78 |T
HEMeenakshicomplexinthe
southern Indian city of Ma-
durai is among the world’s larg-
est Hindu sacred sites. It’s one
of the few religious monuments
in India dedicated to a goddess, Meenak-
shi, and is an important pilgrimage site
forHindus.SOURCES: CULTURALINDIA.NET, INDIANMIRROR.COM, NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM, TRIPADVISOR.CO.ZA, KHANACADEMY.ORG, WIKIZERO.COM,
SMARTHISTORY.ORG,WIKIMILI.COM,DUMMIES.COM,ANCIENT-ORIGINS.NET,DEVDUTT.COMTOWERS OF STORIES
In the last of our series on holy places, we look at the Meenakshi temple complex – one
of Hinduism’s most impressive COMPILED BY COLIN HENDRICKS INFOGRAPHIC: MICHAEL DE LUCCHI
A13th-centuryHindusacredtexttellsthe
storyofKingMalayadwajaPandyaandQueen
Kanchanamala, who were childless. They per-
formed a yajna (holy fire ceremony), begging the
gods for a boy. But a three-year-old girl with
three breasts, Meenakshi, appeared.
The god Shiva told them to raise her like a son
and that the third breast would disappear when
she met a man worthy to be her husband who
could beat her in combat. No suitors could beat
her so her father allowed her to be his heir.
After his death she conquered all the other
kingdoms until she met her match in a hermit,
Sundareswara. Her third breast disappeared
and they were married by the god Vishnu,
Meenakshi’s brother, on the spot where
the temple was built.AVATA R S
Hindusbelievethatwhenever
helpisneededtorestoreor-
derandpeaceintheuniverse,
oneofthegodscomesdown
toearthina newformcalled
anavatar.Meenakshiwasthe
avatarofParvati,goddessof
loveandfertility,whileSund-
areswarawastheavatarof
Shiva,godoftransformation.STATUES
The statues of
the deities are
repeated to sym-
bolise reincarnation.The southern tower’s
facade is decorated
with 1511 brightly
coloured stone statues
of gods and demons
and tells a variety of
stories.The southern
WHY WAS THE TEMPLE BUILT? tower’s height 52mMEENAKSHI
VISHNUSUNDARESWARA