|^79HOLY SITESPART 5
OF 5
YOU PRIMARY SCHOOL
SHRINES
At the centre of the complex
are two shrines, one for
Meenakshi and the other for
Sundareswara. Meenakshi’s
shrine has a statue of her made
of green stone. She’s depicted
holding a lotus blossom with a
parrot on it in her right hand.
The blossom symbolises
eternity and the parrot is a
symbol of luck and the messen-
ger of love in Hinduism.GOLDEN LOTUS IN
THE TEMPLE POOL
The complex also houses a
sacred pond with a golden
lotus in the middle. The
pond measures 50 x 37m
and it’s believed Shiva
created and blessed it
The pond’s holy
water is believed to
bring good fortune
to those who bathe
in it.
Poets used to eval-
uate literary works by
throwing them in the
pond. Only the works
that floated were con sidered
worthy.37 m
a
t.yIN NUMBERS
The number of daily
visitors to the complex.The estimated num-
ber of sculptures in the complex.How often the temple com-
plex is repainted and repaired.The number of visitors to
the annual festival celebrating Mee-
nakshi and Sundareswara’s wedding.20 00030 00012 years1 millionENTRANCECOMPLEX
The complex has 14 gopuras
(entrance towers). There are four
main towers, each nine storeys high
and facing a cardinal direction.
The temple was first built
in 600 AD but destroyed by
Muslim conquerors in the 1300s
then rebuilt and expanded in the
16th century.
It’s surrounded by a 6m wall and
covers an area of 5,7ha – the size
of eight soccer fields.