MEEN/KSHl /M/N IEMFLE

SU8MlIIED 8Y
F/FNlI/ F/l
lllFD YE/F 8,/FCH
K/FF/G/M UNlVEFSlIY
1he Meenaksh|
Sundareswarar 1emp|e ls
locaLed ln Lhe hearL of Madural
clLy 1amll nadu ln lndla
coverlng an area of around 43
acres 1he greaLesL
archlLecLural marvel of lndla ls
dedlcaLed Lo Lord Sh|va ln Lhe
form of Sundareswarar and hls
wlfe Lhe Coddess arvat| ln Lhe
form of Meenaksh|
Also called Meenaksh|
Amman 1emp|e was bullL
by andya k|ng
ku|asekara and
reconsLrucLed laLer by
8uler 1hlrumalal nayak
Lhe Lemple has paLronlzed
llLeraLure arL muslc and
dance ever slnce lLs
lncepLlon
Accordlng Lo Plndu legend ln order Lo answer Lhe prayers of Lhe second andya klng
Malayadwa[a andya and hls wlfe kanchanamalal Coddess arvaLl appeared ouL of Lhe Poly
llre performed by Lhe klng
Accordlng Lo anoLher legend Lhe goddess herself gave a boon Lo kanchanamalal ln one of
her prevlous blrLhs LhaL she would have Lhe prlvllege of moLherlng Lhe goddess
As Lhe Llme came when she was Lo be coroneLed she had Lo wage war on Lhe Lhree worlds
across elghL dlrecLlons AfLer conquerlng almosL all flnally headed Lo aLLack and conquer
Shlva 1he momenL she looked aL Shlva she was unable Lo flghL and bowed her head down
due Lo shyness
She reallzed LhaL Shlva was her desLlned husband She also reallzed LhaL she was Lhe
lncarnaLlon of Coddess arvaLl 8oLh Shlva and she reLurned Lo Madural and Lhe klng
arranged Lhe coronaLlon ceremony of hls daughLer followed by her marrlage wlLh Shlva
1he andya klng bullL Lhe Lemple for boLh arvaLl and Shlva and Lhe consLrucLlon was carrled
by Lhe nayaks
LLCLnu
1he consLrucLlon of Lhe Lemple sLarLed by Lhe andya k|ng ku|asekara where Lhe
sancLum for lord Shlva and arvaLl was bullL
1he lnlLlaLlve Lo rebulld Lhe sLrucLure was Laken by flrsL nayak klng of Madural
under Lhe supervlslon of ArlyanaLha Mudallar Lhe prlme mlnlsLer of Lhe nayak
uynasLy and Lhe founder of Lhe ollgar SysLem
1he mosL valuable conLrlbuLlons was from klng 1hlrumalal nayak(16231639
Au)was LhaL he Look conslderable lnLeresL ln erecLlng many complexes lnslde Lhe
Lemple Pls ma[or conLrlbuLlons are Lhe vasanLha Mandapa for celebraLlng
vasanLhorsavam(sprlng fesLlval) and klllkooLLu Mandapam(corrldor of parroLs) 1he
corrldors of Lhe Lemple Lank and Meenakshl nayakar Mandapam were bullL by 8anl
Mangammal
LvCLu1lCn

1 AS1PA SAk1Pl MAn1AA

2 MLLnAkSPl nA?AkA MAn1AA
3 CPl18A CCu8A
4 C18AMA8Al kuLAM
3 MLLnAkSPl SP8lnL
6 SunuA8LSPWA8A SP8lnL
7 kAM8A11Aul MAn1AA
8 1PCuSAnu lLLA8Lu PALL /
kAAL MAnuAAM
9 kAL?AnA MAn1AA
10 vl8AvASAn1A8A?A
4
6
5
8
9
7
1nL 1LMLL LAN
2
3
10
1LMLL S1kUC1UkL
1he Lemple complex ls wlLhln a hlghwalled
enclosure wlLh four enLrances covers an area of
2341m long and 2376m wlde
1here are 12 Lemple towers or Gopurams
1helr soarlng Lowers rlse from solld granlLe
bases and are covered wlLh sLucco flgures of
delLles myLhlcal anlmals and monsLers palnLed
ln vlvld colours 1he ouLer Lowers are Lhe
landmarks of Madural
1he LallesL Lower rlses Lo Lhe exLenL of 170 feeL
1he maln sancLum sancLorum ls belleved Lo be
more Lhan 3300 years old
1he forLlflcaLlons and oLher ouLer consLrucLlon
are esLlmaLed Lo be 13002000 years old
1he colossal sLrucLure of Lhe Lemple has goL Lhe
dlmenslons of 234 by 237 meLers
1he Lemples hlghly decoraLed wlLh Gopurams (Lemple Lowers) range ln
Lhe helghL from 43m Lo 30m and Lhe LallesL ls Lhe souLhern Lower 1he
Copurams are hlghly adorned wlLh carvlngs of celesLlal delLles myLhlcal
anlmals and monsLers palnLed ln vlvld colours
1hls mosL colourful sLucco deplcLlng Lhe llfe of Lhe Plndu delLles are
repalred repalnLed and rlLually re consecraLed every 12 years
1he gopurams had lower porLlons made of granlLe conslsLed of moulded basemenL and
pllasLered wall
norLh Lower nlne
sLorey of hL 160'
SouLh Lower nlne
sLorey of hL 170'
LasL Lower ls of
nlne sLorey of hL
161'
WesL Lower nlne
sLorey of hL 163'
1he Lower conLalns of
openlngs porLlcos aL each
level Lo admlL llghL
SCML Cl 1PL MCS1 LA8CLS1 Anu SLC1ACuLA8S MANDAAMC8 nALL A8L
ln anclenL Llmes ln Lhls hall Lhe food was dlsLrlbuLed Lo Lhe
devoLees who came from far off places 1hls hall has a
voLlve lampholder wlLh 1008 lamps whlch are llL on
fesLlve occaslons and presenL a specLacular slghL 1he
sculpLures on Lhe plllars here relaLe some of mlracles of
Lord and also Lhe sLory of Meenakshls blrLh and her llfe as
Lhe prlncess of Madural
Ashta Shakth| Mandapam
Meenaksh| Nayakkar Mandapam
A spaclous columned hall used for shops
and sLores ls ad[acenL Lo AshLa ShakLhl
Mandapam conslsLlng of 110 plllars
carrylng Lhe flgures of a pecullar anlmal
wlLh a llons body and an elephanLs head
called ?alll
otramara|ku|am
An anclenL Go|den Lotus 1ank where
devoLees Lake baLh ln Lhe holy waLer 1he
area around Lhls Lank was Lhe meeLlng
place of Lhe 1amllSangam Lhe anclenL
academy of poeLs 1he Lank ls surrounded
by a plllared corrldor SLeps lead down Lo
Lhe Lank enabllng worshlppers Lo Lake
baLhe ln lL
lL ls163 fL (30 m) by 120 fL (37 m) ln slze
1he on[a| or sw|ng hall and Lhe
k||||koontu or parrot cage hall are on
Lhe wesLern slde of Lhe Lank Lvery
lrlday Lhe golden ldols of Meenakshl
and Sundareswarar are seaLed and
hymns are sung as Lhe delLles gally
swlng Lo and fro 1he parroLs ln Lhe
klllkoonLu Mandapam have been
Lralned Lo repeaL Meenakshls name
on[a| Mandapam
1here are lnLeresLlng 28 plllars whlch exhlblL
excellenL sculpLures of flgures from Plndu
myLhology
1here ls a 1emple ArL Museum ln Lhls 1000 plllars hall
where you can see lcons phoLographs drawlngs
exhlblLlng Lhe 1200 years old hlsLory
1here are many oLher smaller and blgger mandapams ln
Lhe Lemple !usL ouLslde Lhls mandapam Lowards Lhe
wesL are Lhe Mus|ca| |||ars Lach plllar when sLuck
produces a dlfferenL muslcal noLe 1he ka|yana
Mandapa Lo Lhe souLh of Lhe plllared hall ls where Lhe
marrlage of Shlva and arvaLl ls celebraLed every year
durlng Lhe ChlLlral lesLlval ln mld Aprll
1he 1housand |||ar Mandapam
1he 1boosooJ lllloteJ noll was bullL by
ArlyanaLha Mudallar ln 1369 Lach plllar
ln Lhe hall ls a carved monumenL of Lhe
uravldlan sculpLure 1he more promlnenL
among Lhe carved flgures are Lhose of
8aLl(wlfe of Cupld) karLhlkeya Canesha
Shlva as a wanderlng mendlcanL and
endless number of yalls(myLhlcal flgures
of llons)
AcLually Lhe number of plllars counLs 983
beauLlfully decoraLed columns and Lhere
are Lhe wonder of Lhe palace
SnkINLS
1he cenLral shrlne of Meenakshl and
her consorL Sundareswarar are
surrounded by Lhree enclosures and
each of Lhese are proLecLed by four
mlnor Lowers aL Lhe four polnLs of Lhe
compass Lhe ouLer Lower growlng
larger and reachlng hlgher Lhe
correspondlng lnner one
1he Meenakshl shrlne has Lhe
emeraldhued black sLone lmage of
Meenakshl provldlng capLlvaLlng
vlslon 1he corrldor surroundlng Lhe
sancLum of Meenakshl ls called
klllkoLLu Mandapam(parroL cage
corrldor) 1he space was once used Lo
keep green parroLs LhaL were Lralned
Lo uLLer Lhe name of Meenakshl 1here
are Lwo large cages full of squawklng
green parroLs
1he Sundareswarar shrlne lles aL
Lhe cenLre of Lhe complex
suggesLlng LhaL Lhe rlLual
domlnance of Lhe goddess
developed laLer 8oLh Lhe
Meenakshl and Sundareswarar
shrlne have gold plaLed
vlmanam(Lower over sancLum)
1he golden Lop can be seen from
a greaL dlsLance ln Lhe wesL
Lhrough Lhe aperLures of Lwo
successlve Lowers
1he area covered by Lhe shrlne of
Sundareswarar ls exacLly one fourLh
of Lhe area of Lhe Lemple and LhaL
of Meenakshl ls one fourLh LhaL of
Sundareswarar
8LS1C8A1lnC 8LnCvA1lnC Anu CCnSL8vlnC
lmmense care was Laken Lo ensure LhaL Lhe
sLones were carefully removed 1hey were
also belng numbered so LhaL Lhey could be
flLLed back Lo Lhelr orlglnal poslLlons lnlLlally
one half of Lhe 66feeL sLreLch wall was belng
dlsmanLled and rebullL afLer whlch Lhe
second half was Laken up
8oard of 1rusLees of Lhe Meenakshl Sundareswarar
approved nlne renovaLlon works Lo be execuLed aL a
cosL of 8s 31 lakh for Lhe 'kumbablshekam'
Chemlcal wash was used for removlng some of Lhe
palnLlngs on Lhe plllars near Colden LoLus 1ank and
WeaLherlng course for Lhe roof near Lhe sancLum
1he pro[ecL almed ln Lhe compleLe dlsmanLllng of
Lhe kaal mandapam whlch ad[olns Lhe annadana
mandapam sLone by sLone
1o reduce Lhe workload on Lhe sLrucLures a
warehouse on Lhe Lerrace above Lhe 'kaal
mandapam' was belng removed permanenLly
1he wall belng dlsmanLled now has Lwo layers
wlLh a small gap beLween Lhem Whlle Lhey
were fllled wlLh llmesLone earller now Lhey
were fllled wlLh concreLe
1he vlmana of Lhe sancLum
of Lhe shrlne of Meenakashl
has been goldplaLed now
AbouL 30 kllograms of pure
gold was converLed lnLo
sheeLs Lo cover lL
AbouL 10 Lo 13 cracks along
Lhe sLaLues plllars and
beams were spoLLed
lmprovemenL work aL 1housand lllar
Pall Museum ln Lhe 1emple sLarLed
wlLh floorlng Laken up ln Lhe flrsL
phase
CranlLe sLones were lald on Lhe enLlre
museum premlses whlch spans 33000
square feeL 1he floorlng work alone
was around 8s 43 lakh
1he work ls Laken up followlng Lhe
recommendaLlon of Lhe 1echnlcal Advlsory
CommlLLee whlch was consLlLuLed for
upgradlng Lhe hall lnLo a worldclass herlLage
museum
AfLer Lhe floorlng work dlsplay of lLems was Laken
up 1he renovaLlon ls almed aL maklng lL more
vlsual
Speclal lmporLance was aLLached Lo llghLlng
arrangemenLs 1he lLems on dlsplay was shlfLed Lo
wooden cupboards from Lhelr presenL sLrucLures
1ypes of column
wlLh dlfferenL
flgures carved
from a slngle
sLone
CCnCLuSlCn
AfLer Lhe resLoraLlon and renovaLlon Lhls masslve sLrucLure
sLands ln good shape and sLlll lnherlLs all Lhe LradlLlonal
archlLecLural characLerlsLlcs
ConservaLlon of Lhls bulldlng has helped Lhe local workers and
arLlsans Lo work on Lhe LradlLlonal meLhod whlch ls fadlng
away ln Lhe presenL world
uue Lo Lhe proper conservaLlon and malnLenance Loday
Meenakshl Amman Lemple has Lurned ouL Lo be one of Lhe
ma[or LourlsL spoLs ln 1amll nadu
8l8LCC8AP?
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