Thursday, May 10, 2012

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Madurai

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple at Madurai is the most important place in the city and forms the lifeline of the city. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati who is known here as Meenakshi and her consort, Shiva, better known as Sundareswarar.



This beautiful temple complex spread over 45 acres is the largest and is built between the years 1623 to 1655 CE. There are totally 14 gateway towers to the complex and 4 of them are in each direction. The average height of towers is 50 meters, and the the tallest in the Southern side of the complex is 51.9 meters in height. The tower of the main sanctum is covered with gold.


The temple has large number of beautiful sculptures and each one of them are better than the other.



There are several halls in the temple with 100 and 1000 pillars which are carved beautifully. The sacred temple tank measuring 165 ft by 120 ft has a beautiful golden lotus in it.

45 comments:

Al said...

Stunning - that first one looks like a skyscraper.

Ramakrishnan said...

A lovely temple with beautiful sculptures and an exquisite golden lily pond !

Cloudia said...

Inspiring of awe!


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A Homemaker's Utopia said...

We lived in Madhurai for some time..I love the temple..Thanks for the nice post..:-)

Vineeta Yashsavi said...

good pictures...

TPShukooR said...

Super post and amazing picutes!
Thanks..

abhinavr said...

Great sculptures !!
Nice photos and descriptions.

Anonymous said...

Wow - amazing sculptures!

Pearl Maple said...

What a fabulous adventure to visit this site with so many interesting features to appreciate

Sylvia K said...

Magnificent temple, Rajesh! Perfect against the pale skies! Hope you and your family have a wonderful weekend!

Sylvia

Unknown said...

Another great post!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

HansHB said...

Great post, - nice pictures!

Carver said...

Beautiful shots of the temple.

Indrani said...

It should come under UNESCO World Heritage site.

Pietro Brosio said...

Fabulous temple, Rajesh, the decorations and the sculptures are astonishing.

magiceye said...

beautifully captured!

Anonymous said...

Wow!That's a very old temple.

Annemor said...

Mormor Norvay here.
Thank you for beautiful pictures.
I think I'd like a walk around on the last one.
Have a nice day.

Jeevan said...

Beautiful coverage on the temple complex and details on the towers! I was there once at night while passing Madurai.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely shots of the temple, Rajesh! Have a great day!

Aiketa said...

Beautiful temple!

I'm visiting from SkyWatch Friday. Here's My Sky.
Regards from Barcelona.

Anonymous said...

A beautiful and very impressive building.

Teamgsquare said...

Lovely pictures of a really lovely temple ...

Leovi said...

I like those pictures, my favorite is the first colossal. Greetings.

Arija said...

You find so many wonderful things to gladden our eyes with. This certainly is a very, very beautiful temple.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful details as usual,. I love the first one.

momto8 said...

amazing!

Zuzana said...

Oh, this is truly majestic!
I hope you have been well, looking forward to catch up with you and everyone else and to start blogging on regular bases again.;)
xoxo

Pat said...

It is amazing to see such elaborate structures that are so ancient. There were some very talented engineers in India centuries ago, as there are today, too!

Pat said...

Beautiful reflections in the pool!

Pat said...

Beautiful reflections in the pool!

Oakland Daily Photo said...

An incredible design. Like a fantasy.

Dianne said...

exquisite!!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I never fail to be amazed when visiting you. All those beautiful pillars -- incredible. What a beautiful Holy place.

ashok said...

nice snaps...

eden said...

Beautiful temple and the carvings are really impressive.

Anonymous said...

beautiful :)

P.N. Subramanian said...

Definitely it is a wonderful temple. There is a sculpture of Meenakshi with three breasts and there is a story which goes with it.

Ashish Joshi said...

very nice .. this reminded me of my visit to the temple!

Panchali said...

Very beautiful pics. Have been there...so enjoyed more :)

Bushra said...

Beautiful capture Rajesh!

Easwar Arumugam said...

Nice pictures. The temple is a must visit for pilgrims and art lovers.

Vishal Rathod said...

One of the best and most beautiful temples I have ever seen

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Padmapriya TS said...

Glad you were able to visit the Meenakshi Sundareswara at Madurai!

Padmapriya T S
http://aalayamkanden.blogspot.com

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating the temple.