Meenakshi Amman Temple as it is popularly called is located in the Temple City, Madurai. It is the ancient centre of worship and art. Madurai represents a rich cultural heritage. It is the second culturally rich city in India.
The uniqueness of this temple is that, though it is a Shiva Temple, Shiva is not the main deity. Rather his consort, Meenakshi (an avatar of Parvati) is the principal deity. Legend says that to answer the prayers of the second Pandya king and his wife, the goddess was born as their child with three breasts. A voice from the heavens told the king not to worry about the abnormality that the third breast would vanish when Meenakshi met her future husband.
Meenakshi learnt all the arts, went to conquer the world. After conquering all the earthly kingdoms, she went to conquer the celestial Lord, Shiva. The moment she looked at Shiva, she couldn’t fight him and the third breast vanished. She realised she has met her husband and she is the incarnation of Parvati. She returned to Madurai with Shiva. The Pandya king arranged for the coronation ceremony of her daughter and her marriage to Shiva.
Madurai is famous for the fact that it is ruled by a woman, Parvati’s incarnation and not by Shiva himself.
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