Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or
Meenakshi Amman Temple or
Tiru-alavai[1][2] (Tamil: மீனாட்சி அம்மன் கோவில்/திருஆலவாய்) is an historic
Hindu temple located in the south side of river
Vaigai[3] in the temple city
[4] of
Madurai,
Tamil Nadu,
India. It is dedicated to
Shiva named here as Sundareswarar or beautiful deity and his consort,
Parvati who is known as
Meenakshi. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city
[5] of
Madurai. The complex houses 14 magnificent
gopurams or towers, including two golden sculptured
vimana(shrine) over sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the
Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is built during the 1623 to 1655 A.D.
[6][7][8]. The temple has 12 towers, ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the souther tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high
[8].
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