முக்குறுணி விநாயகர் (மீனாட்சி அம்மன் கோயில்)Mukkuruni Pillaiyar (Meenakshi Amman Temple)

Sthala Mahātmyam

Mukkuruni Pillaiyar is the towering Ganesha enshrined within the great Meenakshi Amman temple at Madurai, worshipped on the corridor between the Sundareswarar and Meenakshi sanctums. Carved from a single block of black granite, the massive image was, by tradition, discovered in 1635 CE during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak, when a tank was being excavated near the Vandiyur Mariamman Theppakulam. The name 'Mukkuruni' derives from the great measure of rice, three kurunis, used to prepare the enormous kozhukattai (modakam) offered to him, an abundance the deity is fondly linked with. A popular legend tells that Ganesha, teased for his idleness and pot-belly, took the form of a boy and hired himself out for wages of three kuruni measures of grain, thus earning the name Mukkuruni Pillaiyar. Standing guard within one of the world's most famous Shakti temples, he is the first deity many pilgrims salute. Vinayaka Chaturthi is celebrated with special grandeur, and giant modakams are prepared as his signature offering.