Madurai

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

Meenakshi Amman Temple is an ancient Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River. Dedicated to Parvathi and her consort, Shiva, this temple was built in 1655. The 14 gateway towers and two ornate golden sculptured Vimanas of this spectacular temple complex add up to its grandeur. No Madurai Rameshwaram Kanyakuamari tour package is complete without a visit to the world famous Meenakshi Amman Temple. On an average 15,000 pilgrims visit this temple everyday, which goes up to over 25,000 on Fridays. The temple was on the list of top 30 nominees for the "New Seven Wonders of the World". Over 1 lakh people visit this temple during the annual festival of Meenakshi Tirukalyanam, which extends over 10 days in the month of May. The temple houses a black-stone idol of Meenakshi Amman with a parrot in her right hand in its main shrine and a swayambhu (self-formed) lingam in a temple close by. The temple hall, named Kilikoondu Mandapam was previously used to train parrots to recite Goddess Meenakshi's name. The hall of 1000 pillars is another attraction of this temple. Some of the pillars are called musical pillars as they produce Carnatic music notes when struck.