Lord Sundareswarar (Shiva) the consort of Goddess Meenakshi is to the north of KilikoontuMandapam .The deity of Sundarar is a Lingam. Kulasekara Pandyan, the grandfather of Meenakshi established the temple around this self manifested Lingam here.

On your way you can worship a gigantic deity of Sri Ganesh called MukkuriniPillaiyar. When the king Thirumalai Nayakar excavated a temple tank 3 km from Meenakshi temple he unearthed this deity of Vinayaka and erected the same here.

In the outer pragaram (corridor outside the main shrine) there is stump of the kadamba tree, which is said to be a part of the same tree under which Indra worshipped Shiva linga. Also in the outer corridor there are the Kadambathadi Mandapam and big hall called ‘VelliAmbalam’. Here, a beautiful deity of Nataraja (Shiva as the Lord of Dance) is seen. This deity of Nataraja is covered with silver leaves. Hence this hall is named as VelliAmbalam (Silver Hall)

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Potramaraikulam (Golden lotus tank)
This temple tank is an ancient tank where devotees take bath in the holy water. The area around this tank was the meeting place of the Tamil Sangam – the ancient academy of poets. This academy judged the worth of any work of literature presented before it by throwing it into the tank. Only those that did not sink were considered worthy of attention. The tank is surrounded by a pillared corridor. Steps lead down to the tank, enabling worshippers to take bathe in it.

There is a nice story about this Golden lotus. Once Lord Indra had committed a terrible sin, and had to do a major penance to redeem himself. He came to Madurai, and decided to worship lord Shiva by offering 1000 lotuses. He was able to pluck 999 lotuses from the lake, but he couldn’t find one more lotus. Heart broken, Indra wept and prayed to lord Shiva. A golden lotus then bloomed from the center of the pond and Indra was able to redeem himself from his sin. That is why the temple tank is called PotramaraiKulam (Pon = Gold, Thamarai=Lotus).

Oonjal Mandapam

The Oonjal (swing) Mandapam and Killikoontu (parrot cage) Mandapam are on the western side of the tank. Every Friday, the utsav deities of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are seated on the swing in the Oonjal Mandapam and hymns are sung as the deities swing to and fro. The parrots in the KilikoontuMandapam have been trained to repeat Meenakshi’s name. Interesting are also the 28 pillars of the mandapam which exhibit some excellent Sculptures of figures from vedic scriptures.

The Thousand Pillar Mandapam
It is the ‘wonder of the palace’. Actually the number of pillars count to 985 beautifully decorated columns. Each pillar is sculptured and is a monument of the Dravidan sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in this 1000 pillars hall where you can see icons, photographs, drawings, etc., exhibiting the 1200 years old history. There are so many other smaller and bigger mandapams in the temple.

Just outside this Mandapam ,towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar when stuck, produces a different musical note. The kalyanamandapa, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chitirai Festival in mid- April.

The Meenakshi Amman deity is carved out of a green stone. Some also say it is made up of emerald, hence Meenakshi is also called “Maragathambal” or “Maragathavalli”. Maragatham is the Tamil word for emerald. The distinctive feature of the statue is its eyes. The eyes are big, beautiful and mysterious and Meenakhi is indeed a very apt name(Meen=Fish & Eyes= Aksi). Just like a fish nourishes her siblings thru her mercy laden glance,similarly Meenakshi Amman also nourishes all her devotees with her merciful glance.

It is narrated that Madurai was originally a forest known as Kadambavanam. One day, a farmer named Dhananjaya who was passing through the forest, saw Lord Indra (The king of the gods), worshipping a swayambhu (self createdLingam ) under kadamba tree. Dhananjaya, the farmer immediately reported this to King Kulasekara Pandya. Kulasekara Pandya cleared the forest and built a temple around the Lingam. A city was soon planned with the temple as its centre. On the day the city was to be named, Lord Shiva is said to have appeared and drops of nectar from his hair fell on the town. So, the place was named Madurai – mathuram meaning “sweetness” in Tamil.

Madurai has a rich historical background in the sense that Lord Shiva himself performed sixty-four wonders called “Thiruvilaiyadals”.

After King Kulasekara Pandyan had already build a small temple with the Lingam which is now referred to as Lord Sundarar. His son, Malayadhwaja Pandyan became the next King of the Pandyanempire.

For years, Malayadwaja and his consort Kanchanmala were unable to conceive any children. In attempts to beget a child, Malaydwaja conducted many Vedic sacrifices. Finally, in the middle of one such ritual, a three-year-old girl with three breasts emerged from the flames and sat on Kanchanmala’s lap. The girl in fact was Goddess Parvati, who had taken birth as Kanchanmala’s daughter in response to a prayer of hers in her past life.

In fact, Malayadwaja was a bit sad that he was not blessed with a son. But suddenly he heard a disembodied voice tell him that he should name the girl “Thadathangai” and to raise her as if she was were a son. The voice ensured Malayadwaja that Girls third breast would be absorbed back into her body when she first cast her eyes on the man who would become her husband—i.e Lord Shiva.The fish-eyed baby also never blinked her eyes, which was later thought of as “always keeping a careful eye on Madurai”. For this reason, Madurai is also called “Thoonganagaram” which means “The city that never sleeps”.

Malaydwaja obeyed the divine command. He named Thadathangai his successor and taught her the art of war. After Malayadwaja’s death, Thadathangai ascended to the throne. She was the beloved of the people and came to be known as “Meenakshi”—the one with fish-like eyes. Meenakshi embarked on a dig-vijaya, a military campaign of victory across the length and breadth of India. After numerous victories on earth, Meenakshi attacked Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. She defeated all the soldiers and generals of the Lord. Seeing this, Shiva himself came to fight the undaunted queen. But as soon as Meenakshi saw the Lord, the prophecy of her youth bore fruit: she instantly fell in love with him and her third breast went back inside her body.

Shiva directed Meenakshi to return to her home city, promising her that he would join her in eight days as her bridegroom. And this is exactly what happened. They were married in Madurai with Lord Vishnu himself giving away Meenakshi to Shiva.

Meenakshi Kalyanam (the marriage of Meenakshi with Shiva) is celebrated annually to this day. According to the Sthalapurana, Meenakshi and Lord Shiva ruled over the city of Madurai for a long time appearing as of human.

It is said that the Lord Shiva performed several miracles during his wedding. There was nothing on the side of the bridegroom’s party to match the regal splendour of the preparations made for his marriage; the story goes that on the wedding day, much to the astonishment of all, Lord Sundareshwara, the bridegroom came only with a dwarf named “Gundodhara’. Meenakshi, with a view to show her husband that she was very rich and powerful than him, haughtily remarked that the grand wedding arrangements would go waste since the bridegroom had not brought with him a large retinue befitting the occasion. Sundareshwarar said that it would be sufficient if they would be able to feed the dwarf brought with him. To the amazement of all, everything that Madurai could produce in shape of things to eat and drink was not enough to satisfy appetite of Gundodhara. Gundodhara quickly consumed both cooked and uncooked things and started asking for more. When there was nothing else left to eat, the dwarf  began to cry for water to quench his thirst. All the water in the wells reservoirs of the city had gone in the same way as the food. Sundareshwarar then directed a flow of water from his matted hair which is said to be Vaigairiverand by drinking this the dwarf was satisfied.

This wonderful theme has been taken by the South Indian artists to create superb sculpture and paintings. They have found the marriage of Shiva and Parvathi a traditional source of inspiration. The celebrated poem Tiruvilayadal Puranam describes that Sundara Pandya and his queen ruled the kingdom as mortal kings. In course of time, they got a son who was named Ugra Pandya, later on to be called as Lord Muruga. After crowning their son to take over the kingdom, they revealed their real identities as Lord Sundareshwara and Goddess Meenakshi.

The most well known of Madurai is the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar twin temple, the pivot around which the city has evolved. The Meenakshi temple complex is literally a city one of the largest of its kind in India, undoubtedly one of the oldest. Various kings have renovated it, adding convoluted corridors. It is believed that most of the temple as it stands today, owes its existence largely to the endeavour of the Nayaks, who, descending from Vijayanagar rulers, guided its destiny in the 17th century.

Shiva in his incarnation as Sundareshwarar and his fish-eyed spouse, Meenakshi, are enshrined in this twin temple. There are four massive gateways enclosing these two temples. Facing the shrine of Sundareshwarar is the lavishly embellished ‘Pudu Mandapam’, also known as ‘Vasantha Mandapam’. On each of the pillars, is represented Shiva in his various manifestations. The attractive life-size statues of the ten Nayaka rulers together with their consorts are installed here. To the south of the main shrine dedicated to Shiva, is the temple of Goddess Meenakshi. The structure with its two concentric enclosures is about half the size of the main shrine. The porch leading to the temple is called “Ashta Shakti Mandapam’ on account of the eight Shakti Goddesses figured therein.

There are in all eleven towers to this temple, the largest and most beautiful being the one on the southern doorway. Rising to a height of about 70 metres, this impressive ‘gopuram’ is by far the most ornate and florid of the Dravidian towers. It has nine stories and crowded with grinning gargoyles and gryphons that perch on the ornate curved edges. The surface of the ‘gopurams’ on the southern door way is covered with plastic figures of deities and semi- divine characters, freely sculptured and drawn from Hindu mythology representing the appearance of a pulsating mass of masonry. With frequent renovations and additions being done down the centuries, there are more than 1,600 sculptured figures.

The temple complex is within a high-walled enclosure, at the core of which are the two sanctums for Meenakshi and Sundareshwara, surrounded by a number of smaller shrines and grand pillared halls. Especially impressive are the 12 Gopuras. Their soaring towers rise from solid granite bases, and are covered with stucco figures of dieties, beasts and monsters painted in vivid colours.

Temple Towers
There are 12 temple towers(Gopurams). The outer towers are the landmarks of Madurai. They are: East Tower (Nine Storeys).Height 161’3″. This Gopura has 1011 sudhai figures. South Tower (Nine Storeys).Height 170’6″. This Tower has 1511 sudhai figures. West Tower (Nine Storeys).Height 163’3″. This Tower has 1124 sudhai figures. North Tower (Nine Storeys).Height 160’6″. This Tower has lesser figures of sudhai than other outer towers.

Ashta Shakthi Mandapam

Above: The roof of the Ashta Sakthi Mandapam is painted with rich colors. A visitor who enters the temple through the eastern gateway, first enters this Mandapam (hall). It was built by Thirumalai Nayakar’s wives Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai. In this hall, food was once distributed to the devotees who came from far off places. Next to this hall is the Meenakshi Nayaka Mandapa, a spacious columned hall used for shops and stores. This hall has a votive lamp-holder with 1,008 lamps, which are lit on festive occasions and present a spectacular sight. The sculptures on the pillars here relate some of Lord Shiva’s Thiruvilayadals (miracles) and also the story of Meenakshi’s birth and her life as the princess of Madurai.