India is a perfect amalgamation of diverse cultures, traditions, architectures and so on. The temples of India depict the story of the classic golden era. South Indian temples are extraordinary in their architectural style. These temples are the sign of rich Indian cultures. Some of the popular South Indian temples are described below:
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai
This spectacular temple is devoted to Goddess Parvati in the manifestation of Meenakshi along with Lord Shiva – her consort. In this place, Lord Shiva is devoted in the form of Lord Sundareshwarar. The ‘Meenakshi Amman Temple’ is an ancient and popular temple in the whole India. This temple is located in Tamil Nadu.
As per the historical as well as archaeological records, the specific temple was initially constructed around 6th century AD; however, a vast part of this temple was damaged in times of 14th century by the Muslim attackers in India. The current structure is the result of the restoration work during the 16th century by the Nayak rulers for bringing back its pure glory.
The temple is an epitome of the Dravidian architecture. The extraordinarily decorated and sculptured ‘Gopurams’ associated with this temple are the prime highlight and this temple can be viewed from the distant sights as well. This temple is perfectly decorated with thousands of illustrations of gods, goddesses along with demons. It is just a perfect architectural marvel. In addition to gopurams, complicatedly carved figures along with scenes described from Indian mythology in its halls further add to an outstanding artistic charm here.
The thousand-pillared hall of this temple is an extraordinary engineering marvel. Each of the pillars constructed of a single granite rock that produces a diverse musical note while tapped. Thousands of devotees along with tourists visit this temple on a regular basis. The count reaches to approximately 1 million in time of the annual MeenakshiTirukalyanam festival, organized for the duration of April-May.
Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur
It is one of the biggest temples in India. This marvelous ‘Brihadeeswarar Temple’ is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is nestled in the Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district. At present, this temple featured with the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the list of ‘Great Living Chola Temples’. Every year, a lot of tourists and devotees visit this temple. The significant attraction of this place is its ‘Vimana’ or tower that is 216 ft. Tall. It has been claimed as the tallest around the world.
The Brihadeeswarar Temple is the first temple in the world that has completely constructed with granite. It is a perfect example of extraordinary and unique skills of engineers, architects, along with artisans of that era.
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam
Devoted to Lord Vishnu, this well-known temple situated on the Tiruchirappalli city’s (of Tamilnadu) Srirangam Island. It is an extraordinary masterpiece of the famous Dravidian architecture. It featured with a space of above 150 acres. This popular temple featured with 49 sub-shrines, it sprinkled with 21 amazingly carved Gopurams along with the ‘Raja Gopuram’ of 236 ft tall and it is the tallest in the entire Asia.
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is an outstanding combination of mind-blowing architecture, exquisite sculptures, delicate carvings, and brilliant frescoes. It also featured the amazing thousand-pillared hall that is a proof of its extraordinary artistic brilliance.
Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram
It is another magnificent and extremely popular temple in Tamil Nadu. The ‘Ekambareswarar Temple’ pulls a large number of visitors and pilgrims from various parts of India and around the globe. The incredible temple dedicated to the Earth, an element of ‘PanchBoothaSthalas’. This place associated with a rich religious importance for Lord Shiva devotees.
As per the belief, this famous temple has been there since 600 AD; nevertheless, today’s existing structure is believed to be constructed in 11th-12th centuries. This temple’s architecture displays a unique Shaivite structure because of its 5 prakrams and a tall gopuram. Every visitor gathers a rich spiritual experience after visiting the Ekambareswara Temple.
Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram
This temple is considered as one of the ‘Char Dhams’ or four primary pilgrimage places for all Hindus around the whole world. Every day pilgrims and hordes come to this place to seek immense spiritual peace and blessings from God. This temple is considered amongst the 12 sacred and spiritual Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
This amazing temple is located on the peaceful island of Rameswaram in the state of Tamil Nadu. This temple provides an amalgamation of spiritual experience and visual treat.
Kumari Amman Temple, Kanyakumari
Nestled in the cape of Kanyakumari in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the very famous ‘Kumari Amman Temple’ devoted to the KanyaKumari – the virgin Goddess, who is an avatar of Goddess Shakti. It is constantly bearing the witness of past 3000 years. This extraordinary temple located on the amazing confluence of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. This idol of the Goddess resides here in the menifestation of a young charming girl along with rosary in her right hand.
It is an ideal pilgrim destination in Tamil Nadu, where people get an immense feeling of peace and prosperity.
Various popular travel agencies provide the south india temple tour to the visitors.
Sripuram Golden Temple, Vellore
This famous temple is located on the hills of Malaikodi and it belongs to the popular city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu. The ‘Sripuram Golden Temple’ provides an extraordinary visual experience to people. It was constructed in 2007 and devoted to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of prosperity and wealth), regarded as ‘Sri Lakshmi Narayani’. It spreads over 100 acres of sprawling area and this incredible temple is completely constructed with pure gold. As per the sayings, around 15000 kilograms of gold has been used in this temple’s creation.
Some other famous temples of South India are SreePadmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram; SabarimalaSastha Temple, Pathanamthitta; Sivagiri Temple, Varkala; Virupaksha Temple; Hampi, Chennakeshava Temple; Belur, Bhutanatha Temple; Badami, Mallikarjuna Temple Pattadakal; Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi; VeeraNarayana Temple, Belavadi; Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura; TirumalaVenkateswara Temple, Chittoor; Thousand Pillar Temple; Warangal and the list continues.