Minakshi Temple, the temple of one of Shiva's wives

The unique Meenakshi Temple was built not of bricks but of sculptures. It is dedicated to one of the wives of Lord Shiva.

Palaces and temples can be seen in magical India like nowhere else in the world. One of them is Meenakshi, located in the heart of the ancient city of Madurai.

It is named after a king's daughter. She was born with an unattractive appearance. But a yogi foretold her that she would become beautiful when she met the one she would marry.

Minakshi found her future husband on the sacred mountain Kailas. This was Shiva himself. The god told her that she should return to the city, where he would come in eight days under the name of Sundaresvara or "Lord of Beauty".

Many of their 330 million gods are sculpted on the walls of the temple, a pantheon of Hindus. The remains of Minakshi date back two thousand years. In its current form, it dates from the time of King Tirumala Nayak - 1623. It is considered the most beautiful work of medieval Indian architecture and is one of the most famous places of worship in India.

The temple has four entrances. Above one entrance rises a tower over 50 m high. Gopurata, as it is called, is sculpted with thousands of figures of deities. Each entrance has its own different gopura. From the eastern entrance you reach the Puru Mandapam market. Its stalls continue in dark corridors that lead to the interior of the temple.

Minakshi is a real city within a city. The temple has the shape of a rectangle with sides 258 x 223 m. There are six concentric circles inside with smaller gopuri. The upper part of one of them is covered with pure gold. Thousands pass through the main entrance. There are countless stalls selling almost everything - from shiny colorful bracelets to fruit and mirrors. This entrance is called the "Entrance of the Eight Shakti" or the female deities. They are depicted on eight columns on either side. In another corridor, two live elephants with red-painted trunks stand guard. People take the paint with their fingers and put on a "bindi" - the red dot on their foreheads.