The Meenakshi Temple is the place where you feel so much of your culture and heritage is preserved in stones. The work on every pillar, tower, ceiling and walls is amazing that draws you in like a magnet irrespective of whether you are a devotee or a non-believer and often many visitors may just be walking around or inside the temple clueless about the art and history it holds.
To guide them best, INTACH and CII, Madurai zone have come out with a pocket-sized book which gives visitors an on-the-ground look at some of the lesser known sculptures that hide so many a story. Locate Lord Maha Sadha Shiva with 25 heads and 50 hands on chitira gopuram, as he overlooks the golden lotus tank.
Inside the 1000 pillars hall, there is a painting where Lord Shiva is showing the boundaries of Madurai to then Pandiyan king using a snake. It is called the ellai katiya padalam. Manmadan, the Indian God of Love and his wife Rathi find space on opposite pillars inside this hall.
