Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple
Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati who is known as Meenakshi. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 magnificent Gopurams or towers including two golden Gopurams for the main deities, that are elaborately sculptured and painted.
The history of the original structure is not properly known, but Tamil literature speaks about the temple for the last couple of millennia. Thirugnanasambandar, the famous Hindu saint of Shaiva philosophy, mentioned this temple as early as the 7th century, and described the Lord as Aalavai Iraivan. The temple was believed to have been sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafur in 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed.
The Golden Lotus tank within the sprawling complex of the Sri Meenakshi -Sundareshvara (Parvati-Shiva) Temple in Madurai. Several of the large gopurams (pyramidal gates) are visible overhead. The tank was a great place to park myself and watch the pulse of the temple in the sun.
A woman praying Hanuman, the monkey god in the superb Meenaskshi temple , in Madurai.
While the inner sanctums and holy shrines within the temple, off-limits to non-Hindus, were packed and busy, the deeper corridors of the temple were surprisingly quiet and serene.
Gopuram of meenakshi temple in madurai | On the go
Jul 31, 2011 @ 19:09:46
[...] Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai is one of the ancient and operating temple in the world, it is also one of the largest. It has four huge towers on each side and they filled with sculptures of Hindu gods and semi demons. Till now it is well maintained and painted and takes your breath every time you see. This is part of one of the gopurams which has eye catching colors and mind capturing details. Tagged with: dravidian, hindu, South India [...]