|
 A
visit to Madurai to the famous Meenakshi temple had been on the cards for about 6 months.
So we (my mother and I) took the Pandyan Express which leaves Chennai at 19.50 and we
reached at 7.25 AM (railway standard time – late, as usual!). A quick check-in at the
College House (almost everybody recommended this place, its close to the railway station
and the temples) and we left to the temple at 9.45 AM. A 5-minute walk and there we were
inside the grand, huge temple complex.
A first time visitor can get confused
without a guide (there are enough of them around). There are four huge gopurams
(entrances-towers) and you could be all mixed up while wandering inside the awesome
proportions of the koil. For someone whose aim is bhakthi, it will take
something like 2 hours for a whirlwind tour to visit every little shrine inside the huge
temple. But a whole day will not be enough for connoisseurs of art, to admire the
intricate and elaborate architecture of this 12th century temple.
 Since we were short of time, we just
followed the signboards (mercifully they were there, but still we managed to get mixed-up)
and walked briskly to the sanctum sanctorum (you see the Goddess first and then
Sundareswarar, her husband). A Rs.10 special ticket ensured us quick and close darshan
of the deity (the idol is quite small) and then we moved to the Lord. He is in the linga
form with a serpent providing shade to him (darshan can be had as close as 5 ft away here
whereas it was earlier the case too with the Goddess, before the bomb threats by Muslim
fundamentalists).
The Legend: Once when Indra, the
king of the Devas, was burdened with Brahmahathi (killing of a Brahmin), he had to
do penance at various shrines to be expiated from the sin. While passing through the
Kadamba forest of Madurai, he was suddenly purified. His search for the cause ended with
the finding of a swayambu (naturally formed) lingam under a Kadamba tree. He
worshipped the deity using golden lotus flowers, built a vimanam and went back to
Devaloka.
 When Kulasekara Pandyan came to know
about this shrine, he built a proper temple and the city of Madurai became the famous
capital of the Pandyas. After him, Malayadwaja Pandyan came to the throne. Since he was
childless, he performed a yagna in which a 3-year old girl appeared. The girl, Thadathagai
(was Parvati herself, consort of Lord Shiva) grew up like a prince and conquered
neighbouring kingdoms and went on to Mount Kailash. There she met Shiva and he came down
to marry her and they ruled for sometime. After they crowned their son, Ugra Pandyan
(incarnation of Muruga) they assumed divine forms as Sundareswarar and
Meenakshi.
A little history:
The origin of the
temple goes back to legendary times. Only a Shiva shrine
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was there in the 7th century A.D. The Meenakshi shrine was built during the reign of Chadayavarman Sundara Pandyan in the 12th century A.D. The 9-storied towers
came up between 13-16th centuries A.D. When Madurai came under the Nayaka
rulers for the next 200 years, a number of mandapams were built apart from additions like
the Hall of 1000 pillars (985 at present with exquisite carvings, so arranged that from
whichever angle one views, they appear in a straight line), Ashta Shakthi Mandapam, Puthu
Mandapam (the summer resort of the Goddess and her Lord), Vandiyoor Theppakkulam (an 8-ft.
high Vinayaka idol was found here when Thirumalai Nayakar, one of the kings of Madurai was
getting this ready), Nayakar Mahal, etc.
The temple as it stands today was built
between 12-18th centuries. From 1877, renovations, repairs and restoration of
paintings on the ceilings have been going on. Other sites to visit here are the Musical
Pillars, Museum and Mangayarkarasi Mandapam.
 Other places around:
Alagar koil (we had no time to visit) 19 kms. East of Madurai is a beautiful Vishnu
temple amidst an enchanting mountain. The deity is bathed with water from a spring, 3
kms.
away because any other water blackens the idol.
Thiruparankundram: Dating back to 2nd century B.C., and located 10
kms.
South of Madurai, it is one of the ‘Aarupadaiveedu’, the 6 Muruga temples in the
state. It is a cave temple where Muruga married Deivayaanai, after slaying the demon.
There are separate shrines in a line for Shiva, Vishnu, Durga and
Vinayaka. A hillock is
attached to the temple, the rock from which the temple is said to have been built. There
are frequent buses plying to and from Madurai though an autowallah can charge you Rs.80
(or more if you are gullible) for a round trip.
Koodal
Azhagar Koil: One of the 108 Divyadesams of the Vaishnavites, the idols of Vishnu
and Lakshmi are huge and beautiful.
 Poets used to meet here and sing
the praise of the Lord, hence the name. The temple finds mention in Sangam literature
dating back to 2000 years. The tower consists of 3 tiers depicting Vishnu in 3 posture,
sitting, standing and reclining. The shadow of the vimanam never falls on the ground. It
is one of the few temples in the country built in tiers.
Palzhamudircholai:
One of the 6
temples dedicated to Lord Muruga. We did not have time to go there or the Madana Gopal
temple, which is close to the Azhagar koil.
Madurai is truly a Temple City,
steeped in South Indian culture and rich and colourful history.
The city is well connected by air, train and
road from all the districts in Tamilnadu. It is located about 497 kms. from Chennai and
has a number of trains passing through.
Padma Subiah |
