A visit to the holy city of Madurai in the south India state of Tamil Nadu is not complete unless you visited the world-renowned Meenakshi Temple. There is also the famous Koodal Azhagar Temple – dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. The grand temple is constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture and finds rich mentions in literatures from as far as 6th century AD.

More so, Koodal Azhagar Temple is regarded as one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is deified as KoodalAzhagar and while his consort Lakshmi as Maragathavalli.As per records, it’s the Pandays who built the original temple while the Vijayanagar and Madurai Nayak kings were responsible for later additions to it. Surrounded by a granite wall, the temple has a five-storied rajagopuram, the gateway tower.

In addition, Koodal Azhagar Temple is the site of four daily rituals and three yearly festivals that attract a huge number of devotees here. The most prominent festival here is the fourteen-day annual Brahmotsavam which is held between May June every year. Covering an area of around 2 acres, the gateway tower of the temple reaches to a height of 125 feet and lend it a unique appeal.