Meenakshi Temple :
Meenakshi Temple is a historic Hindu temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the southern bank of the Vaigai River. Thirukamakottam udaya aaludaiya nachiyar (Meenakshi, a form of Parvati), and her consort, Sundareshwar, a form of Shiva, are honored. The Meenakshi Amman Temple is listed in 6th century CE texts and is located in the heart of the ancient temple city of Madurai mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. One of the Paadal Petra Sthalam temples. The Paadal Petra sthalam consists of 275 Shiva temples that are mentioned in Tamil Saiva Nayanar verses from the 6th to 9th centuries CE.
Meenakshi Temple History : Meenakshi is a term derived from the terms mina (“fish”) and akshi (“eye”) (“eyes”). She was previously known by the Tamil name Thadadakai (“fish-eyed one”), which was shortened to Meenakshi later on. Another hypothesis claims that the goddess’s name means “law of the fish,” originating from the Tamil terms meen (fish) and aatchi (rule) (rule). She is also known as “Angayarkanni” or “Ankayarkannammai” in Tamil (literally, “the mother with the beautiful fish eyes”).
The Meenakshi goddess is the temple’s main deity, as opposed to Shiva, who is the main deity in most Shiva temples in South India. According to the Tamil text Tiruvilaiyatarpuranam, king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a Yajna in search of a son to succeed them. Instead, a 3-year-old daughter with three breasts emerges from the conflagration. Shiva steps in and tells the parents that they should treat her like a son, and that she will lose her third breast when she meets her husband. They take the advice to heart. When the girl grows up, the king crowns her as his heir, and she meets Shiva, his words come true, and she turns into Meenakshi.
This may reflect South Indian matrilineal beliefs and the regional belief that “penultimate [spiritual] forces rest with the women,” gods listen to their spouses, and the fate of kingdoms rests with the women, according to Harman. According to Susan Bayly, Meenakshi’s veneration is part of the Hindu goddess culture, which ties in with Dravidian Hindu society, where “woman is the lynchpin of the structure” of social relationships.
Both gods, goddesses, and living beings gathered for Meenakshi and Shiva’s wedding, which was the most important gathering. Vishnu is Meenakshi’s brother, according to legend. At the wedding, Vishnu gives her to Shiva.
Meenakshi Amman Temple Website : http://www.maduraimeenakshi.org/
Meenakshi Temple Timings :
Morning – 5 am to 12.30 pm
Evening 4.00 PM to 10.00 PM
Festivals at Meenakshi Amman Temple :
Every month of the Tamil calendar, the Meenakshi Amman temple hosts a festival. Some festivals draw large crowds, such as the Meenakshi wedding-related festival, which drew over a million people over the course of 12 days. The “Meenakshi Thirukalyanam” is the name of the poem. The festival is held in the month of Chithirai, which falls around April. It is the most famous festival, as it commemorates Meenakshi’s divine marriage. The divine couple’s wedding is regarded as a classic example of a matrilineal-focused south Indian marriage arrangement known as “Madurai marriage.” This contrasts with the “Chidambaram union,” which places a patrilineal focus on Shiva’s supremacy, ritual, and mythology at Chidhambaram’s Shiva temple. The festival features a procession in which Meenakshi and Sundareshwara ride in a chariot drawn by volunteer devotees, and Vishnu marries Shiva’s niece. The bride, Meenakshi, is the royal ruler. Several activities, such as the “Ther Thiruvizhah” (chariot festival) and “Theppa Thiruvizhah,” take place over the course of the month (float festival).
The temple celebrates the Navarathri festival, also known as Dasara or Dussehra elsewhere, in the Tamil month of Purattasi. The temple complex is decorated with garlands of lights at night and colorful displays during the day during this autumn festival. Using golu dolls, the mandapam halls represent mythological scenes from Hindu texts. These exhibits are especially common with children, and many families come to see them.
Meenatchi Amman Temple Address : Meenatchi Amman, Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001.
Meenakshi Temple Architecture : The Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar Temple is one of the largest temples in South India, with beautiful architecture and spellbinding murals all around.It has four Raja gopurams, two gold gopurams, one Chithirai gopuram, five five-story gopurams, and two three-story gopurams, all of which are magnificent in appearance.The temple’s most well-known features include a thousand-pillared hall, a holy pool with a golden lotus where you can take a ceremonial bath, a wedding hall, numerous small shrines, gardens, and elephant sheds.The temple is so well-kept that the Central Government named it India’s “Best Swachh Iconic Place” in 2017.
Meenakshi Amman Temple Accommodation :
Pilgrims have three options for accommodation at the Meenakshi Temple.
1.Birla Vishram
2.Sundareswarar Illam (Lodge)
3.Bakthargal Thangum Viduthi
Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple Images :
