Monday, April 6, 2015

Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam, Madurai

The Hall of Thousand Pillars at Meenakshi Temple of Madurai is on the north side Sundareswarar flag staff hall. This beautiful hall is a sculptural marvel.



The hall was built by Ariyanatha Mudaliar in 1569 is an architectural and engineering marvel. It contains 985 carved pillars and each one outdoes the other. There are also few Musical Pillars in this hall and each pillar produces a unique musical note.



Each pillar in the hall is a carved monument of the Dravidian sculpture. The more prominent among the carved figures are those of Rati, Karthikeya, Yali, Shiva.



This hall also serves as a Temple Art Museum and there are icons, photographs, drawings. I liked the huge sculpture of Ganesha on the pillar very much.



34 comments:

Pietro Brosio said...

Very nice Hall, marvellous sculptures!

Little Wandering Wren said...

It's another wow of a post Rajesh! I think it's the sheer scale of things in India that always amazes me, to think there are nearly 1000 pillars, wow, wow, wow!
Have a great week
Wren x

Unknown said...

These sculptures are amazing!

Jackie and Joel Smith said...

Beautiful photos as always, Rajeesh! Hope you have a great week!

Lowell said...

That is unbelievable! Amazing. 1,000 sculptured pillars! Such fantastic detail!

LV said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful world of sculptural.

eileeninmd said...

Amazing place, the sculptures are pretty. Great shots, enjoy your week!

Fun60 said...

It looks huge.

Sylvia K said...

What an incredible place, Rajesh!! Wonderful captures as always!! Hope you have a great new week!!

Photo Cache said...

Goodness the hall is amazing.

carol l mckenna said...

Awesome 1st photo! Great perspective and lovely statue shots also!

Happy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I also like the Ganesha pillar! Amazing temple!

Anonymous said...

How very gorgeous1

Joyful said...

Wow! That hall is spectacular.

Louisette said...

Wonderfull statues scultuurs have a nice month april,
Greeting from Belgium

http://louisette.eklablog.com

Sharon Wagner said...

Wow! What a place.

Gattina said...

Beautiful pictures, I like Ganesha !

http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.be/2015/04/ruby-red-tuesday.html

Donna said...

That ceiling is a stunning work of art....I have never heard of a Musical Pillar. What a treat to hear them.

George said...

The carved pillars in this temple are fascinating. The detail is amazing -- and beautiful.

photowannabe said...

Always amazing to see the ornate archicture.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Fantastic art!

Fiery Cactus!

Leovi said...

Delicious photos, thank you very much for showing us these beautiful sculptures!

Al said...

That is a marvel indeed - so many exquisite pillars.

Roger Owen Green said...

always so much detail!

ROG, ABCW

Gattina said...

Beautiful sculptures !

Gattina
ABC Team
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil said...

M is also Muduliar and Musical... lovely, as always, Rajesh! Amy

Meoww said...

Oh so nice to see my favorite temple in the world, from my hometown :)
Yes, the pillars do make a unique note. I have heard it!!!

So excited to see this post. Thanks :)

Annesphamily said...

Awesome photos and those sculptures are amazing. Thanks for the share and have a great weekend.

Jeevan said...

Excellent capture on the sculptures... marvelous quite!

Unknown said...

another interesting looking place
there looks to be quite a contrast between the roof and the walls in your first photo :)

R Niranjan Das said...

Wonderful sculptures.

Abhijit Ray said...

Beautiful picture. Hall came out really nice with colors becoming very clear.

Ravish Mani said...

Beautiful captures :)

Unknown said...

Good Article with valuable info. Photos are really good. Being an Indian Traveler ,i really like to explore these places. Thanks for sharing.