Meenatchi Sundareshwarar Temple
Main Deity : Sundareshwarar.
Ambal : Meenatchi.
Temple Tree : Vilva Tree.
Prominence of the Shrine : In this temple, the sunlight falls on the Shiva Lingam from March 19th to March 21st and the lingam glows. If the children have any ‘Dhosham’ in their Jaathakam [Horoscope], then the parents can give the children to the God as the God’s adopted child and then get it back, then the Dhosham of the child, will be removed. A common belief is that the people doing such a ritual should not have any Venduthal remainder, If thay have any such Venduthal to be completed, the Venduthal should first be completed and only afterwards the adopting ceremony should be done.
While giving the child, the parents should think , ‘‘ I am giving my child as ‘Suttha Saasana Krayam’ to Meenakshi Sundareshwarar. Hereafter, this is not my child, it is Meenakshi Sundareshwara’s child.” Likewise the parents should handover the child to the priest. The Archakar [priest] will give the child to its maternal uncle or its grandparents. Its a belief that by doing so, the child does not face any difficulty.
After the child has grown up, during the time of its marriage, the parents should go to the temple and say that they take back the word told to God that the child belongs to God. They should also keep the child’s horoscope at the God’s feet and do pooja and worship the Lord. By this, it is believed that the parents get back the child. In the Theertham opposite the Sundareshwarar Sannidhi, Theppa Thiruvizha takes place on the 11th day of Chitthirai.
Temple History : ‘Ari’ means Chandran, ‘Mazha’ means Child. The Chandran who was as a full moon, became smaller and smaller and was continuously waning and became like a small child due to a curse. So, he lost all his powers and came to Arimalam which is a place infested with thick Vilva trees. He requested to Shiva to grant him ‘Shaaba Vimochanam’[cure from the curse]. So, the God positioned Chandran in his head and granted him Shaapa Vimochanam.
Due to the blessings of Sundaresa Perumal, he became Ilampirai [ Arimalam ] in the Lord’s head [Sadai Mudi]. Due to this, Chandran regains all his powers. So, Chandran requested Shiva to bless the place with the name Arimalam. Shiva also accepted his request. The researches tell that the name ‘Arumpallam’ had only evolved into Arimalam as in the Vilangi amman Sannidhi here, a rare kind of fruit called the Eranjippazham is found. So, the people had called it ‘Arumpallam’ and it later evolved as ‘Arimalam’. Parvathi Devi came to earth taking the Meenakshi Avatar.
A Gandharva called ‘Vishuvasu’ had a daughter called Vidhyavathi. She was a devout worshipper of Parvathi Devi. She wished to get a dharshan of Ambal and expressed her wish to her father. Her father said that she could get a dharshan of Ambal if she did penance thinking of Parvathi Devi, in the Kadamba Vanam in the earth. As told by her father, Vidhyavathi meditated in the Kadamba Vanam. Vidhyavathi imagined Parvathi not only as her mother but also as her daughter. She did many services in the Ambal Sannidhi in the temple at Kadambavanam. Parvathi appeared before her and asked her what wish she wanted.
Vidhyavathi said that she thought of the Ambal as her daughter and served her so she requested Ambal to really appear as her daughter. Parvathi Devi said to Vidhyavathi, “In your next birth, you will be born as the daughter of a Chola king called Soorasena and you will marry the Malaiyatthuvasa King of Madurai. I will be born as your daughter and after that both of you will get freedom from rebirth.” In the next birth of Vidhyavathi, Meenakshi was born as her daughter from the ‘Yagna Kundalam.’ Meenakshi’s birth is an example that if we worship God with a sincere belief, the God will come to our house to bless us abundantly.
Since Meenakshi excelled in many forms of art while growing up, the king gave him the responsibility of ruling Madurai. Meenakshi ruled the kingdom very efficiently and conquered many kingdoms. While she went for ‘Digvijayam’ to Kailayam to conquer Kailayam, , she saw Lord Shiva there. Shiva came to Madurai to wed Her. He took over the responsibility of ruling Madurai. Meenakshi was the queen of Madurai. The reason for her name was her eyes. Kasi Visalaakshi’s name can be split up into Visalam + Atchi. ‘Atcham’ means eyes.
This name is because she saves the world with her wide [ Visalam ] eyes. Kanchi Kamatchi’ s name could be split up as ‘Kaamam + Aatchi’. Likewise, Meenatchi’s name is splitted as Meen + Aatchi . It means that she saves the people and fulfills their wishes with the wink of her fish like [Meen] eyes. Meenakshi has a particular speciality that both Visalakshi and Kamakshi do not have. The eyes of Visalakshi and Kaamakshi have the possibility of winking. But the eyes of a fish do not wink. It protects its younger ones without blinking its eye. Like wise, it is a belief that Meenakshi protects her devotees day and night without blinking her eyes.
Since, she does not blink her eyes only, Madurai remains as a ‘Thoongaa Nagaram’. Meenakshi is also known as Maragathavalli. Maragatham is a green coloured precious stone. The green colour represents prosperity. It is the mark of generosity and mercy. The green colour of Meenakshi proves that she is the embodiment of mercy. The devotees believe that Madurai which was earlier a town of very less financial and business background has now transformed into a big city only due to the blessings of Meenakshi. 500 years ago, the people of Arimalam in the Pudukottai district constructed a Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple in their locality so that Meenakshi blesses the people there also.
People who worshipped here : Vidhyavathi, Chandran.
Temple Timings : Morning – 06:00 a.m to 12:00 noon, Evening – 03:00 p.m to 08:30 p.m.
Temple Festivals : Theppam Festival in the Chitthirai month.
Nearest Town : Pudukottai.
Temple Address : Meenatchi Sundareshwarar Temple, Arimalam, Pudukottai District.
Phone Number : +91 96294 57337.
Hotels Near Meenatchi Sundareshwarar Temple, Narthamalai, Pudukottai :
1.Chidambara Vilas Chettinad, (4.1 km from Temple)
Ramachandrapuram, Kadiapatti | Off Thirumayam Fort,
Pudukkottai 622505,
ph :095855 56431.
2.Saratha Vilas Heritage Home in Chettinad, (13.3 km from Temple)
832 main road, Kothamangalam,
Kariakudi taluk, Tamil Nadu 630105.
3.Chettinadu Narayana Vilas, (9.5 km from Temple)
Near Raja Palace,Raja Front Street,
Kanadukathan, Tamil Nadu 630103,
ph no:04565 283 199.
4.Hotel Sathyam, (19 km from Temple)
1 Sathyamoorthy Road,Pudukkottai,
Pudukkottai 620008
5.Visalam, (9.2 km from Temple)
7/1 - 143, Local Fund Road,LF Road,
Kanadukathan, Tamil Nadu 630103
Restaurants Near Meenatchi Sundareshwarar Temple, Narthamalai, Pudukottai :
1.Appus Curis Family Restaurant, (18.2 km from Temple)
No : 5/p, Poonga Nagar, Rajagopalapuram,
Railway Station Road, Near State Bank Poonga Nagar,
Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu 622003,
ph no:04322 261 541
2.Shri Aiswarya Restaurant, (19.7 km from Temple)
Marthandapuram,
Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu 622001.
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