Meenakshi Tirukalyanam

TheMeenakshi Tirukalyanam festival,also known asChithirai TiruviḻaorMeenakshi Kalyanam, is an annualTamil Hinducelebration in the city ofMaduraiduring the month of April. The festival, celebrated during the Tamil month ofChithirai, is associated with theMeenakshi Temple, dedicated to the goddessMeenakshi, a form ofParvatiand her consort Sundareshvara,a form ofShiva.
The festival lasts for one month. The first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation of Meenakshi as the divine ruler of Maduraiand her marriage to Sundareshvara. The next 15 days mark the celebrations of the journey of Kallaḻagar or Aḻagar (a form of the godVishnu) fromhis templetoMeenakshi Amman Templein Madurai.
As per the legend, Meenakshi was the daughter of thePandyaking Malayadhvaja Pandyan and queen Kanchana Malai. The royal couple did not have a child for a long time, so Malayadhvaja Pandyan performed specialpujasand offered his prayers seek a son. During the puja, a 3-year-old girl emerged from the fire and sat on the lap of the king, bearing three breasts. At that time, a divine voice from the sky told them that this child was an incarnation ofParvati(the wife ofShiva), and Shiva himself would come to marry her at the right age. Meenakshi was trained in warfare, and she was crowned as the queen of the Pandya kingdom after her father died. She conquered the whole world with her extraordinary war skills, and at last she went toKailasha(the abode of Shiva) to conquer it. When Meenakshi confronted Shiva in the battlefield, she fell in love with him and realized that she was a form of Parvati. Her third breast fell upon meeting him. Shiva assured Meenakshi that he would come to Madurai to marry her. As promised, Shiva, along with allthe godsandthe sages, came to Madurai. Shiva as Sundareshvara married Meenakshi and ruled the Pandya kingdom under the name Sundara Pandyan.Their templestands at the centre of Madurai.
The Aḻagar festival is associated with theVaishnavaKallaḻagar temple. Once, the sage Manduka was taking a bath in the holy waters of theAgaya GangaiinAḻagar hills. At that time, the short tempered sage,Durvasa, came by that way. Manduka missed his arrival, which Durvasa took as an insult and cursed Manduka to become a frog and live in the river Vaigai. On Manduka's beeseaching, Durvasa told him to go to Vaigai and pray to the Aḻagar form ofVishnuto be released from the curse.
Aḻagar was pleased by the prayers of Manduka, and went to the Vaigai river to lift the curse of Manduka. As per Manduka's wish, he showed himall his ten avatarsand blessed him.
The wedding of Meenakshi with Sundareshvara was to happen in Madurai. Aḻagar, the brother of Meenakshi, was invited. He started on a 20 km journey from his abode at Aḻagar Hills towards Madurai. Aḻagar decided to travel disguised as a robber to protect himself and his belongings. At times, he had to hide to avoid getting arrested by soldiers. This, and the dense forest of Aḻagar Hills, delayed his journey further. This delay was purposely caused by Sundareshvara, and vishnu himself took the form of Aḻagar and performed thekanyadana(handing over a girl for marriage) of Meenakshi. This was enacted by Sundareshvara to prove that Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same. Later, when Aḻagar was crossing the Vaigai river, he learned that his sister's wedding was over. This made him furious. To pacify him, Meenakshi and Sundareshvara came to the Vaigai river. Aḻagar chose to give all the gifts that he carried to Meenakshi and Sundareshvara in amandapain the middle of the Vaigai river, and returned to Aḻagar Hill without entering Madurai.
Historically, the Meenakshi festival related toShaivasect and Aḻagar festival of theVaishnavasect were separate events celebrated in Chithirai Month .Both festivals were merged into a single event to unite the people of the two Hindu sects (ShaivaandVaishnava) as well as to boost Madurai's economy.
The location of culminating event of Aḻagar festival - the entering of the river by Aḻagar - was also moved from Thenur village to Madurai.
The following are the list of events in the Tirukalyanam festival.
During this event, the chief priest of the Meenakshi temple hoists the holy flag on thedhvaja stambham(flag pole) of the temple. This marks the beginning of the festival. The flag stays on the flag pole until the end of the festival.
Pattabhishekam is a coronation ceremony. Meenakshi is crowned as the queen of Madurai on this day, and she is regarded to rule the Pandya Kingdom for the next four months. After this ceremony, her husband Sundareshvara is crowned as the king of Madurai for the next eight months.
After Meenakshi is crowned as the queen of the Pandya kingdom, she goes into war with all the countries in the world and conquers the whole world and she goes to Kailasha (the home of Shiva in Himalayas) to conquer it. However, after seeing Shiva on the battlefield, she falls in love with him and marries him.
Meenakshi Kalyanam is the wedding celebration of Meenakshi and Shiva (Sundareshvara) in Madurai. On the day of Meenakshi Kalyanam, devotees get up at sunrise and reach the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. After taking a holy dip in the golden lotus pond, they wear clean clothes. Meenakshi is first worshipped using traditional methods, following which prayers are offered toVibhuti Vinayakar. On this day, devotees sing devotional songs and bhajans. It is also considered auspicious to wear the holy ash known asvibhutiwhile entering the temple premises. Devotees also carry fruits, coconuts and incense sticks to offer to the deities. Inside the temple, the images of the deities are decorated with silk clothes and floral garlands. There are nearly 50 priests in the Meenakshi Madurai temple who perform the puja rituals and special prayers. The main priests in the temple perform the ritualistic wedding ceremonies. At the completion of the event, images of Meenakshi and Sundareshvara  are taken out in huge processions on the streets in thePushpa PallakkuandYanai Vahanam.
The Chariot festival, also known asTer TiruviḻaorRathotsavam, is performed the day after Meenakshi Kalyanam. The king and queen of the Pandya Kingdom, Meenakshi and Sundareshvara come to see their subjects in a well-decorated chariot. It attracts many people in the Masi streets of Madurai as viewers.
Part of the Chithirai Tiruviḻa ofKallazhagar templeatAḻagar Koyil, theEthir Sevabegan on the fourth day of the festival. On this day, Aḻagar changed his appearance as Kallar (Kallar vedam) when he traveled via Kallar Nadu and entered Madurai city and the people of the city welcomed him.
A reenactment of the scene of Vishnu refusing to enter Madurai and returning to Alagar Koil occurs in a mandapam in Madhichiyam in the middle of river Vaigai.
The Devendra Puja is held at the fourteenth and final day of the Chithirai festival in honour ofIndraat the Meenakshi Temple at Madurai.