Madurai meenakshi temple

Collaborative project from India

1. MADURAI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE The ISA project by Vedant Mani

2. LOCATION Meenakshi Temple is located in the centre of the Madurai City which is located in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is approximately at a distance of 2 Kms from the City Bus Stand ( Periyar Bus Stand) and approximately 5 Kms from Mofussil Bus Stand ( Mattuthavani Bus Stand) The coordinates of the Meenakshi temple :- 9*55’10’N 78*7’10’E

3. HISTORY

4. ARCHITECHTURE The Meenakshi temple was built in the Dravidian style of architecture. The temple occupies a huge area in the heart of Madurai as it spreads over 14 acres. The temple is enclosed with huge walls, which were built in response to the invasions. The entire structure, when viewed from above, represents a mandala. A mandala is a structure built according to the laws of symmetry and loci. There are various shrines built within the temple complex. Apart from the two main shrines, which are dedicated to Sundareswarar and Meenakshi, the temple has shrines dedicated to various other deities like Ganesha and Murugan . The temple also houses goddesses Lakshmi, Rukmini, and Saraswati . The temple also has a consecrated pond named ‘ Porthamarai Kulam .’ The term ‘ Potramarai Kulam ’ is a literal translation of ‘pond with a golden lotus.’ The structure of a golden lotus is placed at the center of the pond. It is said that Lord Shiva blessed this pond and declared that no marine life would grow in it. In the Tamil folklore, the pond is believed to be an evaluator for reviewing the worth of any new literature.

5. INTRESTING FACTS There are over 33,000 sculptures in the temple complex of Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. Recently, the temple has been tagged as one of the seven wonders of India along with other stunning monuments like Taj Mahal. The temple has 12 lofty gopurams, out of which 4 major ones are placed facing the four directions. There are 4 inner gopurams that act as the entrances to the shrine. These gopurams are heavily carved, and is reconstructed and cleaned every 12 years. The Hall of Thousand Pillars, or Aayiram Kaal Mandapam is a wonderful piece of architecture and is believed to be built out of a single rock There is a temple dedicated to Lord Sundareswarar , which has 5 gopurams. Unlike other temples, here the offerings are first given to Goddess Meenakshi, whereas in other temples the respects are given to the male deities first.

6. TEMPLE TRUST/ORGANIZATION In terms of Tamil Nadu government order No.1198 of 29.3.1937, the temple was brought under the direct supervision of the Board of Hindu Trust and in terms of the order No,. 10 of 8.1.1953, of the Commissioner of Hindu Religious Trust, Chennai, the powers of the Administrative Officer and the Board of Trustees were defined and the temple was brought under the administration of the Department of Hindu Religious Trust. From being administered by first grade executive officer, the administration was upgraded in phases and today it is being administered by a Joint Commissioner/ Executive Officer.

7. INITIATIVES TAKEN Twelve years ago, 12 workers and two supervisors in charge of the upkeep of the world-famous Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai came together with the aim of figuring out ways to ensure that the sprawling premises is kept spick and span at all times. It could well be said that their efforts have paid off, with the temple winning the ‘Swachh Iconic Place’ award, pipping nine other spots identified by the Central government last year The Madras High Court on Friday banned mobile phones and the use of plastic in the Meenakshi Amman temple in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai, where a fire had broken out on February 3rd 2018 Initially, there was a proposal to install dustbins at select locations around the temple for devotees to discard items like plastic bags and other containers in which they bring flowers, camphor, oil, coconut and the like for the purposes of abhishekam and archanai . The maintenance staff of the temple were sent to the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to study the procedure used for the collection and disposal of waste there.

8. SUGGESTIONS TO A VISITOR 1. Mobile phone, camera, any type of electronic gadgets, bags, water bottles etc will not be allowed inside the temple. All these can be kept in a locker provided by the temple administration and available in all the gates for a price of Rs 30 each 2. Hindus who are visiting for darshan entering the sanctum sanctorum either can go via free darshan or paid darshan queue. Both these queues are different 3. Non Hindus or foreigners needs to pay an entry ticket of Rs 50 per head for entry. They are allowed to a certain place inside the temple, but not allowed to enter sanctum sanctorum 4. Entry from South Gate is by far easiest way than other entrance. Non Hindus or Foreigners who are visiting the temple experience, entry from East Gate is highly recommended 5. In case of old people, recommend to have darshan before 7am as its less crowded 6. Dress Code. There is no particular dress code is available for the visitors. But should wear decent dress while you visit. Dresses with open shoulders and legs are not permitted by the Temple Management Committee. You would not be even allowed to enter the premises

9. WAY OF WORSHIP Worshipping Arulmighu Meenakshi Amman at first had been the manner of prayer traditionally.Devotees should enter the temple through East Gopuram, pass along Ashtasakthi Mandapam, Meenakshi Nayakar Mandapam and Mudali Mandapam, take a bath in the Golden Lotus pond and wear clean clothes. Foremost, they must worship the Viboothi Vinayakar on the south of the sacred pond. From the southern bank, devotees could worship the golden pinnacles of Swamy and Amman temples. They can see the 64 miracles of Lord Shiva on the walls surrounding the pond.After worshipping Sithi Vinayakar , Kumaran and other deities in the parrot cage mandapam, must go round the altar at the Amman Sannidhi , and then enter the sanctum through the main entrance. Men and women should stand in separate rows and worship the deity. Devotees should meditate the five holy alphabets, recite the sacred names of the Lord, sing divine songs and go round the shrine.Under the auspices of the Temple administration, a girls higher secondary school called Arulmighu Meenakshi Sundareswarar Girls Higher Secondary School is being run near Teppakulam , Madurai.While going round the first corridor, Airavatha Vinayakar on the south east, Valla Vinayakar on the south west, Nirutha Ganapathy and Muthukumaraswamy and Chandikeswarar on the northwest must be worshipped. While going round the second corridor, the devotees could see a statue of Thirumalai Naicker

10. ROLE OF HERITAGE SITES IN SOCIETY Helps build social capital Promotes preservation of local traditions, customs and culture. UNESCO now recognises intangible cultural heritage as being as important as buildings. Promotes positive behaviour Helps improve the community’s image and pride Promotes community beautification Builds opportunities for healthy and useful community relationships and partnerships Provides research, education and work-placement opportunities for students Creates enjoyable opportunities for both local residents and visitors attracted to the cultural arts, history and preservation Boosts local investment in heritage resources and amenities that support tourism services