Blog Archive

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Meet Me in Tamil Nadu- Let's Travel to Kerala

Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai- Tamil Nadu

 An aalayam as old as the first century CE 

Built by Kulashekar Pandyan of the Pandyan dynasty 

Taking orders from Prabhu Shiva himself 

Who appeared in the King’s dreams 

 

A central majestic structure in the middle of the ancient city

The scholars in the 6th century met for discussions in the pious land 

How we wish we saw its original grandeur 

Destroyed by the Muslim Sultanate in the 16th century 

Rebuilt it was by the Vijayanagara empire 

After defeating the invaders

Further expanded the aalayam was in the 17th century

By Vishwanatha Nayakar of the Nayaka dynasty 

And by Thirumalai Nayak, who followed the previous king’s footsteps 

Yet, destruction struck again

This time, in the form of the British rulers 

The locals were determined to protect their heritage in 1959

Instead of praising the glory of the invaders 

And choose to restore the temple by collecting donations 

 

The story of Meenakshi is a fascinating one

A triple-breasted girl born out of the fire 

As a result of a yagna performed 

By King Malayadwaja Pandya and his queen Kanchanamalai

Confused they were at the gift bestowed upon them

When Prabhu Shiva assured them that things would be fine

Source: Vijay Hotels

Meenakshi’s third breast disappeared when she met her husband 

And the wedding took place in Madhurai

With Bhagwan Vishnu taking the place of Meenakshi’s brother 

And why wouldn’t he? 

When she was none other than Maa Parvati 

Marrying her beloved Prabhu Shiva 

The wedding ceremony is celebrated every year-

Chaithirai Triruzha known as Tirukalyanam 

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Maha Vishnu Temple, Thirunelli- Kerala

Chera king Kulaseheran, a bhakt of Bhagwan Vishnu

Built the temple during his reign AD 767 and AD 834

Propagating the Vaishnava order 

Proving his bhakti through the famous Sankrit work Mukundamaala 

Thirunelli, they say, comes from Nelli, a gooseberry

The fruit of the tree under which Bhagwan Brahma 

Found the murti of Prabhu Vishnu

 

A king from Coorg tried to renovate the temple 

Only for it to be opposed by the Vellattiri King

The remains of which we see even to this date 

Water for the temple came from the Papanasini stream 

Until a drought caused the region to go dry 

The wife of Chirackal Raja of the Vaarikkara Nayanar Tharvad 

Came to know of the locals’ plight 

When she visited the temple for pooja 

Source: RVA Temples

She went back home to send materials 

To build a water supply to the temple 

From a water source, Varaham, somewhere in the dense forest

Open granite supported by pillars with murals carved on them

The structure even today brings fresh mountain stream to the Prabhu’s abode 

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Source: 

https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-temples/meenakshi-temple.html

http://thirunellitemple.com/history.php

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#FreeHinduTemples



14 comments:

  1. Such a serene post Srivalli. I have been to the Madhurai meenakshi temple many times. Awe-inspiring every single time! Chithirai starts today! 15th april!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I'm yet to visit this wonderful place. For us, it started two days ago on our New Year (Ugadi). :)

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  2. I am dying to go to the Meenakshi temple. My husband only visits Tirupathi (we go there from Chennai so even though I know it is not in Tamil Nadu, I associate this temple with TN). I think I will make a special temple trip without him once Covid is over.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you get to put your plan into action very soon.

      P.S: Rayalaseema people are going to be very angry for giving away Tirupati to the neighboring state. :P

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  3. So many stories inter-woven so well..as usual an interesting one

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  4. You weave mythology architecture and verse so skilfully
    Here from AToZ https://poojapriyamvada.blogspot.com/2021/04/marasim-newnormal-a2z.html

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  5. So, there's a story about Madurai too (on the same trip as Brihadiswara). I may have blogged about it already. I'll have to check.
    Thirunelli is calling me:)
    Lovely collection as always.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Arti. :)
      Oh, please do check and share the link. I'd love to know what had happened. <3

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  6. Meenakshi temple - I have a miraculous personal story about it. Once I kept dreaming of a temple which I had never visited... And described about it to my MIL. When my MIL showed me snaps of various temples she thought were close to my description we zeroed upon Meenakshi temple. And then she told me that my husband in his teen age had visited Madurai with his parents and had refused to wake up in the morning and go for the darshan. So my in-laws had to proceed for darshan leaving him in the hotel room. And as per my MIL thats why Meenakshi Devi is appearing in my dreams so that we can fulfil that darshan and aplogize.

    We are yet to visit Madurai though. But isn't it a miracle to experience this. Your post and the temple pictures reminded me of my experience.

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    1. Oh, wow! That's a surreal experience. I've heard of such dreams and feel sad that because I never get them. Once the covid restrictions are sorted, I hope you and your family can plan a trip to the temple.
      I have a feeling you'll have a marvelous experience at the temple.

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  7. Amazing. I don't know how many ruins we have yet which need reconstruction.

    I was in delight to read and see the pictures. :-D

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    Replies
    1. Too many, P, we have too many ruins that need to be saved. :(
      I'm so glad to enjoy the posts. I loved searching for the pictures. :D

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