The  Origin  Of  The  Meenakshi  Temple:-   The     Sri
Meenakshi    Sundareswara    temple    and   Madurai   city
originated together. According to tradition, Indra once committed  sin  when  he  killed  a demon, who was then performing penance. He could find no relief from remorse in his own kingdom. He came  down  to  earth. While passing through a forest of Kadamba trees in Pandya land, he felt relieved of his burden. His servitors  told  him that there was a Shivalinga under a Kadamba tree and beside a  lake. Certain  that  it  was  the  Linga  that  had helped him; he worshipped it and built a small temple around it. It is believed  that  it  is  this  Linga, which  is  till under worship in the Madurai temple. The shrine is called the "Indra Vimana".

Once Dhananjaya, a merchant of Manavur, where the Pandyas had arrived after the second  deluge  in  Kumari Kandam, having been overtaken by nightfall in Kadamba forest, spent the night in the Indra Vimana. When next morning he woke up, he was surprised to see signs of worship. Thinking that it must be the work of  the  Devas, he told the Pandya, Kulasekhara, in Manavur, of this. Meanwhile Lord Shiva had instructed Pandya in a  dream to build a temple and a city at the spot  Dhananjaya  would  indicate. Kulasekhara  did  so. Thus  originated  the temple and city.

When the next Pandya, Malayadhvaja, and his queen, Kanchanamala, performed a  sacrifice  for  a  child, Lord Shiva caused Goddess Parvati Herself to step out of  the fire as a little girl. She  had  three  breasts. Lord  Shiva told the couple that the third breast would disappear when she set eyes on he who was to be her husband. They were to name her "Thadathagai" and bring her up as if she were a boy. She succeeded her father  to  the  throne at his death. She gained many military victories. Finally  she  marched  on  Kailasa  itself. When  she  saw  Lord Shiva, her third breast disappeared. The Lord told her to return to Madurai and said that He  would  marry  her there. The divine marriage was celebrated. This is the theme much beloved of Madurai artists. There is a superb sculpture of this in the temple. The crowning of Meenakshi, for She was the same as Thadathagai, is  celebrated as a festival in  the  temple. The  Lord  performed  many  miracles  at  the  wedding. These  are  described  in  a celebrated poem, the "Tiruviayadal Puranam". Under the name of "Sundara Pandya", the Lord ruled the land  as a mortal. After sometime, crowning Lord Muruga, their son, who was named "Ugra  Pandya", Sundara  Pandya and Thadathagai  went  into  the  temple  and  assumed  divine  forms  as "Lord  Somasundara"  and  "Goddess Meenakshi" respectively.

Earliest   References   Of   The  Temple:-  Paranjothi   Munivar  wrote   the  Tiruviayada l  Puranam  in  the  sixteenth century. It is regarded as the temple's Sthalapurana. An earlier work adds a few  celestial  sports   not included  in the latter. These are, or rather were painted on the walls around  the  Golden  Lily   Tank. Some  of  the  painted wooden panels are in the Temple Museum. The earliest  references  available  to  any  structure  in this  temple  is  a hymn of Sambhandar's, in the seventh century, which refers to the "Kapali Madil". The present inner walls of the Lords shrine bear  this  name  today. In  the  early  times  th e entire  temple  must  have  been  confined  to  the  area between these walls, and the structures must have been of brick and mortar. In  the 14th century an  invasion  by Malik Kafur damaged  the temple. In  the  same  century  Madurai  was  under  Muslim  rule  for  nearly  fifty  years. The  temple  authorities  closed  the  sanctum, covered  up  the  Linga, and  set  up  another  in  the  Ardhamandapa. When   the  city  was  liberated,  the   sanctum   was   opened,  and,  tradition says  the  flower  garlands  and  the sandalwood paste placed on the Linga were as  fresh  as  on  the  first  day, and two oil lamps were still burning.

About The Temple:- While the temple originated in times to which no date can be assigned, the structures that are standing today date mostly from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. They occupy a vast  space, 258 m  by 241m. There are the two main shrines, no less than  twelve  Gopuras,  a  tank  and  innumerable  Mandapas. At every turn there is superb sculpture, magnificent architecture.


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