Meenakshi Temple - Madurai
The city of Madurai is rich in cultural heritage and is also a most sought after tourist destination for both the domestic and international travelers. A legend has given this city its name Mudhurapuri or Madurai, which means the City of Nectar. Not only the name of this city is beautiful but it was also designed beautifully in the shape of lotus by a Pandian king, Kulashekhara. This city also boasts of the world famous Meenakshi Temple which is a marvelous example of architectural expertise of the 16th and 18th century. Meenakshi temple is also known as Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Meenakshi temple is actually a twin temple which is dedicated to Sundareswarar and his consort Meenakshi. These sanctums are surrounded by 12 Gopurams which have thousands of sudhai figures designed on them in vivid hues. These sudhai figures are of deities, mythical animals and monsters which are engraved over the solid granite bases. There are numerous Mandapam or the halls in Meenakshi temple like Astha Sakthi Mandapam, Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam, Oonjal Mandapam, Vasantha Mandapam, Swami Sundareswarar Shrine but the Mandapam that attracts the tourists the most is "The Thousand Pillar Mandapam". This Mandapam actually has only 985 columns and also has a Temple Art Museum in it which makes it a bit different. Golden Lotus tank is another attraction of Meenakshi temple. This is an ancient tank where devotees come to take the holy dip. It is also called the Potramaraikulam and the water of this tank is considered holy by devotees, which is supposed to have curative powers. This is a must visit temple of Tamilnadu temples tour package and tourists from all around the world come to visit this place for its religious importance as well as to see its beautiful architecture.
