Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple or Arulmigu Meenakshi Amman Thirukkovil is a historic hindu temple dedicated to goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati. It also houses her consort deity lord Sundaresvarar (a form of Shiva) and her brother Alagar (a form of Vishnu). It represents a confluence of Shaivism, Shaktism and Vaishnavism.
This temple is one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams (highly holy places in Tamil Shaivism ) which are 275 temples of Lord Siva. The west gopuram of the temple is the model on which the Tamil Nadu State emblem is based.
Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was built by Pandyan ruler Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I (1190 CE - 1205 CE). He built the main portions of the three-storeyed Gopuram at the entrance of Sundareswarar Shrine and the central portion of the Goddess Meenakshi shrine which are some of the earliest surviving parts of the temple. The temple was adjudged the best 'Swachh Iconic Place' in India on 1 October 2017 under Swach Bharat Abhiyan.
Madurai bus stand is located at a distnace of around 6 KM from Meenakshi temple. From there, you can take a local taxi to reach the temple.
Sunday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Monday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Tuesday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Wednesday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Thursday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Friday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Saturday | 5 AM – 1PM, 4 PM – 9 PM |
Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001