A central female Goddess is a scarce phenomenon in Indias Hindu temples. Minakshi, a regional form of Parvati is the main deity of the temple in Madurai, that got its name after her. The temple impresses by numbers: 1000 Pillars hall (there are more in fact), a seemingly endless number of gods, demons and mythical figures at the gopurams at the outside, number of visitors: more than 20 000 daily. The Minakshi temple got its present shape in the 16th century. It became common in South India, to increase the size of the “door-towers” (Gopuram) of the temple in the outer fence and to build the inner sanctuaries in a smaller form. Very much in opposition to the North of India where the tallest parts lie more in the center of the temple area.
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