This again is one of my favorite pilgrim places. My third visit (1985, 1987, 2007) to the great Temple of Goddess Meenakshi. In addition to being a religious center, Madurai is loaded with colleges of all categories. There are International students who study here participating in the student exchange programs.It is also famous for the cotton (hand loomed) chungidi sarees.
The land marks that make this city famous are Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Tirumala Nayakar mahal, Azhagar Koyil, Gandhi Museum and Tiruparankundram.
So far, we visited the Temples on the banks of river Kaveri. In Madurai the Meenakshi Temple is on the banks of the river Vaigai. Do you ever wonder why Hindu religion is the only one that gave so much importance to the female aspect of the divine?
This temple complex is dedicated to Shiva and Parvathi, known as Sundareshvarar and Meenakshi. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya. But it was the Nayakars who brought out the glory into the current state in the 16th to 18th century.
Apart from the main temple, there are a number of smaller shrines. The pillared halls and towers and the twelve gopurams are very impressive. The gopurams are covered with colorful figurines of monsters (don't know why), mythical animals and a variety of deities. One may have to spend a life time to get to know the details of all these temples.
Temple Towers:
There are 12 temple towers(Gopurams).
Out of which the four at each direction of North, East, West and South are about 160 feet and have nine storeys. This temple is maintained very well. We were told that the figurines etc. are repaired and repainted every 12 years. Some work was going on when we were there.
Ashta Shakthi Mandapam:
This one is at the Eastern entrance. The sculptures here tell the stories of Lord Shiva's miracles and the life of Meenakshi ammal.
Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam:
This is adjacent to Ashta Shakthi Mandapam. This one has 110 pillars with animal figurines with a lion's body and elephant's hear. Again, I wonder why?
The Golden Lotus Tank:
This temple tank is where devotees took bath in the holy water. The area around this tank was the meeting place of the Tamil Sangam - the ancient academy of poets. The tank is surrounded by a pillared corridor. Steps lead down to the tank. Many of the ancient Temples have this arrangement in the South Indian Temples.
Oonjal(means swing)Mandapam:
This one is on the Western side of the tank. There are 28 pillars with sculptures depicting Hindu mythology. The parrots in the Kilikoontu mandapam (located here) are trained to repeat the name of Meenakshi. Every Friday, they have special ceremony at the Oonjal Mandapam.
Also worth seeing are the Kadambatadi Mandapam and a big hall called Velli (silver) Ambalam. Here, an idol of Nataraja is covered with silver leaves. Hence this hall is named as Velli Ambalam (Silver Hall).
The Thousand Pillar Mandapam:
In many Temples I have hear this word 'thousand pillared', never verified the number!!!. Do you think it is exact? Actually, here, the number of pillars count to 985 decorated columns. Exhibiting the 1200 years old history, there are so many other smaller and bigger mandapams in this temple.
Just outside this Mandapam ,towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar when stuck, produces a different musical note.
Kalyana Mandapam
This one is one the South side. As the name indicates, every year during Chittirai festival (which is middle of April), Shiva and Parvathi's marriage is celebrated.
Vasantha Mandapam:
Vasantham means Spring season.
The Spring festival-is celebrated in this Mandapam in Vaikasi (April/May). The pillars have 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 Pudu (meaning new) Mandapam.
In each of these Temples, watching the elephants blessing the devotees is a delight!! We had enjoyable time and did purchase some sarees and sandals(out of neccessity) and bangles for the children and some small brass items.
My personal experience:
I had a very strange experience at this Temple. I must share this. Prior to reaching this Temple, I was a little frustrated with my life (not going the way I wanted it to go) and prayed in each Temple to 'take me away'. This was the last Temple I was going to cry hard. As we entered the first gopuram, a man in his fifties spoke from behind my right shoulder "amma, you people go in that direction". Even though we followed his way, I thought he was one of the self appointed guides. But I did not see him for a while. Then,out of the blue he appeared again and gave me a small package containing a photo of the idols,small packets of vibhti (holy ash) and kumkum. I was surprised, but accepted it. Finally, we entered the interior of the shrine and bending forward, the rope railing, I was about to send my prayer. I heard that man's voice on my right. I was in a shock. How did he get here? He said "amma, if you do not want rebirth, She is the only deity that will give you that boon. You should pray for that". He repeated it to make sure I heard him. Saying this, he left the premises. I did not see him again, but this time, I did not pray for 'death'.
The message I got from this experience was 'don't run away' from challenges. Prepare yourself for 'no rebirth'. After a few hours of pondering on this, I felt that the yatra was well worth the time and money. But it took me several months to put this into practice!!!
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