During
the winter holidays, we went home to Chennai. Generally, we tend to
remain at home, only visiting relatives and a little shopping. So this
time, we decided to go on at least one out of town trip. So we decided
on Madurai, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari. Plan was to go to Madurai,
followed by Rameshawaram and Kanyakumari. However, we had to return from
Madurai as there was a cyclone warning and we were informed that all
tourist activities would be curtailed. Incidentally, the cyclone warning
lasted for exactly two days, that is the days of our visit. It was
bright and sunny the day we reached back Chennai.
Madurai
is the second largest city in Tamilnadu. In many ways, Madurai is to
Chennai what Mumbai is to Delhi. It is considered the cultural centre of
Tamilnadu. It is also an important industrial and educational hub.
The recorded history of Madurai goes back to the 3rd century BC and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city was mentioned by Megasthenes, the greek ambassador to India and as well as the famous Kautilya. The city is closely associated with the Tamil language and the Tamil Sangams (assemblies of famous scholars and poets) which were held here.
The
city has been ruled at various times by the Pandyas, Cholas, Madurai
Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Carnatic Kingdom and
finally of course, the British in 1801.
We
arrived at Madurai by train early in the morning and took a room in the
TTDC hotel. it was good value for money, with neat and clean rooms. We
quickly freshened up and headed for our first stop, the Madurai
Meenakshi Temple.
On
recommendation of a Madurai resident, we went to the Murugan Idly
Shop for breakfast. The shop which started in Madurai, now has branches
in Chennai and SINGAPORE???? and opening soon in DUBAI??!!
We ordered his signature dish, the idly....and it was worth it. White,
light and fluffy. Not a great looking place, but neat and clean. You
will have to eat on fresh banana leaves, thambi style. And he does not
serve coffee in the morning, so you will have to have coffee elsewhere.
But it is very conveniently located - just 200 mtrs from the
temple entrance. So you can come here and have breakfast before walking
to the temple.
Madurai Meenakshi Temple
The most important landmark of the city is the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. The entire city is planned, as a series of quadrangles, around this temple. Meenakshi, to whom this temple is dedicated, is another name of Parvati, Shiva's consort (Info for the occassional non-indian reader). Shiva, in this temple, is known by the name Sundareshwarar. Unlike other Siva temples in South India, the principal deity is Meenakshi, and not Sundareshwarar.
The Story of Meenakshi
(Source : Wikipedia)
Meenakshi, which means fish-eyed, by one retelling, was born to Kanchanamalai, the wife of the second Pandyan king. The girl was born (or appeared out of the holy fire of a yagna, depending on the source) had three breasts. A voice from heaven announced that the third breast would dissappear when she meets her future husband. She was named Tadaatagai and was trained as the heir to the throne. On attaining age, she waged war in three worlds and conquered Brahma abode (Sathyaloka), Vishnu's abode (Vaikuntha) and Devas abode (Amaravati). She then attacked Shiva's abode (Kailasha), where she easily defeated Shiva's army (Bhootaganas) headed by Nandi. She then headed to attack Shiva. But the moment she looked at him, she couldnt fight and bowed her head down in shyness. Her third breast also vanished. She immediately realised that Shiva was her destined husband and she was an incarnation of Parvati. Both returned to Madurai and the king arranged the coronation of his daughter followed by her marriage with Shiva.
The
marriage was the biggest event on earth with all gathering in Madurai.
Vishnu, the brother of Meenakshi, was to preside over the marriage.
However, he was tricked by Indra and was delayed. (More on this soon)
After marriage, they ruled over Madurai before assuming their divine
forms as Meenakshi and Sundareshwarar.
.JPG)
(Source : Wikipedia)
(Source : Wikipedia)
In
many ways, the beauty of Hindu mythology is the sheer diversity of it.
Each story can be found, with small and large variations, in different
sources. Each city, locality, community would have a variation of the
story, passed down over generations by word of mouth, which speaks to
them. Every temple and shrine would have a story which in some way would
be connected to the main thread. For example, the delay in Vishnu's
arrival for the marriage is a story by itself and gives divine
authority, so to say, for the existence of two more large temples in
Madurai.
Temple Architecture
The
temple is believed to have been originally built by Indra for Shiva.
Tamil literature as well as saints have mentioned this temple over the
last two millenia. The temple is believed to have been sacked by the
muslim invader, Malik Kafur in 1310 and all the ancient elements were
destroyed. The temple was then rebuilt in parts between the 13th and
18th centuries. The major building work was undertaken by the Nayak
Kings, with substantial expansion by Thirumalai Nayak between 1623 and
1655.
(Source : Wikipedia)
As can be seen above, the entire complex, which is spread over 45 acres has various Gopurams, shrines, mandapams and a tank.
Gopurams
are the huge towers, covered with colorful images, that act as
gateways. The complex has a total of 12, of various heights and age.
There are four on the cardinal points acting as entrances to the
complex. The tallest, the Southern tower, rises to over 170 feet and was
built in 1559.
These
gopurams are covered with colorful images, drawn from epics like
mahabharata and ramayana, puranas, myths, legends, folklore, etc. These
images are not carved out of stone and is not an integral part of the
structure. It is made of lime and mortar, and is repaired and repainted every 20 years or so.
The temple has three shrines, for Meenakshi, Sundareshwarar and Shiva in the form of Natarajar. Each of the shrines have their own gopurams guarding them and providing entry. The Meenakshi idol is made of emerald-hued black stone. The Sundareshwarar shrine lies at the centre of the complex indicating that the ritual importance of Meenakshi developed later.
(Source : Wikipedia)
Mandapams
are covered halls, supported by pillars. There are various halls,
including the thousand pillared hall (with 985 pillars), celestial
wedding hall, Hall of eight goddess, dark hall, musical pillar hall,
etc. One tends to lose track as each is filled with stories woven into
the stone architecture.
Another
interesting side story. The Jains were a major community in Madurai by
the 7th century. As per legend, the local Pandyan king converted to
Jainism to the dismay of his wife and ministers. So they called the
Shaivaite saint, Sambandar, to try an reconvert the king to Shaivism.
The Jains tried to kill the saint by burning down his house
unsuccesfully. The Jains and the Shaivaite saint held various challenges
such a the scriptures being thrown into the fire to see which survives,
thrown in water to see which floats, etc. And finally under his
influence, the king converted back to Shaivism. Then starts the
interesting bit. The king told the Jains to convert too. When they
refused, he had 8000 of them impaled, in sitting posture, on wooden
stakes. This event is mentioned, celebrated and commemorated in
narratives by various writers and poets. It is also depicted in frescoes
around the Temple pond and in the museum hall. A few of them are shown
below. As you can see, the victims, all bald and bearded are impaled and
are being tortured by men while birds are pecking at them.
Now
for the strange part - There is no mention of this incident in Jain
chronicles. The first mention in Shaivite literature is nearly 500 years
after the events supposedly occurred. The frescoes were painted in the
seventeenth century, nearly a 1000 years later. It is believed by
historians that no such event occurred and the legend was created by
Shaivites to prove their superiority. That is like announcing to the
world that you have committed murder, without
having done anything. Concocting up an imaginary story of having tortured and killed 8000 men, and celebrating and feeling proud of it. What does it tell us about humanity?
And
finally the final piece is the holy tank, a must in every hindu temple.
The tank is called the Golden Lotus pond as it was in this pond that
the golden lotus required by Indra for his pooja bloomed. According to
legend, it was a mandatory requirement for any work of tamil literature
to be brought to the pond and put in it. If it sank, it was no good. If
it floats, it is good literature. I wonder if the poets spent more time
selecting the type of material on which to write, rather than on the
work itself. Lord Shiva, it seems, granted a boon to a stork, that there
would be no fish or any other form of marine life, in this sacred pond.
And so it is till today. (Personally I fail to understand why the stork
did not want any fish in the pond......what will he eat? Anyways, I am
sure it is an interesting story with a temple somewhere dedicated to it)
That just about sums up the temple.
Is
it worth a visit. Without a doubt. It is crowded, but manageable. It is
slightly dirty, but very clean considering the crowd passing through
it. A guide is a must. Without him explaining things, it is impossible
to truly see and appreciate the entire complex (that is from a purely
tourist point of view).
That ends Part 1 of this travelogue. In the next part, I will try and describe the other places of interest in Madurai including the Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace........and other temples.
