Introduction
Chithirai Festival, which is associated with Meenakshi Kalyanam is a wonderful festival celebration held in the city of Madurai during the month of April. The festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai, in the Meenakshi Temple, is dedicated to Ma Meenakshi, a form of Parvati and her consort Lord Sundareshwar, a form of Shiva.
The festival takes place for about one month. The first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation ceremony of Ma Meenakshi who once ruled the City of Madurai and her marriage with Lord Sundareshwar. The next 15 days mark the celebrations of the journey of Kallalagar or Alagar (a form of Lord Vishnu), who would eagerly arrive from his temple in Alagar Koyil to Madurai, in order to witness the marriage event of his sister Ma Meenakshi. Kallazhagar Temple in situated in Alagar Koyil, Tamil Nadu, and it is a Vishnu Temple. This temple was mentioned in the Divya Prabandha, the collection of divine poems written by the Alwar saints. It is also one among the 108 Divyadesam of Lord Vishnu and he is worshiped as Kallazhagar and Mata Lakshmi is worshipped as Thirumamagal.
Similar to the marriages of human beings, marriages of the immortals also takes place before few thousand years. Among the marriages of the deities, marriage function of Lord Sundareswarar, a form of Lord Shiva, and Mata Meenakshi, a form of Ma Parvati, is considered as the most important one.
Meenakshi is the daughter of King Malayatwaja Pandiyan and Queen Kanchanamala, who were the rulers of Madurai. After she attained teenage, she conquered all the worlds, and proved herself as the supreme women among all the worlds, and later she went to Kailasa. On seeing Lord Shiva, she felt shyness and worshipped him. Lord Shiva had promised that soon he would marry her.
As per his sayings, after some time, he went to the earth and married with Meenakshi. During their marriage function, all the gods and goddesses were assembled in the earth to get the divine vision of the deities. That divine marriage function is still being praised for its sanctity and holiness, since the couples are not ordinary people. Though Lord Shiva, who is in the form of Sundareswarar, had prosperously ruled the kingdom of Madurai, but actually he was able to rule it only through the guidance of Mata Meenakshi.
Let us also try to celebrate this 2023 Chithirai festival in Madurai, by witnessing the divine marriage event of Ma Meenakshi along with Lord Sundareswarar.
“OM SRI MADURAI MEENAKSHI AMMANE NAMAHA”
Sent By
R.HARISHANKAR
