Meenakshi Temple Madurai

Location : Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Dedicated to : Lord Shiva and Parvati
Also Known as : Meenakshi-Sundareshwara Temple
Temple Timings : 5 AM - 12:30 PM & 4 PM - 9:30 PM
Best time to Visit : October to March


Meenakshi Sundareshwara Temple
The holy land of south India is blessed with hundreds of temples and religious shrines, but perhaps none that can outclass the brilliance and grandeur of the Meenakshi temple. Situated at Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu, this 17th century architectural marvel is one of the largest and most visited centres of worship in the country, ornate with intricately carved stone walls, life like statues and beautiful murals. Madurai has an important place in Hindu mythology being considered as the place where the wedding between Shiva and Parvati took place, better known in this part of the country as Sundareshwar and Meenakshi respectively. The twin temples of Shiva and Meenakshi lie enclosed within the towering 6 mts high wall of the temple resembling much like a fortress.

Legends Galore

According to mythical lores, the presiding deity of the temple goddess Meenakshi was born of the holy yagna flames, organised by King Malaydvaja to please the supreme being and bless him with a son. The king was surprised to see a girl emerge out of the holy flames who despite being utterly beautiful in every other respect had three breasts, the unwanted one supposed to disappear when Meenakshi were to meet her future husband. Years later when Meenakshi set about on a campaign to conquer the world she was defeated by Lord Shiva's army near mount kailash. The age old prophecy was fulfilled when Meenakshi lost her unwanted breast on coming across Lord Shiva. Shiva and Meenakshi then travelled to Madurai and got married.


History and Architecture
Not much is known of the ancient history of the temple, though references to the holy structure are found in literature as old as the seventh century. The old temple was destroyed by Muslim rulers in the 13th century and was restored in an even better way by the Nayak rulers during the 17th and 18th century.

The huge temple complex consists of 12 gopuras rising to a height of 46 mts, adorned with carved figures of mythical characters. The top of these structures affords a panoramic view of the city. A collection of shrines and over 33000 sculptures greet the visitors along with other ancient structures.

Other Attractions in Madurai

Thirumalai Nayak Palace
The beautiful palace was a gigantic structure built in an Italian style of architecture by king Thirumalai Nayak in 1636. The enormity of the original structure can be well imagined by the fact that the structure we see today is just a part of the original structure which was almost four times in size.

Thirupparankundram
A little away from Madurai city, the small town of Thirupparankundram is regarded as the abode of Lord Subramaniya. The temple houses a number of shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Ganapathy, Durga and Vishnu.

Azhagar Kovil
21 Km north-west of Madurai, Azhagar Kovil is a beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is worshipped here in the form of Azhagar, the brother of Meenakshi.

Gopura
Pyramidal gates(gopuras) rise to a height of more than 50m. These towering gateways indicate the entrance to the temple complex at the four cardinal points, while lesser gopuras lead to the sanctums of the main dieties.

Stucco Work
The figures of dieties on the tower are repaired, repainted and ritually reconsecrated every 12 years.

Ashta Shakthi Mandapam

A visitor who enters the temple through the eastern gateway, first enters this Mandapam(Hall). It was built by Thirumalai Nayakar's wives Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai. In this hall food was once distributed to the devotees who came from far off places. Next to this hall is the Meenakshi Nayaka Mandapa, a spacious columned hall used for shops and stores. This hall has a votive lamp-holder with 1,008 lamps, which are lit on festive occasions and present a spectacular sight. The sculptures on the pillars here relate some of Lord Shiva's Thiruvilayadals (miracles) and also the story of Meenakshi's birth and her life as the princess of Madurai.

The story descripted on the stones is as follows:

Malayadwaja Pandya, a king of Madurai , was childless for a long time. He performed a number of yagnas (sacrifices made before a sacred fire) because he wanted an heir to his throne. On one occasion, a three-year-old girl came out of the fire and Malayadwaja adopted her. But the girl had three breasts and this worried Malayadwaja. However, a divine voice assured him that the third breast would disappear as soon as she met her consort. The girl grew into a brave and beautiful princess. she won many battles, but eventually lost her heart to Lord Shiva, when she met him on the battle-field in Kailas. As soon as she saw him, her third breast disappeared and she recognized her divine consort, for the princess was none other than Shiva's wife, Parvathi. After ruling over the Pandya kingdom for a while, they settled in the Madurai temple as Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.

Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam
This big hall is adjacent to Ashta Shakthi Mandapam, consisting of 110 pillars carrying the figures of a peculiar animal with a lion's body , and an elephant's head called Yalli.


Potramaraikulam (golden lotus tank)
This temple tank is an ancient tank where devotees take bath in the holy water. The area around this tank was the meeting place of the TamilSangam - the ancient academy of poets. The history of the sangam goes back to the days when gods dallied with men. This academy judged the worth of any work of literature presented before it by throwing it into the tank. Only those that did not sink were considered worthy of attention. The tank is surrounded by a pillared corridor. Steps lead down to the tank, enabling worshippers to take bathe in it.

Oonjal Mandapam
The Oonjal (swing) Mandapam and Killikoontu (parrot cage) Mandapam are on the western side of the tank. Every Friday, the golden idols of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are seated on the swing in the Oonjal Mandapam and hymns are sung as the deities gaily swing to and fro. The parrots in the Kilikoontu Mandapam have been trained to repeat Meenakshi's name. But more interesting are the 28 pillars of the mandapam which exhibit some excellent Sculptures of figures from Hindu mythology.

Swami Sundareswarar Shrine

Lord Sundareswarar (Shiva) the consort of Goddess Meenakshi is to the north of Kilikoontu Mandapam . On your way you can worship a gigantic idol of Sri Ganesh called Mukkurini Pillaiyar. When the king Thirumalai Nayakar excavated a temple tank 3 km from Meenakshi temple he unearthed this idol of Vinayaka and erected the same here.

In the outer pragaram (corridor outside the main shrine) there is stump of the kadamba tree, which is said to be a part of the same tree under which Indra worshipped Shiva linga. Also in the outer corridor there are the Kadambathadi Mandapam and big hall called 'Velli Ambalam'. Here, an idol of Nataraja (Shiva as the Lord of Dance) is seen. This idol of Nataraja is covered with silver leaves. Hence this hall is named as Velli Ambalam (Silver Hall)..

The Thousand Pillar Mandapam

It is the 'wonder of the palace'. Actually the number of pillars count to 985 beautifully decorated columns. Each pillar is sculptured and is a monument of the Dravidan sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in this 1000 pillars hall where you can see icons, photographs, drawings, etc., exhibiting the 1200 years old history. There are so many other smaller and bigger mandapams in the temple.

Just outside this mandapam ,towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar when stuck, 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 Chitirai Festival in mid- April.

Vasantha Mandapam

This mandapam was built by Thirumalai Nayakkar. Vasanthosavam - the Spring festival-is celebrated in this mandapam in Vaikasi (April/May). Its pillars contain elaborate sculptures of Shiva, Meenakshi, scenes from their wedding as well as the figures of ten of the Nayak Kings and their consorts. This is also called Pudhu Mandapam.

Stay At

Some of the best hotels around the city include Taj Garden Retreat (15 min from the Meenakshi temple), Madura Park Inn (close to the railway station, 2.5 Km from Meenakshi temple), Pandiyan Hotel (Race Course, Madurai) and Hotel Sangam (Alagarkoil Road, Madurai).

Getting There

By Air : A domestic airport is situated at a distance of just 10 km from the city centre. Daily Indian Airlines flights connect the city with Chennai, Bangalore, Trichi and Coimbatore while flights are also available to and from Mumbai.

By Rail : Madurai is an important railway junction with nearly all the trains on the southern railway route halting here. Regular trains are available to and from nearby cities such as Bangalore, Coimbatore, Kollam, Madras, Rameshwaram, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Tirupathi and Tuticorin. The best option between Chennai and Madurai is the super fast Vagai express which takes around 7 hours for the journey.

By Road : Two national highways, NH 7 and NH 45 pass through the city connecting it to the rest of south India. State transport buses plying from 5 bus stations spread across the city connect it to all the major neighbouring cities.

Distance from Major Cities

Bangalore : 446 Km
Chennai : 444 Km
Coimbatore : 217 Km
Mysore : 382 Km
Kochi : 270 Km
Kanyakumari : 235 Km
Pondicherry : 324 Km
Rameshwaram : 172 Km
Thiruvananthapuram : 264 Km