Golden Lotus Tank forms a major attraction for the people who visit the Meenakshi Temple. This tank has some unique features. The tank is always free from fishes and frogs though the water is never attended or cleaned. As a common tradition the popular scholars of Tamil community used to throw their literary works like verses and poetries in the tank. If the verses floated in the water they were considered as good literary work with a bright future, but if they sank then they lacked quality. Following the same tradition the tank as well as the temple was considered as the venue for releasing the greatest Tamil composition- Thirukkurai by Thiruvalluvar. This was launched in the corridors of the tank. Golden Lotus Tank is well decorated with 1330 kurals- a type of small rhymes in Tamil which is often narrated in Tamil Nadu. These are inscribed on the white marbles placed in the southern part of the tank. It is further decorated with the statues of Tamil Scholars belonging to the last Tamil Sangam which are carved in the pillars in the southern part of the tank. The Sevantheeswarar Temple is located in the south west corner of the tank. Dedicated to Lord Shiva this temple was built in the 16th century with some beautiful curvatures and sculptures. From the corridors of the tank one can have full view of all the Gopurams of the Meenakshi Temple and Sundareshvara Temple in Madurai. Along with this most attractive is the golden lotus with golden petals that stand at the centre of the tank. This adds to the beauty of the lake which attracts all the visitors of the temple. |