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.
Palani is the most divine among all abodes of Lord Murugan Who is also known as Karthikeya in North India. This is the third Padai veedu of Lord Murugan in Tamilnadu. Palani is located in Dindugal district at a distance of 112Kms (70 miles) from Madurai and 152 Kms (95 miles) from Trichy. It is almost at an equal distance from Coimbatore as well.
Palani is at the banks of Shanmuganadhi which is revered as a sacred river. Palani Andavar temple, the well known name of Murugan, stands majestically at the top of the hill. The temple is visible from several kilometers away. The devotees become excited just at the sight of the gopuram itself and start feeling the presence of the Lord in their hearts.
Palani Hill temple is at about 500 ft height and has 693 steps to climb up. Old people and persons, who cannot go by walk, have the option to reach the temple by Rope car or winch. The hill was believed to be inhabited by many Siddha purushas and rishies. The length of Girivalam is 2.4 kms..
Lord Shiva’s Challenge and Lord Muraga’s exile
Meanwhile, Naradha Maharishi, another sage, had brought a divine fruit known as the ‘Gnanappazham’ - Fruit of Knowledge and gifted it to Shiva and Parvathi. Lord Shiva told his sons Lord Ganapathy and Lord Murugan that the first one among them to circle the globe or world would win the fruit. Accepting the challenge Lord Murugan quickly set off on his vehicle, Mayilvaganam- the Peacock. But Ganesh just circled his parents and said that parents are his world. The astute reasoning impressed Shiva and so he gave the Gnanapazham to Lord Ganesh. When Lord Murugan returned, he was very disappointed with Lord Shiva’s decision. So he left his parents and came to Thiru Aavinankudi at the adivaram (foot of Sivagiri hill). Shiva calmed him down by saying that Lord Murugan himself was a fruit of all knowledge (Pazham nee- Pazham is fruit and NEE means you: that you are the fruit of knowledge) and hence the name Palani had evolved. Later on it is said that Lord Murugan settled down in Palani as a hermit just with a loin cloth and stick symbolizing humbleness and simplicity.
History and the story of Kavadi
Agastya, a sage, ordered his disciple Idumban to carry the hills Sivagiri and Sakthigiri to south. Idumban asked the help of Brahma, who is the God of creation, provided Idumban with his ‘Dhanda’-a solid rod. Idumban balanced the mountains on both the ends of the rod and carried them. After traveling a long way, Idumban decided to grab some rest and placed the mountains down.
Idumban’s Mistake and the Resulting battle
In the mean time Idumban had decided to resume his journey and came up to lift the Sivagiri hill, but with Lord Murugan taking the form of a child and standing upon hill it was impossible to do so. Idumban mistaking Lord Murugan for an ordinary child told him to get off the mountain. Lord Murugan refused. In the fight between them Idumban tasted an unusual defeat in the hands of the celestial child Murugan. Only after suffering a crushing defeat had Idumban understood that he had fought with the divine Murugan. He had realized his mistake and asked Lord Murugan to fulfill two wishes.
Idumban's Wishes and the Beginning of Kavadi Tradition.
1. He should be given the opportunity to stand as guard -Dwaraga Balan of the Lord-at this Murugan’s abode.
2. Whoever takes a Kavadi, symbolizing the mountains, as a vow to this holy shrine must be blessed.
Kavadi is the vow in which People have to shoulder the two vessels connected to the both ends of a stick, each at one end. The baskets will be full of offerings like milk or tender coconut or Annam/ rice as per their wish. They will have to carry the kavadi and its contents to Lord Murugan at Palani.
Symbolization of Kavadi
Now just think of Idumban carrying the hills Sakthigiri and Sivagiri tied to a celestial stick on his shoulders and his request to Lord for the devotees.
Now let us understand what is the Real significance of Kavadi by splitting the word and we get ‘Kavi’- saffron, the colour denoting abstinence and ‘adi’ -here it implies pilgrimage. So Kavadi is a process of accepting the Divinity’s power over all Mortals. It is the symbolism of humbleness in life and faith in god. So the devotee takes a pledge of abstinence for a certain period of time and travels to Palani by foot. He should lead a life of simplicity and humbleness without ego during this time. This small practice is expected to be extended throughout his life making him a good human being.
There are different kinds
of Kavadi:
Pal kavadi
In palkavadi, the devotee bears milk in form of kavadi to offer Lord Murugan.
Anna kavadi
In annakavadi, the devotee bears food such as cooked rice as an offering to Lord Murugan.
Saravana Poigai is a sacred pond at Thiru Aavinankudi at the adivaram of Sivagiri.
The belief is that an individual’s sins are washed away once he takes a dip in this pool. There is a precondition that one must take a dip at Saravana poigai and then only enter the temple.
