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Totally there were 64 generations of Pandiyan Kings
The Temple was initially built by Kulasekara Pandiyan
The Lingam appeared by itself (Suyambu)
After Indra finished worshipping here,
Shiva came in Kulasekara Pandiyan dreams
That is why he started building the Temple
The 6th generation did not have any kids
That King's name is Madhumalai Pandyan and the Queen's name is Kanchana Devi
So the King and Queen worshipped God and Parvati's Avatar was born as Meenakshi
She was found amidst flames of fire
The King took Meenakshi and raised her
Meenakshi learned archery and sword fighting
She grew up with a Man's bravery
She wins in all the competitions and reaches the age of marriage
When she became 21, she dons the mantle and rules Madurai
When she rules, she was close with the people and she addresses their grievances
So she became very famous and earns a good reputation
She ruled without arrogance
She went to commoners' houses and solved their issues
her eyes looked like fish
In other temples Gods bless with their hands
In this Temple, Meenakshi blesses with her eyes
Her eyes were like fish (Meen) and ruled (Akshi) the place
That is why she is known as "meenakshi"
Her father announces that she needs to get married
So all the Princes and Kings came to ask her hand in marriage
They all came with the best Jewelry and Precious items as gifts
But Meenakshi said she doesn't want any of that
As Madurai had all the riches
Meenakshi said she will marry whoever wins her in sword fight
All the Princes and Kings stayed in Madurai
She fought everyday with a Prince
But no one was able to win against her
So, Lord Shiva comes in the form of King Sundarar
He was very handsome (Sundara)
He sends a message saying he is ready to fight a battle
She also accepts the challenge
He comes with his army and she meets him with hers
Both the armies engange in the battle and both Meenakshi and Sundarar were sitting in their chariots
They both shoot arrows against each other
They both see each other as they come closer
Meenakshi looks at Sundarar and realizes that he is really handsome
She did not want to lose him as she had already defeated all the other Kings
She admits defeat
and gets married to him
His name was Sundareswarar
He is Lord Shiva's avatar and he is called by many names in different places
Question: So, you said the Lingam came to the Temple before Meenakshi's generation, but it was already named Sundarar?
The lingam was already there in the Temple, but it was not named at that point
After Meenakshi-Sundarar's wedding, the lingam was named Sundareswarar
He found a Lingam that came out by itself
So he built a Shiva Temple around it