Hello my pilgrimages tourist ,
Hope all is well and blessed , connect with me.
CheLa The Excited Traveler welcome you again
This time covered Meenakshi temple in madurai city of Tamil Nadu state.
Meenakshi Temple
The historic Meenakshi Amman temple is located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Built sometime between the year 1623 and 1655, the wonderful architecture of the place is renowned globally. Meenakshi Temple is primarily dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her spouse, Shiva. What makes this temple different from the others is the fact that both God and Goddess are worshipped together.
According to the mythology, Lord Shiva visited Madurai to marry Parvati and it has been the sacred abode of Goddess Parvati since her birth. Meenakshi temple was hence built here to commemorate the same and to pay respects to the Goddess. The most striking feature of the temple is its exquisite facade, which has highly minute details with great art pieces incorporated in the walls and pillars.
Meenakshi Amman temple complex is made in accordance to the Shilpa Shastra and has 14 gateway towers or 'gopurams', golden 'vimanas', holy sanctums and shrines dedicated to the revered Goddess Meenakshi and many others. It is a major tourist attraction, with thousands of devotees visiting the shrine on a daily basis.
The folklore
Meenakshi was the daughter of King Malayadwaja Pandya and Queen Kanchanamala, who was born after performing several yagnas (sacrificial rites). The three-year old girl emerged out of the fire during the final yagna. The princess Meenakshi, grew to be a beautiful young woman of great valour who conquered several lands and challenged the mightiest kings. It was then revealed that the princess was actually an incarnation of Parvati who came to earth to honour a promise given to Kanchanamala in her previous life. Thus Shiva came to Madurai as Sundareshwarar to marry Meenakshi and the two ruled over the kingdom for many years before they left for their heavenly abode from the spot where the temple now stands.
The grandeur of this twin-temple complex and its historicity reflects the old-world charm of the city. But today, Madurai is one of the most important cultural and commercial centres of India. Modernity has reached the city, but not at the cost of its rich culture and tradition.
Cellphone is not allowed in Temple , that's why take photos from front of temple after darshan .
Thanks for pay attention and motivate me ,
Best regards,
CheLa
