The huge Mukkuruni Vinayagar murti, in an imposing black stone, is worshipped on the pathway between Sundareswar and Meenakshi amman shrines in the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. There is an interesting story about how Mukkuruni Vinayagar murti was found and is worshipped in the famous Madurai temple.
Mukkuruni Vinayagar Story
The other gods used to make fun of the large belly of Ganapathi. To get rid of the large belly, Ganesha decided to do some physical work. He took the form of a young boy and appeared on earth. He approached an ardent devotee of his for some work.
The devotee asked Ganesha to carry some goods to another place. He carried the goods to a cart and took it to the address and unloaded the cart.
The devotee asked Ganesha what remuneration he wanted. Ganesha in the form of naive young boy did not know what to ask. So he asked for three kurunis of rice. Kuruni was a measurement used in ancient Tamil region of India. It is equivalent to today’s 10 kg. Three in tamil means moondru. Later the devotee came to know that the boy was none other than Mahaganapati. As Ganesha had asked for moonu (three) kuruni of rice he came to be known as Mukkuruni Vinayagar.
In memory of this divine event a huge kozhukattai prepared using 30 kg rice is offered as naivedyam or prasadam on the Vinayaka Chaturthi day to Mukkuruni Vinayagar.
The origin of the murti is unknown. The murti of Mukkuruni Vinayagar was found in 1635 CE by King Thirumalai Nayak. The murti was discovered while excavation works were being done for a temple tank near the Vandiyur Mariamman Temple.