Madurai Meenakshi Amman (Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundareswarar ThiruKovil)

**ShivaFan** · 05 March 2012, 12:31 AM

Whatan amazing place! I am sure it is atirtha or doorway to look into the holy world or even step into the far shorewhere there live Devas and enlightenment. You have shared so much detailed and fascinating facts of this placecalled Madurai and this temple.

Definitely it is one of the wonders of the world.

One day I would like to visit this tirtha, this holy temple. Even if I am not allowed into the temple to seethe Devi, simply to see the majesty of the temple buildings and feel theexcitement and presence would be such an honor.

When I visited Jaganath Puri, I was not allowed into the temple or certainareas. And that was ok with me, I canunderstand the rules and the importance of such considerations. After all, Jaganath Puri is not a touristattraction, and if anyone were to be allowed in without proving oneself overtime as being something more than simply a foreign tourist, you would havefools entering, insulting the traditions, taking pictures of objects or evenlocals as if they were some sort of carnival or worse.

I was escorted by a temple boy, who allowed me to look down at the grounds froma particular viewpoint, and I was very grateful for that.

I assume that the same sort of rules apply at the Meenakshi Temple? E.g. �non-Hindusnot allowed�, �no foreigners� and such � even if so, still I would certainlylike to visit one day.

Thank you again for sharing so much information about this temple, you haveprovided much more interesting and detail than I can find on the internet ingeneral.

**Eastern Mind** · 05 March 2012, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Brian Baldwin

Whatan amazing place! I am sure it is atirtha or doorway to look into the holy world or even step into the far shorewhere there live Devas and enlightenment. You have shared so much detailed and fascinating facts of this placecalled Madurai and this temple.

Definitely it is one of the wonders of the world.

One day I would like to visit this tirtha, this holy temple. Even if I am not allowed into the temple to seethe Devi, simply to see the majesty of the temple buildings and feel theexcitement and presence would be such an honor.

When I visited Jaganath Puri, I was not allowed into the temple or certainareas. And that was ok with me, I canunderstand the rules and the importance of such considerations. After all, Jaganath Puri is not a touristattraction, and if anyone were to be allowed in without proving oneself overtime as being something more than simply a foreign tourist, you would havefools entering, insulting the traditions, taking pictures of objects or evenlocals as if they were some sort of carnival or worse.

I was escorted by a temple boy, who allowed me to look down at the grounds froma particular viewpoint, and I was very grateful for that.

I assume that the same sort of rules apply at the Meenakshi Temple? E.g. “non-Hindusnot allowed”, “no foreigners” and such … even if so, still I would certainlylike to visit one day.

Thank you again for sharing so much information about this temple, you haveprovided much more interesting and detail than I can find on the internet ingeneral.

Vannakkam: The temples really vary on the non-Hindu thing. The same temple may even vary on different days, depending on the mood of the guard on duty. You will find the ones that get a lot of tourists to be the strictest, which makes sense. If you get off the beaten tourist track (Tiruchendur and Palani Murugan temples are just two notable examples. Tanjore also has no policy, and its probably the most magnificent architecturally of them all.) ) and are not dumb enough to carry a camera and snap pictures all the time, you should have little problem entering most of them. In Kerala they get pretty strict as well. Personally, I never ask, and just walk right in, unless I'm stopped. Then I get out my passport and "Yes I'm a Hindu" certificate. Of the 3 or 4 times I went to the Meenakshi temple only once were we asked, and they had heightened security country-wide that day. It probably helps at least in my case to wear local dress (veshti) and tilak also. The priests can usually tell.

I hope you get to go some day. its worth every second and every penny.

Aum Namasivaya

**brahman** · 07 March 2012, 12:16 AM

Dear EM, Brian, Believer, charitra, Thanks for contributions,

I loved charitra's 360degree stuff.

Originally Posted by Eastern Mind

Vannakkam: The temples really vary on the non-Hindu thing. The same temple may even vary on different days, depending on the mood of the guard on duty. You will find the ones that get a lot of tourists to be the strictest, which makes sense. If you get off the beaten tourist track (Tiruchendur and Palani Murugan temples are just two notable examples. Tanjore also has no policy, and its probably the most magnificent architecturally of them all.) ) and are not dumb enough to carry a camera and snap pictures all the time, you should have little problem entering most of them. In Kerala they get pretty strict as well. Personally, I never ask, and just walk right in, unless I'm stopped. Then I get out my passport and "Yes I'm a Hindu" certificate. Of the 3 or 4 times I went to the Meenakshi temple only once were we asked, and they had heightened security country-wide that day. It probably helps at least in my case to wear local dress (veshti) and tilak also. The priests can usually tell.

I hope you get to go some day. its worth every second and every penny.

Aum Namasivaya

I too have helped people with this same approach. There were few Russians (they had some certificates from a temple in Moscow saying they are Hindus) recently entering the �padmanabha Swamy temple�, (The authorities are really strict on the white skin issue after huge vaults of gold were found and the Rana issue, even the locals need ID cards to enter).

Always , a respectful and proper dress code like wearing a dhoti , white kurta pyjamas are recommended.

Love