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 Known as 'the city that doesn't sleep,' Madurai is a celebrated city from time immemorial. The very first thought that the name brings to the mind is that of Meenakshi and Her grand temple. Though the temple is known as Meenakshi - Sundareswara Temple, only Meenakshi attracts all the prominence, importance and is celebrated as
Kadamba-vana-vasini due to the fact that the place was once a jungle of Kadamba trees.
The temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya. It is said that a merchant by name Dhanjaya, who was a resident of a neighbouring town was returning from his business trip through the jungle when he was taken aback to see Indra, the lord of celestials, performing
puja to the Swayambhu-lingam and he immediately rushed to the King, Kulasekara of Manavur to inform him of the fact. Lord Shiva appeared in his dream as Sundareswara. Since the drops of nectar from His head fell on this place it came to be known as Madhura (sweetness) or
Madurai.
The legend also says that a serpent was seen in the spot and the boundaries of the city were defined by its movement. The serpent then coiled itself and formed a circle with its tail in its mouth - known as
halasya in Sanskrit and aala-vaai in Tamil. This is the reason why Madurai is known as
aala-vaai (literally, a 'mouth of poison'). The spot where the mouth and tail of the serpent thus coincided, encircling the city, was chosen for the construction of the temple.
Meenakshi
 Meenakshi, the incarnation of Uma was born to Malaydhwaja Pandyan. The princess was three-breasted at birth, which worried the king. The king was assured by divine voice that the third breast would disappear when the princess meets her consort. The princess grew up into a warrioress and led and won many a battle. However, when She met Her Consort, she lost Her heart and Her third breast together. She was given in marriage to Sundareswara and the divine couple made Madurai their abode.
The Nataraja in Madurai is seen in an unusual posture in that He dances with His right leg lifted up in the air, instead of the left. It is said that He did so at the request of king Rajasekara Pandya and the place is known as
Velli ambalam.
The poetry on stone
 Though it was the Pandya Kings who built the temple, it was the Nayaka kings, who ruled Madurai between the 16th and the 18th centuries, who made impressive and awe-inspiring additions to the structure and made the temple a rich treasure house of art and architecture.
Out of the four gopurams surrounding the temple, (in fact there are a total of twelve of them) the one on the southern side is the tallest - 170' 6" - contains 1511 figurines in the Dravidian style. Similarly, all the other
gopurams are rich and replete with various icons and figurines depicting several incidents from various
puranas.
Apart from the four main towers mentioned above, there are four smaller gopurams in each of the two shrine-compounds.
Though the temple can be entered from any of its five entrances, the one on the eastern side is the most preferred since it leads to the shrine of Meenakshi, who is the presiding deity. Ironically, though enjoying such an importance, the
gopuram on the eastern side stands unfinished. It has a base measuring about 60 meter (or 174 sq. ft). Had it been finished, it would have been one of the most impressive structures in India. Unfortunately, it remains unfinished to this day, with its monolithic pillars measuring about 30 meters in height.
 Several impressive and sprawling halls surround the temple, like the Mudali Mandapam, Rani Mangammmal Mandapam, Ashta Shakti Mandapam (built by Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai, wives of King Thirumalai Naicker) Aayiram-kaal Mandapam, Kilikoondu Mandapam, Thattu Chattur Mandapam or the 16 pillared hall, etc.
There are two musical pillars in the Aayiram-kaal Mandapam, marvels of a golden age that produced music from mere stones. There are five more of them in the North Adi Street. Each musical pillar has a central column surrounded by groups of slender columns chiselled from the same stone. Each of these thin pillars produces a different musical note when struck.
The celebrated temple tank is known as
Potramarai Kulam. The temple is open from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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