Who built Madurai Meenakshi Temple and how old is this temple?

Answer 1

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is commonly referred to as the Meenakshi temple.

The main deity Sundareswarar means the Beautiful Lord and His divine wife Meenakshi means One who rules the world through her eyesight[citation needed] and Koil means temple in Tamil. The temple forms the heart and lifeline for the 2500 year old city of Madurai[1] that is believed to be the home for the classical language of Tamil. According to the Hindu legends, Lord Shiva with his divine group of followers appeared here in this city of Madurai, to marry the daughter of the Pandya ruler, Meenakshi, who is believed to be a form of Hindu goddess Parvati. This temple is one of the most sacred abodes of Parvathi, others being Kamakshi of Kanchipuram, Akilandeswari of Thiruvanaikaval and Vishalakshi of Varanasi.

The temple has a stunning architecture and was a frontrunner in the election for the modern seven wonders of the world for its architectural importance[2] [3] [4] [5]. The complex houses 12 magnificent gopurams or towers that are elaborately scultptured and painted. The temple is a significant symbol for Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is believed to have been built only in the early 17th century.



Mythology :
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According to Hindu legend, the Lord Shiva came down to earth in the form of Sundareswarar to marry the goddess Meenakshi, who is a form of Parvati, Shiva's divine consort. Parvathi had earlier descended to earth in the form of a small kid in response to the great penance of Malayadwaja Pandya, the ruler of Madurai[6]. After growing up she starts ruleing the city and the Lord appears on earth and proposes to marry her. According to Hindu mythology, the marriage was supposed to be the biggest event on earth, with the whole earth gathering near Madurai. Lord Vishnu the divine brother of Meenakshi was traveling to preside over the marriage from his holy abode at Vaikuntam. Due to a divine play, He was tricked by god Indra and delayed on the way and the in the meanwhile marriage is presided over by a local god Koodal Azhaghar. This angers Lord Vishnu very much and he swears never to enter the city and settles in the outskirts at the beautiful hill of Alagar Koil. He was later convinced by other gods and he proceeded to bless the divine couple - Shiva and Parvati.

Both the marriage and the Vishnu's passification are still celebrated as the biggest festival in Madurai, name Azhakar Thiruvizha (the festival for the beautiful lord)[7]. A detailed article on the divine marriage can be found here.

The divine couple are believed to have ruled the region for a long time and it is not clear what happened to the place after they left. Another legend says that the Shiva's deity in the form of Linga was discovered by the god of heaven, Indra who built the original temple. This tradition is still followed in the temple with the deity is accompanied by a model of Indra's vehicle, during festive processions.


Modern History
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The history of the original structure is not properly known, while the Tamil literature speaks about temple for the last couple of millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Shaiva philosophy has mentioned this temple as early as the seventh century and describes the Lord as Aalavai Iraivan[8]. The temple was believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in the 1310[8] and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by Arya Natha Mudaliyar , the Prime Minister of the first Nayak of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.), the founder of 'Poligar System'. Then came the most valuable contributions of Thirumalai Nayak around the year 1623 to 1659. He took considerable interest in erecting the Vasantha Mandapa of the temple complex.

Answer 2

Madurai Meenakshi

Answer 3

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Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple is ahistoric Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva (in the form of Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord) and his consort, Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi). The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 magnificent Gopurams or towers including two golden Gopurams for the main deities, that are elaborately sculptured and painted. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is believed to have been built in 1600. The tallest temple tower is 51.9 metres (170 ft) high.

Answer 4

The enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known here as Sundareshvara and his consort Parvati or Meenakshi. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the entire credit for making the temple as splendid as it is today goes to the Nayaks. The Nayaks ruled Madurai from the 16th to the 18th century and left a majestic imprint of their rule in the Meenakshi - Sundareswarar Temple.

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, mythical animals and monsters painted in vivid colours.

Answer 5

The history of the original structure is not properly known, while the Tamil literature speaks about temple for the last couple of millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Shaiva philosophy has mentioned this temple as early as the seventh century and describes the Lord as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple was believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in the 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by Arya Natha Mudaliyar , the Prime Minister of the first Nayak of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.), the founder of 'Poligar System'. Then came the most valuable contributions of Thirumalai Nayak around the year 1623 to 1659. He took considerable interest in erecting the Vasantha Mandapa of the temple complex.

Answer 6

According to legend, the sacred Suyambulingam discovered by the king of Gods `Indiran' at Kadambavanam, was later enshrined by him in Madurai. The fact that the Lord is seen on the vehicle of `Indira' in this temple is said to be proof for this.

Many historical evidences of the temple have been found dating back from early A.D

Thirugnanasambandar the Hindu Saint has mentioned the temple in his songs which go back to early 7th century. The lord has been described as `Aalavai Iraivan' in his songs.

The temple was almost completely destroyed in the year 1310 following the invasion of the Islamic coqueror Malikkapur. As kings who were followers of Islam were noted for their intolerance towards other religions, the invaders destroyed most of the ancient sculputures of the temple.

The temple was restored to its pristine glory in the late 14th century when the Hindu Kings came back to power in Madurai. This can also be termed as a new beginning of a new era in the history of the temple, when it was almost rebuilt.

The King Thirumalai Naicker played an important role in the construction of the new form of the temple.

Answer 7

An example of Dravidian architecture, the Meenakshi temple complex in Madurai, southern India, was built between the 14th and 18th centuries.

Answer 8

the temple was build in 11th centurie by pandiyan king kulasekara.at first it was asmall temple .only lord siva was worshipied ther.later durinr the invation of malik kapoor the temple was destried. after the vijaya nagar kingtom came to power the king kumara kampanaa rebuild the temple.after that the nayagas of madurai build the same parts of the temple .during the thirumalai nayagamanar perodr he build thre temple in the present form.and some other rich persons are also build some shrines there .but the meenaksi shrine was build during the nayaga period .up to now the temple is getting new addition works by the peoples.

Answer 9

You are not answering the question: What kind of labor--I assume it was slave labor but would like to hear from an authority--built these structures? Who WERE these laborers, that is where did they come from? How long did it take to build them? How many people died building them, etc.

Answer 10

What would have been the point? The list was voted on entirely by the public, the vast majority of whom will never have heard of it. Hence it would have got no votes at all.