Madurai

Madurai is another ancient temple city in the state of Tamil Nadu. It took us about 3-3.5hours from Rameshwaram. Both Hindu dynasties and Muslim dynasties ruled Madurai at different times. There is clear influence of both religions in the food, culture and life of the city.

The city houses the world famous Meenakshi Amman temple. The temple is so beautiful that it will eave you in awe. Ever since I had read about the temple in textbooks I was mesmerised by the beautiful architecture of its Gopurams and desired to visit it once in my lifetime. That dream came true but unfortunately all the Gopurams were covered as they were undergoing some repair work. It disappointed me a little but nevertheless, I was able to explore the temple I wished to in the childhood. So, our sole purpose to visit Madurai was to visit the Meenakshi temple.

Meenakshi Amman Temple

The temple is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi (a form of Goddess Parvati) and Sundareshwar (form of Lord Shiva). It also houses Lord Alagar (a form of Lord Vishnu). Hence it is significant as a confluence of Shakti’s, Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The temple is right in the middle of the market area with lanes of shops and eateries surrounding it. The lanes approaching the temple are quite congested but there is a multilevel parking about 100 metres from the entrance.

Entrance

There are four entrance gates namely East, North, West and South. The main entrance is the East gate. The entry is free for everyone; however, you may take a special darshan ticket priced at ₹100 for both Amman and Sundareshwar deities. You can book tickets online through this website.

The entrance process is very convenient. No matter the type of ticket, you need to wait for quite some time in the queue. General one takes longer than the special one but there is sufficient crowd in both. We had taken the special darshan tickets, yet, had to stand in queue for around 40 minutes. You are not allowed near the deity as a barricade separates the queue from the sanctum, But you get a clear glimpse of the deity on approach. Similar is the case with Lord Sundareshwar. After Amman darshan you go around the back of the sanctum to other side for Swamy darshan entry.

Unlike Rameshwaram temple, mobiles or luggage are strictly not allowed inside the premises. If you have booked tickets online, ensure that you take a printout before arriving at the temple. There are lockers, luggage rooms and footwear pedestals at every gate. The temple timings are 5AM-1PM and 4PM-9:30PM. Try visiting early or late in the evening to avoid crowds. But, you can never actually avoid the crowd. For more suggestions on temple visits check out this post.

Architecture

There are total of 14 gopurams in the temple. All colourfully carved with stuccos and sculptures. Each Gopuram is intricately carved with sculptures and there is hardly any vacant space. There are many hallways for different purposes. The mandapams are vast with murals on every wall. Unlike the colourful exteriors, the entire temple is greyish inside because of the colour of the basalt stones. The colourful murals adorning the walls and roofs add some contrast to the otherwise monotonous structure.

There is huge pond inside the temple premises called the Lotus Pond. It was built by one of the kings for pilgrims to take a bath before visiting the shrine. It is now decorated with fountains and a huge lotus structure in the middle.

Thousand Pillared Hall

Another attraction of the temple includes the Thousand Pillared Hall. It is located at the North East corner of the temple. There is an entry fee of ₹50 per person. The speciality of the hall, as the name suggests, is nearly a thousand pillars (985 exactly) supporting the mandapam (hall). Although there are several such pillared mandapam in the entire temple complex, this is the largest of them all. It houses a natraj statue and the alley leading up to the statue has pillars on both sides carved with religious or mythical characters from the mythological stories. The sculptures are beautiful and lively.

At one corner of this pillared hall are the musical pillars. It is said that each pillar when struck produced a different note and the acoustic structure of the hall resonated those notes. However, for preservation, the musical pillars are now barricaded and striking is not allowed. There is also an art museum cum gallery with several bronze statues and sculptures belonging to the temple or excavated from nearby areas.

We arrived at Madurai by 3 PM when the temple was closed. After waiting for quite some time, by the time we finished our darshan and exploration, it was night outside. There was no option but to retire to the hotel. We did not even explore the market. Next day we had to depart to Coimbatore and leave our taxi before noon. So, we left early the next morning from the city.