Wonder of Wonders

My recent visit to the Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai left me with something wanting. This had happened to me while visiting Munnar and once before in Florence. I guess if everything is fulfilled at one go, there will be nothing left to go back to. That can never happen with an ordinary mortal. We are always wanting something more. This want, this desire for something more, this insatiable craving for once more, is what keeps us going. That wee bit of disappointment is what defines us as human. And that is where we err and that is how we sin.

As soon as we set foot in the temple city of Madurai, known as the city which never sleeps (Thoonga Nagaram), we dashed to take a look at the Meenakshi Temple from outside. We knew that mobile phones and cameras were not allowed inside, so we thought that before the actual visit for the darshan we would see the famed Gopurams from outside and pose in front of them. That is when disappointment struck us. The four gateways or Gopurams, with the tallest rising up to 170 ft, were hidden behind the iron scaffolding and swathed in the green netted coverings used at construction sites. We ran from the west gopuram to the north, from the eastern to the southern gateway, but all were well hidden behind the iron rods. The temple was undergoing the restoration work which happens once in every twelve years. We recalled our visit to Munnar. There too the blooming of the Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) flowers, which cover parts of the hills of the Western Ghats in a blanket of purplish-blue and give the Nilgiris its name, had eluded us by a year. There too the flowers bloom once in twelve years- another wonder of nature or divine intervention. The Baptistery of San Giovanni outside the Duomo in Florence, too, had been hidden behind restoration facades and the ‘Gates of Paradise’ had not opened for us. May be the fish-eyed goddess, also called Meenatchi or Angayarkanni (the one with the beautiful fish-like eyes), eternally awake to protect her people, wants us to come back again to see her colourful gateways, rising far above the city, easily spotted from any part of the town. Interestingly the insignia of the Pandyan rulers, who had made Madurai their capital, was also the fish.

Model of the temple at the Govt. Museum

Though the gopurams (lofty towers above the gateways on outer walls, a feature of Dravidian architecture) look identical, each was built at a different point of time in history between 13^thC and 17^th C, each constructed in varying dimensions, and each carrying thousands of mythological tales, stories from the epics, shastras and puranas, through the vibrantly coloured stucco figures of gods, kings, sages, beasts and demons. They are the bearers of thousands of mythological and religious stories, standing erect through rain and sun, leading us to the shrines of the principal deity Meenakshi and her consort Sundareshwarar, placed in a huge temple complex laid out like a fort with concentric, quadrangular walls. Inside there are ten more gopurams (towers on inner walls and vestibules), equally beautiful and equally colourful, only smaller in dimensions. The shrines of the two presiding deities have gold vimaanams (towers over the sanctums) with intricate carvings.

Vishnu-Parvati-Shiva (courtesy internet)

This temple celebrates the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi (Parvati) and Lord Sundareshwarar (Shiva) with Lord Vishnu, as the brother of Meenakshi, giving away the bride to the handsome Shiva. There is beautiful sculpture dedicated to this event called Kalyanasundarar in which all three of them can be seen. Meenakashi is standing between Shiva and Vishnu; Shiva holding her right hand in his while Vishnu (also known as Alagar or Azhagar) standing on the left is pouring the kannikaadanam water out of a pot. Behind them is the Karpaga Vriksha which was presented to Meenakshi by Indra during her digvijayam. There is a special mandapam called the Kambatthadi Mandapam dedicated to the celestial wedding carrying the most beautiful of sculptures of all the twenty-six forms of Lord Shiva. There is a huge statue of Nandi and the golden dhwajasthambha just outside the main shrine of Lord Shiva. The frescoes and other sculptures in the temple, too, carry scenes from this event. It is estimated that there are some 33000 sculptures in the temple complex. This temple is the confluence of all three sects of Hinduism- Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. The marriage ceremony is celebrated to this day in the form of Chithirai Thiruvizha or Chithirai Festival. It is a twelve-day festival, celebrating the Goddess as their queen, protector, daughter and mother, which culminates in the wedding of the god and goddess on the tenth day. Thirumalai Nayakar, the great Nayak who ruled Madurai, conceived the idea of this festival in the Tamil month of Chithirai (April in the English calendar) to connect the temple rituals with the general public and bring them closer. The Chariot Festival takes place the day following the grand wedding. On the day of the wedding, Lord Vishnu’s procession from Alagar Kovil also starts for Madurai. Lord Vishu arrives in his golden horse at the Vaigai river bank. This festival also sees the amalgamation of people from two streams of faith- the Shaivites and the Vaishnavites. Other festivals are dedicated to the remaining months of the Hindu calendar. For each of these occasions the special festival idols, crafted from five alloys, of the main deities dressed in silks and decorated with precious jewels, ornaments and accessories, are carried through the streets of Madurai in huge processions ending in different rituals and ceremonies.

Alagar Kovil- Vishnu Temple

Inside the temple, there are shrines dedicated to other gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. There is the huge-eight feet idol of Lord Ganesha carved from a single rock called the Mukkurini Vinayakar who is given a huge ball of rice as a special offering. You get to see it while going from the shrine of Meenakshi to that of Shiva. There are shrines dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, Kaali, Nataraj in Velli Ambalam (Shiva in the cosmic dance pose within a silver altar with his right foot raised instead of the usual left), Karthikeya, Ganesh and Anjaneya.

And if this ancient city by the river Vaigai is home to so many gods and goddesses, can legends be far behind? Madurai was once covered with kadamba trees and there is reference to a city called Kadambavana kshetram. The forests were cleared by Kulasekara Pandyan to build a well- planned city which came to be known as Thiru Alavai. The current name Madurai is said to have come from the word madhu or nectar from the flower. The legend has it that at the time the city was built Lord Shiva himself came to bless it and a drop of nectar fell from his locks, giving the city its beautiful name. Historical and literary works, too, carry references to this very old city. The earliest being the account of Megasthenes in 3^rd C BC and also in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Madurai finds mention in the works of Roman and Greek historians and geographers like Pliny the younger, Ptolemy, Strabo. Besides, this city is mentioned in the surviving Sangam literature as Koodal or Koodal Nagar. Koodal could refer to a meeting point or confluence, which could refer to the confluence of the river and the sea or the assembly of poets and scholars in the famous Sangam.

However, the most interesting legends are those associated with the two prime deities. The King of Devas, Lord Indra had to kill a demon Vrithrasura who was terrorising the three worlds. But the slaying brought upon Indra a grave sin since this demon was a high-born Brahmin. Indra tried various means to absolve himself of the sin but was not successful. Once, while passing through a forest of Kadamba, Indra felt himself being relieved of the burden of this sin. He looked around searching for the cause and found a Shiva Lingam in the shades of a Kadamba tree. Next to the tree was a pond with a golden lotus. Indra cleansed himself by bathing in its waters and offered the golden lotus to the Shiva Linga. Indra ordered Maya, the divine carpenter and son of Viswakarma, to bring an exquisite vimaanam on the backs of eight elephants and offered it to Lord Shiva. Hence, the vImaanam atop Sudareshwarar’s shrine is called Indra Vimaanam or Ashtagaja Vimaanam. The gold plating which we see today was done much later by Viswanatha Nayakar in the mid- 16^th C. The pond with the golden lotus can be found inside the temple complex. A legendary stork was once granted a boon here by Lord Shiva. The stork, on seeing a fish in the Golden Lotus Pond, had curbed its natural instinct to feed on it since it would vilify the sanctity of the place. Shiva appreciated this selfless quality in the bird and granted it eternal release from the cycle of birth and death. He also granted a special boon to the bird by ensuring that there would not be any marine life in that pond so that other birds would not succumb to any temptation. The pond is believed to have been a judge in deciding the aesthetic merits of a literary work in the Sangam period. A plank carrying a literary work would float if the work was acceptable and sink if it was not up to the standards.

Since the presiding deity in this temple is Meenakshi Amman her darshan is done first. The birth of Meenakshi, too, has a legend associated with it and this story is also depicted in one of its mandapams- the Ashta Shakti Mandapam. Madurai was once ruled by a king named Malayadhvaja Pandyan. He along with his wife Kaanchanmalai once did a yagna for a son since they were childless. A child appeared from the fire with three breasts. The royal couple was a little disappointed since they had wanted a male child. But a divine prophecy assured them that she was no ordinary child. She should be raised to rule the kingdom one day. The day she would meet the right suitor her third breast would disappear. She was the goddess herself who had come to them as a princess. The couple named the child Thadaathagai and took great care to raise her like the future queen. At the appropriate time she was crowned the Queen of Madurai and took the royal sceptre in her hands and became the protector of the people of this city. Thaddathagai ruled Madurai and then ventured to conquer the world. After conquering heaven and earth, she reached Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. As she faced the Lord, her middle breast disappeared. She had found her consort. Lord Shiva came to Madurai to marry Thadaathagai and since then she became Meenakshi, the fish -eyed goddess. While Vishnu gave her away, Lord Brahma as the chief priest solemnised their marriage. All the Devas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, Rishis and Siddhas attended this wedding. The name and fame of Madurai city over the centuries and the well-being of the people are all due her presence in the temple dedicated to her. The five-feet idol in the sanctum sanctorum is made from a block of green stone and she is a perfect blend of beauty, grace, benevolence and poise. She is dressed like a bride, awaiting the arrival of her Lord. The image is in a standing posture with the right hand carrying a lotus and her left hand is hanging by her side. A green parrot is on her right shoulder. Her bejewelled head and face irradiate her divine presence through the layers of multi-coloured floral garlands used to decorate her. The idol is so positioned that those who cannot enter the sanctum or come too near because of the crowd can see a reflection of her entire image on a mirror placed strategically on the opposite side.

Since the Lingam had appeared on its own it is Swayambhu (self-manifested) and is also worshipped by the Devas. The shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva is bigger in size and the sanctum sanctorum holds this huge black Shiva Lingam crowned by the cobra’s hood. The lingam is surrounded by 27 lamps denoting the stars in the Hindu calendar. The imposing twelve-feet statues of two dwarpalakas seen at the entrance of the shrine overwhelm you by their majestic size and posture. The colourfully painted ceilings with floral patterns, the intricately carved pillars, the sculptures of the various forms of Shiva and Parvathi are a testament to both the human and the divine since no human had could have sculpted such forms without divine intervention. We could touch and feel each toe-nail in one sculpture of the Lord. The epitome of perfection! As you walk down the corridor towards the garbhagriha to get a darshan of the Lord, while listening to the sound of the purohits performing the aarti, chants of Om Namah Shivai echoing between the stone walls, you truly feel your insignificance and mortality in this pattern of the eternal cosmic whole.

There is a symbolic image of Shiva in the form of two feet embossed on a metal stool. This metal image stays in the Sundareshwarar sanctum during the day and is carried every night in a silver palanquin into Meenakshi’s bedchamber, in which a small idol of the goddess is also kept, symbolising their union.  The day’s pujas conclude with the offering of the holy water at the lotus feet of the Lord before he retires to the bedchambers.

Since photography is not allowed inside the temple precincts, we later bought a very colourful book published by the Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple. The book carries a lot of information and several sculptures are highlighted too. There are plenty of photographs of metal idols of the deities which participate in the ceremonial processions and rituals.   But there are no photographs of the green stone Meenakshi Amman deity or the black stone Shiva Lingam we saw inside the garbhagrihas. No cameras are ever allowed there. The idols are never brought out of the garbhagrihas. To get their darshan you need to be there in person.

Perhaps any write-up on this temple is incomplete without mentioning the Thousand Pillared Mandapam or Aayiram Kaal Mandapam. It is located in the north-east corner of the temple precinct. There are rows and rows of pillars totalling 985 carved in an area of 60,000 square feet. Viewed from any angle these pillars appear to be in a straight line. There is a long central nave with two rows of pillars leading to a two-tiered platform on which stands a huge Nataraja murti in black stone with his consort Shivagami. Pillars sculpted with Yali (a mythical beast which has features of the lion, elephant and horse) flank both sides of the approach to the Nataraja shrine. Yalis are supposed to rule over the animal world and are protectors of humans, both physically and spiritually. In this mandapa each pillar is a block of stone beautifully and intricately sculpted with figures of gods, goddesses, kings, queens, sages and demons. The list would be too long but some of the main sculptures found in this hall are those of Lord Shiva, Harishchandra, Murugan, Arjuna, Bhima, Rathi, Nagaraja, Dancing Ganapati. In the south-eastern corner of this mandapa we find a set of pillars which produce the seven notes of music. This hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar, a great general and minister of the Nayakar rulers of Madurai. One of the pillars bears a statue of him. Similarly, in one wall of the corridor leading to Meenakshi Amman’s shrine we had seen a mural with the stucco figures of the ruler and patron, Thirumal Nayakar, and his queen.

And last, but not the least, is the temple elephant which lives in the temple premises and does a parikrama when the morning prayers are offered to the deities. He, too, is worshipped and revered and decorated on ceremonial occasions. We were lucky to have seen him too.

Apart from the legends, religious texts and remains of literature of the Sangam period, mention of this temple has been found in many literary works of the 6^th C. The poet- saint Thirugnaana Sambandhar (8^th C AD) has sung in praise of this temple in his Madurai Thiruppadikam. Many of the main shrines were built during the reign of the Pandyan ruler Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I (late 12^th C AD). From inscriptions that have been deciphered by Archaeological Survey of India, many additions and makeovers were done by the Pandyan rulers (12^th -13^th C), the kings of the Vijayanagar Empire (16^th C), and the Nayakars of Madurai (17^th C) who followed the architectural principles of Shilpa Shastra. It is generally understood that the original temple had suffered a lot of damage at the time of the Delhi Sultanate during invasions led by Malik Kafur and the present temple had to be re-built, though portions of the ancient temple still remain in the main shrines. Kings and common men have both played a major role through generations in safeguarding the idols and beautifying this abode of the Divine Couple.

May be, if the Goddess wills it, we shall go back once again to see the temple completely restored with its colourful gopurams towering over the mortal world and guiding our paths to the abode of this celestial couple who chose to make it their home.

Meenakashi Amman Temple (courtesy internet)

DS

Acknowledgements: The Great Temple of Madurai Meenakshi (published by Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple) and other articles in the internet.