Meenakshi finds mention inTamil literature as the warrior queen of the ancientPandya kingdom, and was later deified.[10] She is mainly worshiped inSouth India, and has amajor temple devoted to her in Madurai. Her iconography is usually represented with a raised right hand holding alotus, on which sits a greenparrot, while her left hand hangs by her side.[11]Meenakshi Tirukalyanam, the marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva is celebrated as a major festival.[12] She was also extolled asShri Vidya byAdi Shankara.[13]
Mīnākṣī is aSanskrit term meaning 'fish-eyed',[14] derived from the wordsmīna 'fish' andakṣī 'eye'.[15] She was mentioned in early Tamil literature asTaḍādakai meaning 'fish-eyed one' inTamil.[16] She is also known by the Tamil nameAṅgayaṟkaṇṇi orAṅgayaṟkaṇṇammai (lit.'the mother with the beautiful fish eyes').[2][3] The name of might also mean "rule of the fish", derived from the Tamil wordsmeen ('fish') andaatchi ('rule'), denoting the fish signage on the flag used by thePandyas.[17][18]
Various meanings of this appellation have been suggested, including that she was originally a goddess of the fisher-folk, that her eyes are "large and brilliant" like that of a fish, or that she has "long and slender" eyes shaped like the body of a fish. Another interpretation is that the name is based on the belief that the fish never close their eyes: the goddess similarly never stops watching over her devotees.[19] Yet another interpretation states that the name is based on the ancient belief that the fish feed their young by merely looking at them; the goddess supposedly supports her devotees by merely glancing at them.[20]
Meenakshi Pancharatnam (five jewels of Meenakshi) is an incantation to Meenakshi composed byAdi Shankara (8th century CE).[13] Though Meenakshi does not directly appear in theLalita Sahasranama, there is a reference to her in the lineVaktralakṣmī parīvāha calan mīnābha ocanā (She who has the face of Lakshmi and has fish-like eyes in the river of her face).[21] Several great hymns on the goddess were composed inthe early modern period by many saints and scholars such asNeelakanta Dikshitar.[22]Tamil literature portrays Meenakshi as the intersection of domesticity and divinity.[23][24]
Painting on the wall of theMeenakshi temple depicting the legend of Meenakshi
According to the 16th century CE Tamil text ofThiruvilaiyadal Puranam, kingMalayadhwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed ayajna seeking a son to succeed the king.[25] A daughter appeared out of thefire, who was three years old and had three breasts. When the parents prayed to lord Shiva, a divine voice advised them to bring up the child, and that she will lose the third breast when she meets her future husband. The girl grew up in the palace, and the king crowned her as his successor. When she finally met Shiva, who took the form of Sundareswarar, she took her true form of Meenakshi, an incarnation of Parvati.Meenakshi Tirukalyanam, the marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was a grand event, with the attendance of various Hindu gods, and other celestial and living beings.[26][27]
According to religious scholar William P. Harman, the story may reflect thematrilineal traditions prevalent inSouth India during the time and the regional beliefs that "[spiritual] powers rest with the women", gods listen to their spouse, and that the fates of kingdoms rest with the women.[26] According to historianSusan Bayly, the reverence for Meenakshi is a part of the Hindu goddess tradition that integrates with the Hindu society where the "woman is the lynchpin of the system" of social relationships.[28] According to anthropologistChristopher Fuller, the wedding represents a symbolic paradigm for human marriages during the time.[11]
TheMeenakshi Temple inMadurai is dedicated to Meenakshi, who is worshipped as the primary deity in the temple. Also referred to as Meenakshi Amman or Meenakshi-Sundareswarar Temple,[29][30] The shrines of Meenakshi and her consort Sundareswarar are located next to each other in the inner courtyard.[9][31]
Though the temple was mentioned in texts from 6th century CE, it was built extensively during the rule of the Pandyas in the 11th to 12th century CE. After most of the temple was destroyed in the early 14th century by the armies ofDelhi Sultanate, the temple was rebuilt after during theVijayanagara rule in the late 14th to 15th centuries.[32][33] Most of the present masonry was rebuilt after the 14th century CE, and the temple was furtherrenovated and expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries by theMadurai Nayaks.[34][35]
The main shrines are located in the center of the temple complex, surrounded by various monuments inside concentricprakarams (enclosures). The enclosures are fortified with high masonry walls, with the outer walls having four toweringgopurams (gateways), one each on either direction, which allow people to enter the complex from all four directions. The complex has numerous sculpted pillaredmandapa including the Ayirakkal mandapam (thousand pillar hall). There are various shrines are dedicated to Hindu deities inside the temple complex. Thevimanas above thegarbhagrihas (sanctums) of Meenakshi and Sundareśvarar are gilded with gold.[33][36][37]
The temple is a major pilgrimage destination within theShaivism tradition, dedicated to Meenakshi and Shiva.[38] As Vishnu is considered to be Meenakshi's brother, it is mentioned asMathura of the South in theVaishnava texts.[39][40] The large temple complex is the most prominent landmark in Madurai and attracts tens of thousands visitors a day.[41] The temple attracts over a million pilgrims and visitors during the annual 10-dayChithirai festival , celebrated with much festivities and aratha (chariot) procession during theTamil month ofChittirai.[42]
^Fiedler, Amanda (2006).Where does Meenakshi take her turmeric bath?: a multiply-constructed religious history and deity in Tamilnadu. Madison:University of Wisconsin. p. 1.
^A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Tamil Language, Vol. VII, PART - II, p. 68,மீனாட்சி, Mīṉāṭci, பெ. (n.) மதுரையை உறைவிடமாகக் கொண்ட தெய்வம்; Umā, the tutelary Goddess of Madurai. [மீன் + ஆட்சி. மீனைக் கொடியில் சின்னமாகக் கொண்டவள்.] Translation: [ Meen + Aatchi. Her who put the fish as symbol for the flag.] (மீன் - Mīṉ which means "fish", ஆட்சி- āṭci which means "rule")
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Cotterell, Arthur (2011),Asia: A Concise History, Delhi: John Wiley & Sons(Asia) Pte. Ltd.,ISBN978-0-470-82958-5.
Datta, Amaresh (2005),The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume Two) (Devraj To Jyoti), Volume 2, New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi,ISBN81-260-1194-7.
Fuller, Christopher John (2004),The camphor flame: popular Hinduism and society in India, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,ISBN978-0-691-12048-5.
Harman, William P. (1992),The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess, Delhi: Indiana University Press,ISBN978-1-59884-655-3.
Kinsley, David (1998),Hindu goddesses: visions of the divine feminine in the Hindu religious tradition By David Kinsley, Delhi: The Regents of the University of California,ISBN81-208-0394-9.
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