Madurai Meenakshi is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi – a form of Devi, her consort Sundareśvarar, a form of Shiva and her brother Aḻagar, a form of Vishnu.
A great thing about this temple is it represents a confluence of the Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism sects of Hinduism. The temple is at the centre of the ancient temple city of Madurai.
Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kasi Visalakshi are said to be the three “must visit” Devi temples.
According to the temple history, King Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a Yajna seeking a son for succession. Instead, a daughter was born out of the fire who was already 3 years old and had three breasts. Shiva intervened and said that the parents should treat her like a son, and when she meets her husband, she will lose the third breast. They followed the advice. The girl grew up, the king crowned her as the successor and when she met Shiva, his words came true, she took her true form of Meenakshi. According to Harman, this may reflect the matrilineal traditions in South India and the regional belief that “penultimate spiritual powers rest with the women”, gods listen to their spouse, and that the fates of kingdoms rest with the women. The reverence for Meenakshi is a part of the Hindu goddess tradition that integrates with the Hindu society where the “woman is the lynchpin of the system” of social relationships.
The marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was a grand event, with all gods, goddesses and living beings gathered. Vishnu is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi, giving her away to Shiva at the wedding.
Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was built by Pandyan Emperor Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I (1190 CE–1205 CE). He built the main portions of the three-storeyed Gopuram at the entrance of Sundareswarar Shrine and the central portion of the Goddess Meenakshi Shrine, which are some of the earliest surviving parts of the temple. Later others of the Pandyan dynasty added other parts.
In the early 14th century, the armies of Delhi Sultanate led by Malik Kafur plundered the temple, looted it of its valuables and destroyed the Madurai temple town.
The contemporary temple is the result of rebuilding efforts started by the Vijayanagara Empire rulers who rebuilt the core and reopened the temple. The restored complex now houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50 m in height, with the southern gopura tallest at 51.9 metres (170 ft). The complex has numerous sculpted pillared halls such as the famous Aayirankaal or 1000-pillared hall.
Madurai is well connected by air, rail and road.
