Meenakshi:- First Woman Warrior
Meenakshi Amman Temple is life line of Madurai city, It's also called Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. Sundareswarar mean "Beautiful deity".It is dedicated to meenakshi, a form of parvati,and her consort sundaresh
war, as a form of shiva. According to one theory the "meenakshi" is sanskrit word which means "Fish-Eyes". Word Meena(fish) and Akshi (eyes), and in tamil language meena (Fish) and aatchi (Rule).
Meenakshi temple is dedicated to first woman warrior and whom travel long distance to find her soul mate . when was the last time you heard of a queen who travelled from Madurai in the south to Kailasa in the North to find herself a groom. That princess was called Tadaatagai, more popularly known as Meenakshi, she whose eyes are as shapely as the contours of a fish.
MYTHOLOGY:
According to a legend, Meenakshi emerged out of a ‘Yajna’ (sacred fire) as a three-year-old girl. The ‘Yajna’ was performed by a king named Malayadwaja Pandya along with his wife Kanchanamalai. Since the royal couple had no child, the King offered his prayers to Lord Shiva, requesting him to grant them a son. But to their dismay, a triple-breasted girl emerged from the sacred fire. When Malayadwaja and his wife expressed their concern over the girl’s abnormal appearance, a divine voice ordered them not to fret over the girl’s physical appearance. They were also informed that the girl’s third breast will disappear as soon as she meets her future husband. he should raise her like a son.The relieved King named her Meenakshi and in due course crowned her as his successor. 
And so he does. Meenakshi grows up to be a powerful warrior and ascends the throne, leading a great army of women, bearing bows, spears and swords to conquer all the worlds. This is not an army of coy, demure women — Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam describes elephants, tusks dripping in blood, ripping the entrails of the clouds.Meenakshi ruled over the ancient city of Madurai and also went on to capture the neighboring kingdoms.
Meenakshi’s third breast falls — a sign that she had met her destined husband.
A couple of years ago, while attending the Chitirai Festival in Madurai, commemorating the marriage of Meenakshi and Sundareshwar, it was fascinating to see how myths, and the figures of the Gods and Goddesses in them, powerfully imbue the relationships of the communities attached to these myths. As the thali was being tied around the idol of Meenakshi, during the ceremony in the temple — the thousands of women gathered outside their temple restrung their own thalis — emulating the ritual at the heart of the festival.
What made an even greater impression was watching the procession of chariots of the Gods who had come to attend this marriage, circle the streets by the temple. Each night, during the festival, huge crowds gathered to watch the procession. It was surprising to see how little girls were given importance — dressed in their very best, waiting with bated breath to watch the young girl playing the part of Meenakshi in the procession, dressed in shimmering finery and bearing weapons, drive past them. As I spoke to some of the young girls — it was apparent they harboured dreams of being chosen to represent the Goddess Meenakshi in this procession, some day.
It was remarkable to watch this. That the Goddess Meenakshi, young, beautiful, a warrior princess, represented each night by a young girl — was something that could inspire these girls, to make them believe that they are capable of being warriors and rulers.
It seemed to me that in a country and time where gender dynamics and rates of female foeticide are appalling — these myths and festivals can also help counter the idea that respecting tradition means perpetuating unequal gender norms. The story of Meenakshi and the Chitirai festival can help us consider the possibility that there are aspects of myth and tradition that offer a very necessary counterview; stories and ideas that can help inspire young women to be the best, most powerful version of themselves.
Architecture Of Temple:
The temple is enclosed with huge walls, which were built in response to the invasions. The entire structure, when viewed from above, represents a mandala. A mandala is a structure built according to the laws of symmetry and loci. There are various shrines built within the temple complex. Apart from the two main shrines, which are dedicated to Sundareswarar and
Meenakshi, the temple has shrines dedicated to various other deities like Ganesha and Murugan. The temple also houses goddesses Lakshmi, Rukmini, and Saraswati.
Meenakshi, the temple has shrines dedicated to various other deities like Ganesha and Murugan. The temple also houses goddesses Lakshmi, Rukmini, and Saraswati.
The temple also has a consecrated pond named ‘Porthamarai Kulam.’ The term ‘Potramarai Kulam’ is a literal translation of ‘pond with a golden lotus.’ The structure of a golden lotus is placed at the center of the pond. It is said that Lord Shiva blessed this pond and declared that no marine life would grow in it. In the Tamil folklore, the pond is believed to be an evaluator for reviewing the worth of any new literature.
The temple has four main towering gateways (gopurams) that look identical to each other. Apart from the four ‘gopurams,’ the temple also houses many other ‘gopurams’ that serve as gateways to a number of shrines. The temple has a total of 14 towering gateways. Each one of them is a multi-storey structure and displays thousands of mythological stories and several other sculptures. The temple also has numerous pillared halls called ‘Mandapams.’ These halls were built by various kings and emperors and they serve as resting places for pilgrims and devotees.
The major ‘gopurams’ of the temple are listed below:
- Kadaka Gopuram
- Sundareswarar Shrine Gopuram
- Chitra Gopuram
- Nadukkattu Gopuram
- Mottai Gopuram
- Nayaka Gopuram
The most important ‘mandapams’ are given below:
- Ayirakkal Mandapam
- Kilikoondu Mandapam
- Ashta Shakthi Mandapam
- Nayaka Mandapam
Gopurams;
- Kadaka Gopuram – This towering gateway leads to the main shrine that houses Goddess Meenakshi. The gateway was rebuilt by Tumpichi Nayakkar during the mid-16th century. The ‘gopuram’ has five storeys.
- Sundareswarar Shrine Gopuram – This is the oldest ‘gopuram’ of the temple and was built by Kulasekara Pandya. The ‘gopuram’ serves as a gateway to the Sundareswarar (Lord Shiva) shrine
- Chitra Gopuram – Built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan II, the gopuram depicts the religious and secular essence of Hinduism.
- Nadukkattu Gopuram – Also called as the ‘Idaikattu Gopuram,’ this gateway leads to the Ganesha shrine. The gateway is placed right in between the two main shrines.
- Mottai Gopuram – This ‘gopuram’ has fewer stucco images when compared to the other gateways. Interestingly, ‘Mottai gopuram’ had no roof for nearly three centuries.
- Nayaka Gopuram – This ‘gopuram’ was built by Visvappa Nayakkar around 1530. The ‘gopuram’ is astonishingly similar to another gateway called ‘Palahai Gopuram.’
Mandapam;
- Ayirakkal Mandapam – It literally translates to ‘hall with thousand pillars.’ The hall, which was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar, is a true spectacle as it is supported by 985 pillars. Each and every pillar is sculpted magnificently and has images of Yali, a mythological creature.
- Kilikoondu Mandapam – This ‘mandapam’ was originally built to house hundreds of parrots. The parrots that were kept there in cages were trained to say ‘Meenakshi’. The hall, which is next to the Meenakshi shrine, has sculptures of characters from Mahabharata.
- Ashta Shakthi Mandapam – This hall houses the sculptures of eight goddesses. Built by two queens, the hall is placed in between the main ‘gopuram’ and the gateway that leads to the Meenakshi shrine.
- Nayaka Mandapam – ‘Nayaka Mandapam’ was built by Chinnappa Nayakkar. The hall is supported by 100 pillars and houses a Nataraja statue.
My Experience :
I heard about madurai much many people met me and they shared about there experience in madurai,But one things is very common on this talking. every body shared there amazing experience in meenakshi temple. i and my lovely friend was very excited about madurai and heart of madurai(The meenakshi temple).
Early morning i went to meenakshi temple. we saw this temple from 2 km distance. Texi driver dropped me on the main gateway of temple. when i saw this temple then i understood why these people said me that, meenashi temple is amazing. this temple is so clean, well maintained. Every thing in proper way. There near main gateway have shoes stand where we submitted our shoes and our cell phone and bag. Near this stand have prasad shop where my lovely friend bought prashad. then we enter in the temple, from inside structure of this temple is amazing. there pujaries is so kind and pure and security is very good they are so help full.
Pooja And Timeing :
DailyTime Pooja Name
05 : 00 AM – 06 : 00 AM Morning Thiruvanandal pooja
06:30 AM – 07 : 15 AM Morning Vizha pooja
06:30 AM – 07 : 15 AM Morning Kalasandhi pooja
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM Morning Thrikalasandhi pooja
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM Morning Uchikkala Pooja (Noon Pooja
04:30 PM – 05:15 PM Evening Maalai pooja
07 : 30 PM – 08 : 15 PM Night Ardhajama Pooja (Night Pooja)
09 : 30 PM – 10 : 00 PM Night Palliarai pooja
Interesting Facts:
- The Meenakshi temple complex is one of the largest of its kind in India and undoubtedly one of the oldest.
- Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint mentions this temple as early as the 7th century.
- This temple was also mentioned in ancient Tamil literature was destroyed by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310 and rebuilt later by Madurai’s great ruler Thirumalai Nayak during the period 1623 to 1655.
- This temple displays the splendid architecture having 12 gopurams (towers) ranging from 45to 52 meters (147 to 170 feet) in height, paintings and sculptures all over, huge Mandapams.
- The Thousand Pillar Hall (Aayiram Kaal Mandapam) contains nearly 1000 carved pillars (985 to be exact) symbolizing the great Dravidian sculpture.Each pillar is unique. Some of these pillars astonishingly produce different melodious musical notes when struck.
- There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple. The massive Nataraja sculpture is enclosed in a huge silver altar and hence called Velli Ambalam.
- A Porthamarai Kulam or the Golden Lotus Pond inside this temple is a holy site; the lotus growing here has a golden color.
- Both the Meenakshi and Sundareswarar shrines have gold plated Vimanam (tower over sanctum).
- Just recently, this temple won the coveted place of honor as one of the Seven Wonders of India for its architectural importance
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