Meenakshi Temple: Difference between revisions

According to Hindu mythology the temple has divine origins. More than 3,500 years ago, [[Indra]] the king of the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] built a temple as a symbol of his devotion to [[Shiva]]. Other gods added more temples and religious centre started growing. The local king; Kulashekhara Pandya, also built a temple there. His daughter, Meenakshi, had divine symptoms at birth and she married Shiva later. However, it is also believed the oldest amongst the present structures was possibly built in the 7th century by the [[Pandya dynasty]] and later fully developed by the [[Madurai Nayak dynasty]], in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is the temple complex we see today.<ref name= ‘madurai’>{{cite web| url = https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/south-asia/x97ec695a:1500-1850-deccan-south/a/the-meenakshi-temple-at-madurai | title= The Meenakshi Temple at Madurai | work= by Edward Fosmire |publisher= Khan Academy | access-date = 23 October 2023}}</ref>