Religions - Hinduism - Among the 108 temples dedicated to Vishnu or Divya Desams, temples sung in praise by the Azhvars (divine saints), this temple is next only to Srirangam and Tirupati. The temple itself is built in the form of a chariot as it is believed that Lord Vishnu came to earth in his chariot to marry Lakshmi who was doing penance by the tank, and then he and Lakshmi continued to stay in the chariot itself. The 12 stored gopuram is one of the largest and before the Srirangam temple was built, the largest in South Asia. It was built by the Nayak Kings in the 15th century. This temple is also one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams (5 Ranganatha temples). The gopuram has numerous sculptures and the first row is predominantly of erotic poses.
Religions - Hinduism - Brihadeshwara Temple (Tamil:Peruvudaiyar Kovil) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Periya Kovil, RajaRajeswara Temple and Rajarajeswaram. It is one of the largest temples in India and is an example of Dravidian architecture during the Chola period. Built by emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD, the temple turned 1000 years old in 2010.
Religions - Hinduism - Meenakshi Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva (in the form of Sundareswarar) and his consort, Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi). The magnificence of this temple almost became world renowned with it being a strong contender for the modern Seven Wonders of the World contest. The mythological story tells us that a Pandya king, Malayadwaja Pandya was childless and upon performing a number of yagnas (austere penance and sacrifices) he was rewarded with a 3 year old girl who rose from the fire. He adopted her. The girl had three breasts and it was believed that she would become normal the day she met her consort. She became a powerful princess and while fighting in Mount Kailas she saw Lord Shiva and she immediately attained her true form of Goddess Parvati. Eight days later they were married and after ruling over the Pandya kingdom for a while, they settled in the Madurai temple as Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.
