Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple at Madurai is one of the largest active Hindu temple complexes in India — a 14-acre precinct with 14 towering gopurams (the tallest reaches 51.9 metres), the famed 1,000-Pillar Hall, and a sacred tank called Porthamarai Kulam. Although references to the temple appear in Tamil Sangam literature dating back two millennia, the present structure was largely rebuilt by the Nayak dynasty in the 16th–17th centuries after extensive Delhi Sultanate damage. The temple is unusual in placing the goddess Meenakshi (a form of Parvati) as the senior deity, with Sundareswarar (Shiva) in a secondary sanctum. Their celestial wedding is re-enacted every April–May during the 12-day Chithirai festival, drawing over a million pilgrims to Madurai. The 1,000-Pillar Hall is a museum of bronze idols and the daily Lalitha Sahasranamam recitations are a draw for music lovers.