The Gigapixel image of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple
The gigapixel image of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple helps the visitors to zoom in the gigapixel image and explore the details of the temple in high quality.
Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Shiva, here named Sundareswarar.
The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500-year-old city of Madurai and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature though the present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 CE. It houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45-50m in height. The tallest is the southern tower, 51.9 meters (170 ft) high, and two golden sculptured vimanas, the shrines over the garb Agri has (sanctums) of the main deities.
The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 on Fridays, and receives an annual revenue of sixty million INR. There are an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple. It was on the list of top 30 nominees for the “New Seven Wonders of the World”.
Gopurams.
The temple is surrounded by gopurams (gateway towers), There are ten gopurams the tallest of which, the famous southern tower, rises to over 170 ft (52 m) and was built in 1559. The oldest gopuram is the eastern one, built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan during 1216-1238 Each gopuram is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with thousands of stone figures of animals, gods and demons painted in bright hues. The outer gopuram presents a steeply pyramidal tower encrusted with plastic figures while the inner gopuram serves as the entrance to the inner enclosure of the Sundareswarar shrine.