Knowledge about historical monuments of India Part – 10 THE MEENAKSHI TEMPLE

 Knowledge about historical monuments of India

Part – 10

THE   MEENAKSHI TEMPLE

The Meenakshi Temple complex is literally a city – one of the largest of its kind in , Tamil Nadu India and undoubtedly one of the oldest too. The temple grew with the contribution of each dynasty and victorious monarchs, into an enormous complex extending over an area of 65000 Sq m.

●The Meenakshi Temple is a historic Hindu temple that is one of the largest and oldest in India.

●The temple is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi and her consort, Sundareshwarar.

●The temple is located on the south bank of the Vaigai River.

●The temple is built in the Dravidian style.

●The temple is surrounded by high walls with large gateway towers called gopuras.

●The temple’s gopuras are some of the most elaborately decorated in India.

●The temple is home to many paintings and sculptures.

●The temple has a sacred tank, lesser shrines, and colonnades.

●The temple’s main festival is Chithirai, which is celebrated in April and May.

●The temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams, a group of 275 Shiva temples.

●The temple’s west tower is the model for the Tamil Nadu state emblem.

●The temple’s main entrance is through the eastern gateway.

●The temple’s Ayiramkaal Mandapam, or Hall of Thousand Pillars, is an architectural masterpiece.

●The temple’s musical pillars produce different notes when tapped.

●The temple’s sanctum sanctorum is decorated with many forms of Indra, Vishnu, and Shiva.

●The temple’s gopuras are covered with figures of divinities, celestial beings, monster masks, guardians, and animal mounts.