Meenakshi Amman temple

The majestic Meenakshi Amman temple is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai near the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The temple is dedicated to Meenakshi Amman, a form of Parvathi and her consort Sundareswarar, a form of Shiva. The Meenakshi Amman temple was on the list of top 30 nominees for the New Seven Wonders of the World and it generates revenue of more than 60 Million rupees per year. It is believed that, Indra, the Lord of the Devas, built a shrine for the svayambu lingam that he had found while on a pilgrimage to cure his misdeeds. The temple lost a lot of its ancient elements when the notorious Malik Kafur invaded the temple. However the first Nayak King of Madurai, Vishwanantha Nayak later took it upon him to rebuild this divine and beautiful temple. The temple has a hall called Aayiram Kaal Mandapam or “The Hall of Thousand Pillars” that interestingly contains 985 pillars. However each pillar in the hall is a carved monument of the Dravidian sculpture.