Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, Karaikudi

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, located in Karaikudi, is among the largest temples in the country. The temple was initially built by Kulasekara Pandyan, but only ruins of that temple remain now. It was Viswanath Nayakar who started the reconstruction of the temple sometime in the 16th century and Thirumalai Nayakar finally completed it.

Today’s generation can only marvel at the structure of the temple and how majestically it stands. The architecture and the style of engineering must have been way ahead of its times then. The temple has an impressive style with 12 huge gopurams with the four tallest gopurams standing on the outer walls of the temple in a protective stance. The pillars in the temple produce sound when they are struck. Different pillars create different musical notes. The pond that is famous for its golden lotus is situated on the left side of the temple’s shrine.

The temple is dedicated to Sundareswarar who is worshipped in the form of a lingam.