Historical Meenakshi Amman Temple is the holy temple of
hindus located in the city of Madurai in southern India. It is a spectacular
yet massive temple of Lord Shiva and Goddess parvati.
That makes this temple different than the
others is the fact that both God and Goddess are worshipped together. It is the
life line of the country, especially southern India as Lord shiva is the highly
worshiped god of the country. It has its foundation way back in the 2500 AD.
According to the mythology, Lord shiva visited Madurai to marry Parvati and it
has been the sacred abode of Goddess Parvarti since her birth. The wonderful
architecture of the place is amongst the seven wonders of the world and the construction
is highly minute with great art piece incorporated the walls and pillars of the
temple.
Temple History:
According to legend, the sacred Suyambulingam
discovered by the king of Gods indira at Kadambavanam, was later enshrined by
him in Madurai. The fact that the Lord is seen on the vehicle of Indira in this
temple is said to be proof for this.
Many historical evidences of the temple have
been found dating back from early A.D. The temple was almost completely
destroyed in the year 1310 following the invasion of the Islamic conqueror
Malikkapur.As kings who were followers of Islam were noted for their intolerance
towards other religions, the invaders destroyed most of the ancient sculptures
of the temple.
Thirugnanasambandar the Hindu Saint has
mentioned the temple in his songs which go back to early 7th century. The Lord
has been described as Alavai Iraivan in his songs.The temple was restored
to its pristine glory in the late 14th century when the Hindu Kings came back
to power in Madurai.This can also be termed as a new beginning of a new era in
the history of the temple, when it was almost rebuilt. The King Thirumalai
Naicker played an important role in the construction of the new form of the
temple according to records.
The Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple is now
under the administration of the HR and CE department of Tamil Nadu.
