Madhurai Meenakshi - is one of the most prominent Shakti temples of India. The temple itself is not just known for the miraculous divinity of the presiding deities - but also for the construction which is a great architectural splendor.
Madhurai (Tamilnadu) is the wonderful place which was ruled by Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi in human form as Sundareswarar and Meenakshi.
Mother Goddess Parvathi took birth as a girl child out of the holy fire of PUTRA KAMESHTI YAAGA, performed by a devotee king 'Malayadwaja Pandya'. The king brought her up as the heir of his kingdom. She became a great warrior (learned all 64 SASTRAS to the perfection) and conquered all the kingdoms/abodes.
Finally she met Lord Siva when she was about to conquer Kailasa. Both of them recognized that - each of them are the destiny for the other. Their marriage was conducted in grandeur. After the marriage, they ruled the kingdom for a long time and finally took the divine forms of Meenakshi Sundareswarar.
The original temple was believed to had been constructed by LORD INDRA with the Sayambhu Lingam of Sundareswar as the presiding deity. Tamil literature speaks about the temple for the last couple of millennia. Later the temple was badly destroyed during Islamic invasions in the year 1310. Later, the initiative taken by Viswanatha Nayak from the year 1560 onwards became fruitful and the temple stood in grandeur that we are seeing today with great contribution from many subsequent kings during the course of time.
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