The document summarizes the origin story of the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, India. King Malayadwaja Pandya of Madurai performed sacrifices to have an heir, and a three-breasted girl emerged from the fire. She grew into a brave princess who won many battles. When she met Lord Shiva on the battlefield, her third breast disappeared, revealing that she was actually the goddess Parvathi. She and Shiva then settled at the Madurai temple. The temple has 12 towers of varying heights and numbers of sculptures, with the four outer towers being the most prominent landmarks of Madurai.

1. MADURAI CITY

2. The story descripted on the stones is as follows:
Malayadwaja Pandya, a king of Madurai , was childless for a long time. He performed a number
of yagnas (sacrifices made before a sacred fire) because he wanted an heir to his throne. On one occasion, a
three-year-old girl came out of the fire and Malayadwaja adopted her. But the girl had three breasts and this
worried Malayadwaja. However, a divine voice assured him that the third breast would disappear as soon as
she met her consort. The girl grew into a brave and beautiful princess. she won many battles, but eventually
lost her heart to Lord Shiva, when she met him on the battle-field in Kailas. As soon as she saw him, her
third breast disappeared and she recognized her divine consort, for the princess was none other than Shiva's
wife, Parvathi. After ruling over the Pandya kingdom for a while, they settled in the Madurai temple
as Meenakshi andSundareswarar.

5. There are 12 temple towers(Gopurams). The outer 4 towers are the landmarks of Madurai. They are:
East Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 161'3" has 1011 sudhai figures.
South Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 170'6“ has 1511 sudhai figures.
West Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 163'3" has 1124 sudhai figures.
North Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 160'6“ has lesser figures of sudhai than other outer towers.