MEENAKSHI TEMPLE

INTRODUCTION
• MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE IS LOCATED ON THE SOUTHERN BANK OF
THE VAIGAI RIVER IN THE TEMPLE CITY OF MADURAI, TAMIL NADU,INDIA.
• ITS AN DRAVIDIAN STYLE HINDU TEMPLE.
• IT IS DEDICATED TO PARVATI, KNOWN AS MEENAKSHI, AND HER
CONSORT, SHIVA, HERE NAMED SUNDARESWARAR.
• SURROUNDING AN AREA OF THE TEMPLE IS ABOUT 45 ACRES
• THE TEMPLE WAS 1ST CONSTRUCTED SOMEWHERE AROUND THE TIME BY
KULASHEKARA PANDYAN.
• 64 GENERATIONS OF KINGS BUILT FOR 800 YEARS.(VARIOUS KINGS
RENOVATED THE TEMPLE, LEAVING A DISTINCT IMPRESSION OF THEIR
ARTISTIC TASTE. )
• A LARGE PART OF THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED DURING THE MUSLIM
INVASION DURING THE 14TH CENTURY AND THEN WAS RESTORED TO ITS
FORMER GLORY IN THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY.
• THE TEMPLE WAS REBUILT BY VISHWANATHA NAYAK ACCORDANCE TO
SHILPA SHASTRA.
• THE AREAS PLACEMENT OF THE TEMPLE WERE ARRANGED ACCORDING
TO THE HUMANBODY.
 GOPURAMS
• THE TEMPLE HAS HUGE GOPURAMS WHICH CAN BE SEEN FROM A FAR DISTANCE.
• THERE ARE 14 OR 12 GOPURAMS RANGING FROM 45–50M IN HEIGHT.
• THE OUTER 4 TOWERS ARE THE LANDMARKS OF MADURAI,WHICH ARE TALL WHEN
COMPARED TO OTHER GOPURAMS.
• THEY ARE:
• EAST TOWER HEIGHT 161'3“ & HAS 1011 SUDHAI FIGURES. (ITS THE OLDEST
GOPURAM BUILT BY MARAVARMAN SUNDARA PANDYAN DURING 1216-1238)
• SOUTH TOWER HEIGHT 170'6“(, 51.9 METRES) & HAS 1511 SUDHAI FIGURES. (
TALLEST OF ALL)
• WEST TOWER HEIGHT 163'3“ & HAS 1124 SUDHAI FIGURES.
• NORTH TOWER HEIGHT 160'6“ & HAS LESSER FIGURES OF SUDHAI THAN OTHER
OUTER TOWERS.
• ARE THESE 4 GOPURAM’S ARE NINE STOREYS & IS ORNAMENTED WITH
ELABORATE SCULPTURES.
• AND THE OTHER TOWERS ARE INSIDE THE TWIN TEMPLES AND ARE SMALLER
COMPARED TO THE OUTER GOPURAMS. AND ASLSO THESE INNER GOPURAM
SERVES AS THE ENTRANCE TO THE INNER ENCLOSURE SHRINES
 MADURA STYLE
• THE TEMPLE IS HIGH WALLED & ENCLOSURED ON THE BOUNDERIES
AROUND THE TEMPLES, INTERVENING COURTYARDS CALLED
PRAKARAMS WHICH CONTAIN PILLARED HALLS, STORE ROOMS,
OTHER SMALLER SHRINES AND SQUARE WATER TANKS FOR RITUAL
BATHS.
• THE TEMPLE IS SQUARE SHAPED
• THE TANK IS SURROUNDED BY A PILLARED CLOISTER AND HAS
STEPS LEADING DOWN TO THE WATER.
 ARCHITECTURE PERIOD OF NAYAK RULERS
• DRAVIDIAN STYLE IS BEEN SEEN IN THE PERIOD OF THE NAYAK RULERS OF
MADURAI WHO CONTINUED THE BUILDING STYLE AND TECHNIQUE OF
THE PANDYAS AND IMPROVED ON IT.

• THE NOTABLE FEATURES OF THE NAYAK ARCHITECTURE ARE :

• THE HUNDRED PILLARED MANDAPAS

• THE LOFTY GOPURAMS (WITH FIGURES WITH MINUTE DETAIL)

• THE CLOSED PRAKARAMS WITH HUGE PILLARS ON EITHER SIDE

• THE CORBEL BRACKETS

 VIMANA
• THEY ARE TWO GOLDEN SCULPTURED VIMANAS, OVER THE
GARBHAGRIHAS FOR THE MAIN DEITIES.
 SHRINE
• THESE TEMPLES ARE SEPARATELY SURROUNDED BY FOUR SMALLER
GOPURAMS.
• MEENAKSHI’S SHRINE IS LOCATED TO THE SOUTHWEST OF
SUNDARESWARAR’S SHRINE AND SUNDARESWARAR’S SHRINE IS LOCATED IN
THE NORTH EAST
• MEENAKSHI SHRINE AND THE SUNDARESWARAR SHRINE ARE HUGE TEMPLES
WITH THEIR OWN SETS OF 2 PRAKARAMS MAHA MANDAPAMS AND GOLD
PLATED VIMANAMS.
• THE SHRINE HAS A 3-STORIED GOPURAM GUARDED BY TWO STERN
DWARAPALAKAS AND SUPPORTED BY GOLDEN, RECTANGULAR COLUMNS
THAT BEAR LOTUS MARKINGS.
• THE AREA COVERED BY THE SHRINE OF SUNDARESWARAR IS EXACTLY ONE
FOURTH OF THE AREA OF THE TEMPLE AND THAT OF MEENAKSHI IS ONE
FOURTH THAT OF SUNDARESWARAR
• WITHIN THE SUNDARESWARAR TEMPLE COMPLEX IS A SHRINE TO NATARAJA –
THE RAJATA SABHA OR THE VELLIAMBALAM
 MANY MANDAPAS
• THERE ARE NO.OF MANDAPAMS IN THIS TEMPLE.
• PROMINENT AMONG THEM ARE:
• ASHTASHAKTI MANDAPAM
• MEENAKSHI NAYAKAN MANDAPAM
• AAIYIRAM KAAL MANDAPAM
• KILLI KOOTU MANDAPAM
• KAMBATADI MANDAPAM
• PUTHU MANDAPAM
• OONJAL MANDAPAM
• VIRAVASANTHARAYA MANDAPAM
• IRUTTU MANDAPAM ETC….,

• EACH OF THESE MANDAPAMS HAS A HISTORY OF THEIR OWN.

 ASHTA SHAKTI MANDAPAM
• ASHTA SHAKTI MANDAPAM IS THE FIRST HALL OF THE TEMPLE AND WAS
ENTRANCE OF MEENAKSHI SHRINE TOWER NEAR TO EAST TOWER

• WAS BUILT BY THIRUMALAI NAYAKAR'S WIVES.

• THIS HALL WAS ONCE USED TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO THE DEVOTEES
WHO CAME FROM FAR OFF PLACES.
• THE PILLARS IN THE HALL ARE CARVED WITH LORD SIVA'S TIRUVILAYADALS
AND THE LIFE STORY OF MEENAKSHI, AS THE PRINCESS OF MADURAI.

• THE PASSAGE WAS NAMED FOR EIGHT FORMS OF GODDESS SHAKTI

CARVED ON ITS PILLARS.
• OTHER SCULPTURES AND PAINTINGS WERE ALSO THEIR RELATING TO THE
TIRUVILAYADAL ,MAHABHARATA, THE PANCHA PANDAVAS AND THESE CAN
BE SEEN IN THE PANCHA PANDAVA MANDAPAM.
 MEENAKSHI NAYAKAN MANDAPAM
• THE MEENAKSHI NAYAKKAR MANDAPAM HAS TWO ROWS OF PILLARS
CARVED WITH IMAGES OF YALI (MYTHOLOGICAL BEAST WITH BODY OF
LION AND HEAD OF AN ELEPHANT), COMMONLY USED AS THE SYMBOL OF
NAYAK POWER.
• IT IS SITUATED TO THE NORTH OF SUNDARESWARAR FLAG STAFF HALL
AND WAS BUILT BY ARIYANATHA MUDALIAR IN 1569.
• THE 'MANDAPAM' OF THE TEMPLE HAVE 985 PILLARS.
• EACH PILLAR IS UNIQUE.
• AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE HALL IS THE STATUE OF ARIYANATHA
MUDALIAR SEATED ON
• EACH PILLAR IN THE HALL IS A CARVED MONUMENT OF THE DRAVIDIAN
SCULPTURE.
• THE MORE PROMINENT AMONG THE CARVED FIGURES ARE THOSE OF
RATI (WIFE OF KAMA), KARTHIKEYA, GANESHA, SHIVA AS A WANDERING
MENDICANT AND ENDLESS NUMBER OF YALIS (MYTHICAL FIGURES OF
LIONS).
• SOME OF THE PILLARS ARE MUSIC PILLARS, WHICH PRODUCE MUSIC
WHEN TAPPED.
• THE SPECIAL FEATURE OF THESE PILLARS IS THAT THEY ARE MADE OF
SINGLE STONE.
• THE TEMPLE ALSO HAS AN ART MUSEUM.
• IT CONSISTS OF ICONS, DRAWINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH WERE
DATED FROM 1200 - YEAR - OLD HISTORY OF INDIAN TEMPLE
ARCHITECTURE IN THE SOUTH.

•
 KILIKOONDU MANDAPAM, KAMBATADI
MANDAPAM, & PUTHU MANDAPAM
• THE CORRIDOR SURROUNDING THE MEENAKSHI SHRINE IS CALLED
KILIKOONDU MANDAPAM
• THE KAMBATADI MANDAPAM WITH NANDI IN IT AND HAS VARIOUS
MANIFESTATIONS OF SHIVA CARVED AND ALSO CONTAINS THE FAMOUS
"MARRIAGE OF MEENAKSHI" SCULPTURE.
• THE PUTHU MANDAPAM WAS CONSTRUCTED BY TIRUMALA NAYAK
WHICH CONTAINS LARGE NUMBER OF SCULPTURES.IT IS SITUATED
OPPOSITE TO THE EAST GOPURAM.
VIRAVASANTHARAYA MANDAPAM, OONJAL
MANDAPAM & IRUTTU MANDAPAM
• THE VIRAVASANTHARAYA MANDAPAM IS A LARGE HALL WITH HUGE
CORRIDORS.
• TO THE SOUTH OF THIS HALL IS THE KALYANA MANDAPAM, TO THE
SOUTH OF THE PILLARED HALL, IS WHERE THE MARRIAGE OF SHIVA
AND PARVATI IS CELEBRATED EVERY YEAR DURING THE CHITHIRAI
FESTIVAL IN MID-APRIL.

• THE GOLDEN IMAGES OF MEENAKSHI AND SUNDARESWARAR ARE

CARRIED INTO THE 16TH CENTURY OONJAL MANDAPAM (SWING
CORRIDOR)

• MUDALI PILLAI MANDAPAM OR IRUTTU MANDAPAM (DARK HALL)

IS A WIDE AND LONG HALL BUILT BY MUTHU PILLAI DURING 1613.