Meenakshi Temple, Madurai

Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple 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 Parvati, and her consort, Sundareshwar, a form of Shiva. The temple is at the center of the ancient temple city of Madurai mentioned in the Tamil Sangam literature, with the goddess temple mentioned in 6th-century-CE texts. This temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalam. The Paadal Petra sthalam are 275 temples of lord Shiva that are revered in the verses of Tamil Saiva Nayanars of 6th-9th century CE.

Main Gate of Meenakshi temple, Madurai

Quotes

• The Madurai Sthanikar Varalaru stated, In the month of Ani of S. 1245 (1323 AD) the Padshah vasal mantri Adi Sultan and Malukka Nemiyar came from Delhi with 60,000 horses, destroyed Siva and Visnu temples and tanks, plundered temple treasuries (sribhandaram), mutilated images (bimbam) and reached Trichinopoly. There also the sthanikas were removed and temples were destroyed. Hearing these, king Valal Vilitturangum Parakrama Pandya was alarmed and left the fort of Kalaiyarkoyil. Unable to stay in the city without the king’s protection, the sthanikas of the temple of Madurai left the city after making certain provisions for the protection of the deity. They made a kilikkundu for the Svami in the garbhagriha, raised earth mounds, blocked the garbhagriha entrance with a stone wall and set up another Linga in the ardha mandapa. They did astabhandana for the Goddess (Mulappernacciyar) and set up the Goddess on the upper storey of the vimana. They did pupadanam (buried in the ground) for the utsav vigrahas, Ilaiya Nayinar and other vigrahas near Mucukundisvaramudaiyar shrine. The Soliya, Kulasekharapperumal, who was formerly doing puja in the Kariyamanikka Perumal Temple, was left in charge of the Madurai temple and the conduct of its worship. Then, taking the gold vigraha of the God and a few other gold vigrahas, the sthanikas left Madurai, and reached the Kilukiluppai forest in Nanjilnadu .
  • (Devakunjari 1979: 166-167), in Jain, M. (2019). Flight of deities and rebirth of temples: Episodes from Indian history. 272ff