The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is believed to have been built in 1600. The tallest temple tower is 51.9 metres (170 ft) high. This temple is in the heart of the 2500 year old city of Madurai.
Shrines and Ashta Shakthi Mandapam in the Meenakshi Temple
Famous Hindu marquee and a dancing form of Shiva that normally has his left foot raised, has his right foot raised in this temple. According to the purana, this is on the request of the Rajasekara Pandya king, a sincere devotee of the lord.
Ashta Shakthi Mandapam is the first hall in the entrance of Meenakshi shrine tower near to East Tower. The hall carry the statues of eight goddesses and hence the name. At present we could find many shops selling pooja items in this hall.
Layout of the Meenakshi Temple
Thousand Pillar Hall and Porthamarai Lake of Meenakshi Amman Temple
Thousand Pillar hall of Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built with the oldest Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunleveli as a model. The Thousand Pillar Hall, also called as The Aayiram Kaal Mandapam, contains 985 (instead of 1000) carved pillars.
This Hall is considered culturally important and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The Thousand Pillared Hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569. He was the Prime Minister and General of Viswanatha Nayak of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.). He was also the founder of Poligar System, the quasi-feudal organization of the country, which was divided into multiple palayams or small provinces and each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a pe
tty chief.
At the entrance of the Mandapam statue of the majestic Ariyanatha Mudaliar can be still seen. He is seated on a beautiful horse-back which flanks one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is still periodically crowned with garlands by modern worshipper.
Every Pillar of the Hall is carved and is a monument of the Dravidian sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in the hall where icons, photographs, drawings, and other exhibits of the 1200 years old history are displayed. Just outside this Mandapam, towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar, when struck, produces a different musical note. The kalyana mandapa, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chithirai Festival in mid-April.
Porthamarai Kulam is supposed to be a very sacred pond inside the temple complex. It is a very holy site for the devotees. People coming to the Meenakshi Temple, go around the 165 ft (50 m) by 120 ft (37 m) lake before entering the main shrine.
The name means the Pond with the Golden Lotus as the lotus that grows in it has a golden color. According to legend, Lord Shiva promised a stork that no fish or other marine life would grow here and thus no marine animals are found in the lake. In the Tamil legends, the lake is supposed to be a judge for judging a worth of a new literature. Thus, authors place their works here and the poorly written works are supposed to sink and the scholastic ones are supposed to float.
More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meenakshi_Amman_temple
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