Meenakshi Temple of Madurai,Tamil Nadu India is certainly one of the most incredibly beautiful temples in India with a splendid architecture of Dravidian times.This temple has managed to impress me like none other in India,of all that I have visited so far.More than it’s architectural grandeur,I feel it’s the energy that mesmerised me,a calm powerful vibration that soothes one’s soul:)

 This is about Feb 2018,On my trip across South India-

We were travelling from Thekkady to Rameswaram and took a halt at Madurai to visit this very famous temple.

By the time we reached,It was almost 1 p.m. and the temple had already closed We found out that it reopens at 4 p.m so in the meanwhile we decided to help ourselves with a good south indian lunch as there were some decent restaurants in temple’s vicinity .

Post lunch,we purchased the ticket for a special darshan queue @4:00 pm which costs Rs.100 and is smaller than the regular queue .I had heard that Meenakshi temple remains really crowded at most times as almost 10,000 visitors visit it each day.So I was just a little wary of the crowd and had already decided to give it a miss in case it turned out to be too crowded ..(which thankfully didn’t happen!)

At 3:45 p.m. we reached the temple gate and I was delighted as post-noon people were still gathering for evening darshan and there was not much crowd.There was of course a rigorous security check at the gates and along with mobile phones many other things like power banks ,perfumes were not allowed and needed to be deposited at the kiosk counter.

As we entered I was completely taken away by the exquisite architecture of the temple.One cannot take their eyes off the beautiful and intricate work done over the roof,pillars and everywhere else .The magnificently carved sculptures of deity figures all over the walls, the colourfully painted ceilings ..all will leave you awestruck!

As the queue moved further towards Meenakshi amman’s shrine,i could feel the  power of the place and was completely overwhelmed.Goddess Meenakshi Amman’s darshan cannot be described in words !

(Back in Feb last year,when I visited  mobile phones were allowed so I managed to click a few pictures,but now they are strictly prohibited)

Thousand Pillar Hall

One of the unique features of the temple is a thousand pillar mandapam/hall which actually contains 985 pillars and has two rows of pillars containing carved images of gods and mythical figures.

Golden Lotus Pond

There’s also a golden lotus pond where I spent sometime in peace after Amman’s darshan.

Just visit yourself and feel the ultimate spiritual and divine bliss of this place !

Tips–

Best time to visit- I would say afternoon only because of the less crowd.But if you have time on your hands then there’s nothing like the evening darshan(when it gets dark).It’s surreal and totally worth it!

12:30 pm-4 pm the temple remains closed.

Go for the special darshan ticket.The queue is small and moves faster.

Mobile phones are not allowed and photography is prohibited .They can be safely deposited at the kiosks outside the temple .

One has to walk barefoot (according to hindu temple rituals one cannot enter with shoes inside a religious place)

Non Hindus are not allowed in inner sanctum.