Meenakshi Amman Temple

Tradition holds that the god Indra discovered a self-manifested lingam at Madurai and enshrined it, marking the origin of the temple. The temple is mentioned in ancient Tamil texts, and Tamil Nadu Tourism records that it was ravaged in 1310 during the invasion led by Malik Kafur and restored in the fourteenth century.

Much of what visitors see today dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the Nayak rulers of Madurai rebuilt and greatly expanded the complex, adding towers, halls and corridors. The thousand-pillared hall was added during the reign of Vishwanatha Nayak, and later rulers, including Rani Mangammal, built further mandapas. The murals of the corridors illustrate the Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, the sacred stories of Shiva's divine play in Madurai.

Madurai's streets are laid out in concentric squares around the temple, and the city's calendar follows its festivals. The most celebrated is the Chithirai festival in April or May, when the divine wedding (Thirukalyanam) of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar is re-enacted before vast crowds. Navarathri, Avani Moolam and the Masi Mandala festival are also important. Jasmine from the surrounding countryside, sold by the basketful near the gates, is used in worship and worn by women in their hair.