Madurai Meenakshi Temple

Acknowledged as the finest, and one of the largest, Meenakshi Sundareswar temple popularly known as Madurai Meenakshi temple is a magnificent example of Dravidian architecture in India. It is located at the heart of Madurai City, featured by an astonishing profusion of sculpted figures, ornamental pillars and cloistered courtyards. 

 The history of the temple dates back to very ancient times two to three thousand years ago, when Madurai was the capital of the Pandya Kings. King Kulasekhara Pandya heard about a divine Siva Linga under a Kadamba tree inside a forest, from a traveling devotee. He cleared the forest, found the lingam and build a temple there. According to legends, the 'swayambu' is believed to have been found by king of Gods Lord Indra when he was wandering on earth due to a curse brought upon him by the killing of a Brahmin, Vrithasura. He worshipped the 'swayambu' (Siva linga) and was relieved of his curse. 

The temple grew in status under the patronization of Pandya rulers. But in the year 1310, the temple was almost completely destroyed by the Muslim conqueror Malikkapur. It later regained its glory in the14th century when the Vijayanagara empire came to power. The present temple was designed by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 and was mostly built during the reign of Tirumalai Nayak (1623-55 AD). Subsequently his grandson added many imposing structures including some of the great entrance towers. The temple grew to its present size and shape in a span of a hundred years, from 1550 to 1650. This temple has two main shrines, one dedicated to Parvathi in the form of Meenakshi (the fish eyed Goddess, consort of  Shiva) and the other to Shiva in the form of Sundareswar.