Meenakshi Amman Temple is the world famous Temple situated in the centre of the Madurai city in Tamil Nadu. This Temple is one of the very oldest and important temple of Tamil Nadu that lies a Kilometer away from the South of the Vaigai river.
Meenakshi Amman Temple is the world famous Temple situated in the centre of the Madurai city in Tamil Nadu. This Temple is the very oldest and important temple in Tamil Nadu that lies one Kilometer away from the South of Vaigai river.
Architecture
The Goddess Meenakshi Amman, who is the incarnation of the Goddess Parvati is the main deity in this Temple. Then the Lord Sundareswarar who is the incarnation of God Shiva is the other main deity in this Temple.There are many Gopuram ( gate tower) in this Temple. They are Kadaka Gopuram, Nadukkatu Gopuram, Chitra Gopuram, Sundareswarar Shrine Gopuram, Nayaka Gopuram.
Likewise, there are many mandapams (large Halls with unique Architecture) in this Temple. They are the Ashta Shakthi mandapam, Kilikoondu Mandapam, Ayirakkal Mandapam and Nayaka Mandapam. This temple covers an area of about 14 acres in Madurai.
History of Temple
The Pandyan King Malayadwaja Pandya with his wife Kanchanamalai, performed the “Yajna”, since the couple did not have children. With this Yagna, they made prayers to God Shiva and appealing him to give them a son. As a result, the Goddess Meenakshi Amman came out of the Yagna (holy fire) in the form of three-year old girl. As a shock to them, this girl from the fire came with the triple breasts. Further they got the information, that the girl’s third breast will vanish at the moment she sees her future husband.
As years went, the Princess Meenakshi started to rule the Ancient city of Madurai and captured the neighbouring Kingdoms. She captured Kailash, the place where the Lord Shiva is present. At the moment, Lord Shiva came in front of her, the third breast vanished. With this, Goddess Meenakshi understood that she met her husband.
Story of Temple
A very big wedding ceremony took place at this site, in which the Lord Vishnu (the brother of Goddess Parvati) handed over her to Lord Sundareswarar (Lord Shiva). It is believed that all the gods attended this wedding. This wedding took place at the place, where you see the Temple now.
Celebrations
The major festival of this Temple is the Chithirai Thiruvizha or the Thirukalyanam festival. This festival takes place upto 10 days, during which a million of devotees take part.
Then the other festival in this Temple, is the Navaratri festival, in which the Gollu is the major attraction. This Gollu is the collection of the colorful dolls, that depicts the scenes of the mythological stories.
Fame
The Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple was in the nomination list of the wonders of the world. Then the UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) had recognized this Temple as the heritage site. This Temple is maintained properly and so it got the name the “Best Swach Iconic Place” of India.
Rules for the Visitors in Meenakshi Temple
- The water bottles, bags, other kinds of electronic gadgets like the camera and mobile phones are strictly not allowed inside the Temple.
- All these restricted items must be kept only in the lockers given by the Temple near the entrance of the Temple.
- The Hindu devotees who visit this Temple can go through either the free dharsan or paid dharsan, where they can visit the sanctum of the Temple.
- Then the non-Hindus or the foreigners have to get the entry ticket from the administration. But they are not allowed to enter the sanctum and some parts of the Temple.
- The wheel chairs are available for the old people and the physically challenged people.
Transport facilities
The visitors who travel through flights can travel to .From there taxis are available to reach the Meenakshi Amman Temple, which needs a travel of 90 minutes.
The devotees who come by train can reach the Madurai Junction Railway station. From there, taxis or autoricksaws are available to reach the Temple, which takes only 10 minutes. This Temple is only at a shorter distance from the bus stand. Then you can use the taxi, share-auto or local bus to reach this temple within 20 minutes from the Madurai main bus stand.
Location: Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Timings: Morning – 5.00 A.M to 12.30 P.M (Timings may vary with festivals)
Evening – 4.00 P.M to 10.00 P.M.