided into numerous concentric quadrangular areas with towering stonework walls. The temple has four entrances facing four directions and temple complex is spread in around 45 acres.

Festivals

In the month of April every year, the important festival is celebrated by the temple, "Meenakshi Thirukalyanam", which means the heavenly wedding of goddess Meenakshi. This wedding festival is also known as the classic illustration of female dominated marriage in south India. “Chidambaram Marriage” is the male dominated marriage, which is example of lord Shiva’s supremacy, dominance and ritual which usually occurs at Shiva temple of Chidhambaram. The Meenakshi Thirukalyanam is attended by thousands of devotes from rural and urban people who worship lord Shiva and lord Vishnu.

Also a month festivity events are organized at the temple which includes Theppa Thiruvizhah which is a float festival and Ther Thiruvizhah which is a chariot festival, and Shivrathri and Navrathri. Also, a ten day festival known as Avani Moola Utsavam is celebrated which is devoted to Sundareswarar and it portrays his diverse “Thiruvilayadal” meaning lord Shiva's holy games.

Temple Rituals

A daily puja is performed by around 50 priests; the temple has a fixed calendar of six time puja everyday which consists of four ceremonies for.e.g.abhishek (holy bath), alangaram (decoration and ornamentation), neivethanam (food offerings) and deepa aradanai (waving of lamps) for both goddess Meenakshi and lord Sundareswarar. The ceremonies are held with musical instruments which are played as per religious instructions. The priests who perform puja everyday are Brahmins and belong to Adishaivas caste; the priests also stay in the close vicinity of the temple.

Best time to Visit

The best time to visit the temple is during the months of January to April, during the end of April the tourists flock in to attend the festivities. Also the months of October to December are pleasant to pay visit. The temple can be visited from Monday to Sunday anytime between 05:00am to 10:00pm.

How to Reach

By Train

Madurai can be reached by railways from major cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Rameshwaram, Kollam, Tuticorin, Tirupathi, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Tiruchirappalli.

By Air

Madurai has an airport which is 10 kilometers away from the city. The flights are available from Mumbai and Chennai regularly.

By Road

All metro cities are well connected to Madurai; the city has 5 key bus stands Anna bus stand, Periyar bus stand, Mattuthavani Bus Stand, Palanganatham Bus Stand and Arapalayam Bus Stand. From Madurai tourists can hire local buses, taxis or rickshaws to reach Meenakshi-Sundareswar Temple.