The life of Madurai revolves around the Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple. This magnificently carved temple is the main attraction of Madurai and its huge gopurams tower over the city. This important Hindu temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati.
The temple complex covers a massive area of about 45 acres, with the gateways through the outer and inner walls marked by the temples famous towers of gopurams. The tallest of the gompuras over the southern gate is over 50m tall, and all are decorated with elaborate brightly-painted sculptures. Inside the temple complex is a sacred pond around which pilgrims process and a thousand pillared halls with exquisitely carved pillars.
There has been a temple on this site for centuries –the earliest recorded mentions date from the 7th century –and according to Hindu legend the temple was built on the spot where Lord Shiva married Princess Meenakshi, an incarnation of the goddess Parvati. The modern structure dates from the 17th century, although parts of the temple may be much earlier, and was built by the Pandyan kings.