Chidambaram

The Nataraja Temple
The temple located in the center of the town covers an area of 40 acres. It is one of the ancient temples of Tamil Nadu. The roof of the sanctum sanctorum is covered with gold plates. The presiding deity of the temple is represented by air, one of the five elements of the universe and is known as Akasa Lingam. The Eastern Tower rises to a height of 40.8 meters. 108 Bharat Natyam dance gestures can be seen on the Eastern Towers as well as on Western Tower. The Northern Tower rises to a height of 42.4 meters.

The Sivakamiamman temple, the Sivaganga tank, the thousand pillar hall are other important features of the temple.

Kali Temple
The Thillaikaliamman temple is in the northern end of the town. It was built by Kopperunjingan, who ruled between 1229 A.D. and 1278 A.D.

Poompuhar

Thiruppallavaneswaram
This is a very ancient and beautiful temple. Iyarppakaia Nayanar and Pattinathar were born here. The hero and heroine of Silppathikaram Kovalan and Kangai were also born here.

Melapperumpallam and Keezhapperumpallam
These two thalams are situated very near to Poompuhar and Thiruvengadu. The Valampuranathar temple at Melapperumpallam has Cholas's inscription. Kezhaperumpallam is at a distance of 2 kilometers from Poompuhar. It is the temple where the famous 'Kethu' (Planet) has a separate thalam.

Rameswaram

Ramanathaswami  Temple
The legend goes that Hanuman, the chief of the monkey army was sent to Mount Kailas to bring a Lingam (Siva). Hanuman was delayed on the way. But Lord Siva had to be worshipped at a fixed hour. And so, Sita molded a Lingam for Rama's worship, which came to be called Ramanatha. Hanuaman on his return found that all his labors had been in vain and was disappointed. Seeing disappointed his most devout disciple, Rama consoled him by installing the Lingam brought by him a little north of the Ramanatha, and decreed that the Hanuman Lingam should have precedence over the Ramanatha in all honors.

Ramanathaswami Temple, which is close to the sea on the eastern side of the island, is renowned for magnificent corridors with massive sculptured pillars lining it. The corridor is the longest in India. It is 197 meters long East-West and 133 meters in length South-North. The temple has a tower (Gopuram) 38.4 meters high. The temple as it stands today was built by different rulers at different periods from the 12^th century A.D. onwards. The temple is 264 meters in length and 200 meters in breadth.

Vellore

Jalagandeswarar Temple
The temple inside the fort is dedicated to Jalagandeswarar and is noted for its sculptures, which speak volumes of the exquisite craftsmanship of the highly skilled artisans of that period. The sculptures in the porch on the left of the entrance entice the connoisseurs. It has a big marriage-hall adorned with elegant engravings and monolithic sculptures.

Madurai

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple
The temple dominates the old city, which evolved around it. The streets run in concentric circles around the temple. The four 'Veli' streets mark the outer limits of the temple town.

The temple is dedicated to  both  of  Meenakshi of the limpid fish-shaped eyes, the lovely consort of Lord Siva, and to Lord Siva himself (Sundareswrar). It is one of the holiest places of worship in South India, drawing thousands of devotees everyday. It has also been the center of Tamil culture, sponsoring literature, art, music and dance over the centuries. Legend has it that when the third and the last Tamil Sangam (Academy of Tamil Literature) met at Madurai, literary works were thrown into the temple tank, where a divine force caused works of merit to float and inferior literature to sink.

The original temple was probably a modest structure built to Agamid guidelines. However, it has grown with the graceful additions of puissant dynasties and victorious monarchs into an enormous complex extending over an area of 65,000 sq. meters. The temple is dominated by four enormous gopurams (towers) over the entrance gates. The oldest tower is the 13^th century Eastern Gopuram, opposite to the Sundareswarar shrine, built by Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. The Southern Gopuram is the tallest and was built in the 16^th century. From the top of the tower one can get a panoramic view of Madurai and the 11 other gopurams of the temple.

The Thousand-Pillared Mandapam (hall) of the temple has actually 985 beautifully sculptured pillars. The Temple Art Museum is housed here.

The Pudhu Mandapam with 124 sculptured stone pillars was built by Thirumalai Nayak.

The Meenakshi Sundareswar temple is open to the public on all days.

Timings 5.00 AM to 12.30 PM.

Temple Museum Timings: 6.00 AM to 8.00 PM.

Top