Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam Temple, Madurai

Address

Ahimsapuram 6th St, Ahimsapuram,

Madurai district,

Tamil Nadu 625014

Amman

Mariamman

Introduction

Vandiyur Mariamman Temple is located in east of the temple city Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Mariamman, the Goddess of rain. It is situated near to river Vaigai at a distance of about 3 km from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Temple has its huge pond Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam. Although Mariammam Shrine is the prime shrine, temple has pechiammam and vinayagar beside the pipal tree. Two dwarapalakis located on the entrance of Mariamman shrine

Puranic Significance

This is the location where the king Thirumalai Naicker excavated the soil to fabricate the bricks required for constructing his palace, Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal. The pit that was thus formed is seen as tank now. It is approximately 305 m long and 290 m wide, nearly equal area to that of Meenakshi Amman Temple. Built in 1645 A.D., this is the biggest tank in Tamil Nadu. 7 foot tall Mukuruny Vinayakar idol in Meenakshi Amman Temple is believed to be found during excavation process of this pond.

Special Features

Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam is a temple tank located near to Vandiyur Mariamman Temple and situated at a distance of about 5 km from the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Literally, Teppakulam means temple pond mainly used for devotional festivals. The tank is connected to Vaigai River through an ingenious system of underground Channels. It has total of 12 long stairs (steps) made of granite on all four sides. The temple as well as the stairs was built by the King Thirumalai Nayak. In the centre of the tank there is a Madapam called Maiya Mandapam (Central Mandapam) with Vinayakar temple and garden.

Festivals

On Thaipusam, float festival is conducted in Teppakulam(tank) in a colourful way, which attracts thousands of tourists. In the month of mid-March to mid-April (Paṅkuni, twelfth month of Tamil calendar) the grand annual festival is celebrated for continuous ten day.