The Meenakshi Temple in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) is among India's most magnificent temples. It is famous not only because it is an excellent example of Dravidian or South Indian architecture but also because of its historic and religious significance. It is believed that the Kadamsa tree under which Lord Shiva used to meditate was here. The temple itself is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, the wife of Shiva. Fundu Fact The Meenakshi Temple has a golden tank, which has an interesting history of its own. It seems that in the middle ages, this was the place where reputed Tamil scholars held their meetings (called sangam). The purpose of the meetings was to decide the worthiness of the works of literature presented to them. The sangam had a funny way of doing this - they dipped the books in the golden tank. Those that sank were dismissed, while the ones which floated were considered worthy! Exquisite sculptures and paintings adorn the wall and roof of the various shrines in the temple. One of the biggest attractions is the thousand-pillared hall with its 985 pillars. Each pillar is carved with beautiful images of gods, goddess and other mythological characters. It is difficult to decide which pillar is better as they all seem to have a breathtaking beauty.