The Sri Meenakshi Temple is the abode of the fish-eyed Goddess Meenakshi Amman (‘fish-eyed’ is an adjective for perfect eyes in classical Tamil poetry), and is considered by many to be the height of South Indian temple architecture, as vital to the aesthetic heritage of this region as the Taj Mahal is to North India. It’s not so much a temple as a 6-hectare complex enclosed by 12 gopurams, the highest of which towers 52m over Madurai, rises from solid granite bases, and are covered with stucco figures of deities, mythical animals and monsters painted in vivid colors. There is an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple.
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