Madurai
is a place where people ofen tend to visit. There
are many places with national importance. It is
also known as temple city. Madurai is situated
on the banks of Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu, a
southern Indian state. It is the second largest
city of Tamil Nadu and has a population in excess
of 1.1 million. It is well known for the Meenakshi
temple situated at the heart of the town which
attracts tourists as well as pilgrims. Madurai
has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the
great Tamil era more than 2500 years old, and
has been an important commercial centre even as
early as 550 AD.
Madurai was the capital city of the Pandya kings
of South India. Madurai has been a centre of learning
and pilgrimage, for centuries. Legend has it,
that the divine nectar falling from Lord Shiva's
locks, gave the city its name - Madhurapuri, now
known as Madurai. Being mentioned in all holy
books, scriptures and folklore, this temple town
is one of the most ancient human settlements of
India.
Madurai is popular for its temples and so known
as temple city. When we hear about madurai, Meenakshi
Amman kovil comes to our mind. Words are not enough
to glorify this temple.Visitors need 2 complete
days to admire each and every side of the temple.
It brings us a desire to make a complete study
about this temple. This is a twin temple. The
temple in the southern side is dedicated to Sri
Meenakshi, the consort of lord Sundareswarar (Shiva)
and the other to lord Sundareswarar. This is one
of the biggest temple complexes of India.
The temple is about 258 meters in length and about
241.4 meters in breadth. Of the five Gopuras (towers)
that surround the temple, the 48.8 meters high
southern tower is the tallest. The towers are
noted for stueccowork. Madurai Meenakshi amman
temple lies in the heart of the city. The temple
is dedicated to Shiva, known locally as Sundareshvara,
and his consort Meenakshi, or Fisheyed One. The
dual shrines dedicated to god and goddess add
to the complexity of the plan. The Shiva shrine
lies at the centre of the complex, suggesting
that the ritual dominance of the goddess developed
later. The shrines are small and crowned by modest
shikaras (towers) with gold plated finials. They
are surrounded by their own walled and roofed
enclosures with a connecting gate in their common
side-wall. Within the outermost enclosure are
various other features such as the Golden Lotus
tank in which rainwater is collected for ritual
ablution, the Marriage Hall that is used at the
festival of the marriage of Shiva and Meenakshi,
and the 16th century Hall of Thousand Pillars.
Outside the main entrance the New Hall was constructed,
an immense pillared pavilion, built in the 17th
century by a Nayak ruler who commissioned life-size
images of Nayak royalty to be carved against its
granite columns. A massive unfinished gopuram,
or gateway-tower precedes the New Hall.
These gopurams are characteristics of Vijayanagara
temple cities. Their tall and highly decorated
concave profile increase in size from the inner
to the outer enclosures. The gopuram to the south,
for example, rises up to 60 m and is covered with
over 1500 brightly-painted figures of gods and
demons. Raja Gopuram The base of an unfinished
Gopuram may still be seen to the east wing of
Puthu Mandapam. Had it been completed it would
have been the tallest man-made structure ever
created in Africa, Asia or Europe. The Hall of
Thousand Pillars: It is a museum of icons, photographs
and illustrations. Apart from being a very sacred
spot for the Hindus, the Meenakshi Temple is one
of the country's most important tourist landmarks.
(Open from 05:00 AM to 12: 00 Noon and 04:00 PM
to 09:00 PM)
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