We checked out of our hotel at 6.30am this morning to take part in the 3 hour 'story trail' walk we'd booked onto. We were joined by a lovely couple from Australia and got on really well with them. The story trail was as described on the website - our hostess took us on a tour of the backstreets and part of the temple and relayed stories/folklore about the major gods/goddesses and then gave us some information about local customs, clothing and beliefs etc
We started out at 7am which was great as the market stalls hadn't set up then and the streets were relatively quiet although as the tour progressed the noise levels increased and we found it quite hard to hear our soft spoken leader.
Inside the temple we saw statues of Lord Shiva (Destroyer of evil). Apparently he destroys by a novel method. He dances, and when he dances the world stands still
The temple is devoted to Meenakshi - a 3 breasted Goddess who was a fierce warrior. Here she is with 3 breasts - before she fell in love.
she met Shiva he challenged her to a test of strength - she had to match his prowess at dancing. She held her own pretty well till he cheated. He kicked one leg up high into the air, a move which no true lady could imitate for fear of being immodest! Anyway, she fell in love with Shiva, whereupon the third breast disappeared (as had been foretold at her birth apparently). They ruled Madurai for many years. Devotees worship either of these two important deities.
Their 'marriage' is celebrated in style every year (end April) at Madurai and devotees from around the country flock to the Town
I preferred the lovely red outfits of these ladies. Our guide told us that in many places/temples only young girls or post-menopausal women can attend religious services. Some enlightened temples now allow women in so long as they aren't in their 'monthly cycle' and so considered unclean.
We'd taken the precaution of asking the hotel to provide us with packed breakfasts as we weren't sure whether the tour included food.
As it happened we stopped for a light breakfast of flatbread (dosa) with a selection of sauces and a cup of steaming Chai.
After the meal we met our driver, Joshy, and set off for the 2 hour drive to Chettinadu
We started out at 7am which was great as the market stalls hadn't set up then and the streets were relatively quiet although as the tour progressed the noise levels increased and we found it quite hard to hear our soft spoken leader.
Inside the temple we saw statues of Lord Shiva (Destroyer of evil). Apparently he destroys by a novel method. He dances, and when he dances the world stands still
The temple is devoted to Meenakshi - a 3 breasted Goddess who was a fierce warrior. Here she is with 3 breasts - before she fell in love.
she met Shiva he challenged her to a test of strength - she had to match his prowess at dancing. She held her own pretty well till he cheated. He kicked one leg up high into the air, a move which no true lady could imitate for fear of being immodest! Anyway, she fell in love with Shiva, whereupon the third breast disappeared (as had been foretold at her birth apparently). They ruled Madurai for many years. Devotees worship either of these two important deities.
Their 'marriage' is celebrated in style every year (end April) at Madurai and devotees from around the country flock to the Town
Nandi is the bull on which Lord Shiva travels .. most gods ride some sort of animal, be it a peacock a lion or a bull and this statue stands outside the temple with Nandi facing in direct line to Lord Shiva
The garland makers/sellers were up early this morning - these always look and smell so beautiful
and there were many groups of early devotees making their way to the temple. So many of the males are dressed in black (or black with orange) and they are all ages
I preferred the lovely red outfits of these ladies. Our guide told us that in many places/temples only young girls or post-menopausal women can attend religious services. Some enlightened temples now allow women in so long as they aren't in their 'monthly cycle' and so considered unclean.
We'd taken the precaution of asking the hotel to provide us with packed breakfasts as we weren't sure whether the tour included food.
As it happened we stopped for a light breakfast of flatbread (dosa) with a selection of sauces and a cup of steaming Chai.
After the meal we met our driver, Joshy, and set off for the 2 hour drive to Chettinadu
I love the tales of the deities they are very interesting and the temple and statue of Nandi are fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get my head around all the deities, and their various reincarnations but she kept these stories simple. I liked this Nandi also ... so many of them are plain black statues which look a bit ominous!
ReplyDeleteAnd you have done a good job of retelling those stories :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Meera .... my 'simplified' version :-)
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