MADURAI KING TIRUMALAI NAYAK WITH HIS WIVES.
Post No. 14,844
Date uploaded in London – 8 August 2025
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Madurai Meenaakshii Sundareswarar (Shiva ) temple is considered one of the wonders of the world. It is because it contains over 30,000 sculptures (stuccos) and paintings. The stone sculptures are carved with very great precision. A small mistake would have made the sculptor to restart the work again and work for many years. It had beautiful and tall towers during the visit of Tamil Miracle Boy Saint Tiru Gnana Sambandar around 600 CE. Sekkilzar of tenth century mentioned the tall towers in Peria Puranam; Sambandar mentioned just the towers. But the present structure has only one old tower built in 12th century by Sundara Pandya. Later Madurai Nayak Kings, particularly Tirumalai Nayak, and Nattukkotai Nagarathar Chettiyars added several towers and Mandapas/buildings.
The British took over the management of the temple when corruption was reported in the 18th century. There are several miracles of Goddess Meenakshi well documented in the temple records. Let us look at some miracles.
1
Peter Pandya alias Rous Peter
Rous Peter was the collector of Madurai between 1812 and 1828. He was a devotee of Madurai Goddess Meenakshi. He made lavish gifts to Madurai temple and Alagarkoil (Kalla Azakar) Vishnu temple. He was popularly called Peter Pandya. It is said that once he shot a wild elephant and it started attacking him. Immediately he prayed to Goddess Meenakshi and fired another shot which killed the elephant. This story appeared in print.
Another popular version is that one day he was sitting in his court hall and writing a judgement during rainy season. At that time a beautiful little girl appeared before him and asked him to come out of the building. Attracted by her charm he followed her , but she disappeared. As soon as he came out of the building, it collapsed. He realised that it was Goddess Herself came and saved his life twice. As a thanksgiving he donated some jewels to the temple, and they are still used on festival days.
2
Tirumalai Nayak (1623-1659)
Tirumalai Nayak renovated the temple completely during his reign. His wife constructed Ashtasakthi Mandapam. During his reign the beautiful Pudumandapam in front of the temple was built. He showed personal interest in the development of the temple. He revived the Sengol/ sceptre Festival. This meant he was only a servant of Goddess Meenakshi who gives her golden sceptre to him to rule Her country . Since Greek ambassador Megasthenes (3rd century BCE) mentioned the Pandya queen in his book Indica, this must have started 2300 years ago.
Rev. William Taylor has recorded Nayak’s personal involvement in the administration of the temple to weed out corruption. It reports a miracle. Goddess Meenakshi (Parvati, wife of Shiva) appeared in Nayak’s dream and told him there is no care for me. Very next day he called the temple administrator and told him quietly, “for the future we ourselves will piously undertake the anointing, the purveying of offering food (prasaadam) to God, the robing of the images with garlands and flowers, lighting of the sacred lamps and the whole of the daily duties throughout the temple”. He also donated lands yielding 12,000 pons (gold coins) every year for the administration of the temple.
Later, from the first day of the month Thai, Eswara year, on the Makara Sankaranthi Day, he handed charge over to one Paranetha Pandaram, the son of the hereditary female lamp-lighter of the temple. This is recorded in a translation by Rev William Taylor.
3
Early Miracle recorded in Temple Document
In 1365, Kumara Kampana Udayar, a prince of the Vijayanagara Empire, invaded Madurai in Tamil Nadu after conquering many kings on his way. He sounded the death knell of the Muslim Sultanate which ruled Madurai for half a century. Ibn Batuda, the African traveller, has recorded all the atrocities done to Hindus by the Muslim sultans. Though he was a Muslim he was disgusted by the sultans massacring Hindu women and Children; he has given a graphic account of incidents which he saw with his own eyes.
When Kumara Kampana entered Madurai with his wife Queen Ganga Devi (author of Madura Vijayam in Sanskrit) he saw a miracle. Nelson gives a graphic account of the reopening of the Meenakshi temple after the elimination of Sultans:
“Kampana Udayar was taken on an appointed day to witness the reopening of the Pagoda (temple) and on his entering and approaching the shrine for the purpose of looking upon the face of God. Lo! and behold! Everything was precisely in the same condition as when the temple was first shut 48 years ago. The lamp that was lighted on that day was still burning and the sandal wood powder, the garland of flowers and the ornaments usually placed before the idol on the morning of the festival day were found to be exactly as it is .
This is not Nelson’s words. This is written in the Temple Record book called Seethala Kurippedu in old Tamil. Nelson has given a brief translation. And such a record written in the temple never exaggerates nor tell lies.
4
Fourth Miracle
My father V Santanam, freedom fighter and News Editor, Dinamani, Madurai was part of the 1963 Kumbabishekam (consecration done every 12 years) of the Madurai Temple. Then Kumbaabishekams were done in 1974 and 2009. During the last Kumbabishekam there was a controversy about the Consecration Date. A section of the temple priests was not happy about the chosen date. But it was already announced publicly. There was a big embarrassment about changing the date. At last, all the parties concerned, agreed to leave it to Goddess Meenakshi to pass a final judgement. The modus operandi generally followed in such a dilemma, is to write YES and NO on paper bits and roll them out and put them in a pot. One from the audience of devotees is called at random, again by someone unconnected with this process, and asked to pick up ONE rolled paper bit. A little girl from the audience was called to pick up Yes or No paper bit on an auspicious day. To the surprise of all the girl picked YES paper bit. Then casually someone asked the girl her name, she said MY NAME IS MEENAAKSHI. Everyone was wonderstruck and had the hair stood on end (goosebumps, elation).
Miracles never stop. They do happen even today. My friend Siddhivinayakam on a casual telephone call from India told me how he named his baby daughter. When he was struggling with different names suggested by family members, he heard someone saying Meenakshi suddenly from unknown source. We call it Asariri, i.e. ‘not from human body’ or from an unseen person.
God Shiva and Goddess Meenakshi have been worshipped for at least 2300 years in Madurai temple. Now millions visit the temple every month.
–subham—
Tags- Madurai Temple, Goddess Meenakshi, Four miracles, Peter Pandya, Tirumalai Nayak, Kampana Udayar, Ganga Devi
Tamil and Vedas 
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