the entire city of Madurai is built around the Meenakshi temple.
The most beautiful buildings in Madurai including its most famous landmark, the Meenakshi temple, were built during the Nayak rule. Located in the heart of the city of Madurai, the Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple is dedicated to goddess Meenakshi, the consort of lord Shiva. For the people of Madurai, the temple is the very center of their cultural and religious life. The Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple has long been the focus of both Indian and international tourist attraction. It is one of the greatest Shiva temples in India and one of the most important places of Hindu pilgrimage. The Meenakshi temple boasts an excellent work of Dravidian architecture, and there are 985 richly carved pillars here and each one surpasses the other in beauty. This architecture includes gopurams (large gateways) and mandapams (multi-pillared halls) covered from top to bottom in an abundance of multi-coloured images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical figures.

It is said that the people of the city wake up, not by the call of nature but by the chant of hymns at the temple. All the major festivals of Tamil Nadu are celebrated here with gaiety, most important being the Cittirai festival that is held in April/May, when the celestial marriage of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar is celebrated, drawing a huge crowd of people from all over the state. The sculpted pillars are adorned with the exquisite murals that celebrate the ethereal beauty of princess Meenakshi and the scenes of her wedding with Lord Shiva. At the Sundareswarar temple across the courtyard, Lord Shiva is represented as a lingam. The pillars depict scenes from the wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.