Top 10 temples of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu has long been the bastion of Hinduism and Hindu culture and this gets reflected amply in the amount of incredible sites of worship dotting the landscape. Hence it becomes extremely difficult to narro

1. Ramanathswami Temple, Rameshwaram : Located in the Ramnathpuram district the temple is the only religious structure in India which is both a Jyotirlinga and a Char Dham site. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this is the southern dhama and is said to be the place of worship of Shiva by Lord Rama before embarking on his quest of Lanka. The temple boast of the largest corridors in the world and has multiple wells where various saints and kings have performed penance. The official website can be visited here

2. Meenakshi Temple, Madurai : Located on the banks of river Vaigai, the temple is situated in the holy city of Madurai is dedicated to goddess Parvati who is worshiped in the form of Meenakshi. The annual Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival attracts more than a million visitors across the country. The official websites can be visited at www.maduraimeenakshi.org  and  www.maduraimeenakshitemple.com

Meenakshi temple: PC-maduraixpress.com

3. Brihadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur : One of the oldest and the biggest temples dedicated to Shiva was built by the Chola dynasty which showcases the heights reached by their empire. It is also a Unesco World Heritage site and is more than a millenium old. One can visit the official website for more information about the legends, effort, architecture and styles.

Brihadeshwar: PC-insightsindia.blogspot.com

4. Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram : The temple has been one of the icons of Hinduism across the world and is said to be over two millenia old. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva and has 108 Bharatnatyam poses sculpted over the gopurams. Visit the www.chidambaramnataraja.org for further details.

Nataraj Temple: PC-flickr.com

5.  Kapaleeshwara Temple, Chennai: The capital city can be proud of its cultural heritage and one of the crowing pieces in its glory is the Kapaleeshwara temple where Shiva is worshiped alongside Parvati who is known by the name Karpagambal. The temple has multiple daily rituals and four yearly festivals. Visit the kapaleeswarartemple.com for further information 

Kapaaleshwara: PC-flickr.com

6. Ekambareswarar Temple, Kanchipuram : Kanchipuram is one of the seven cities where one can attain salvation and hence the town comprises of multiple awe-inspiring temples. Amongst those the ekambareswarar temple stands out from the crowd. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the five Panch Bhootams and houses one of the tallest gopurams in India. Click here for more information

Ekambareshwar: PC-yatrastotemples.com

7.Annamaliayar Arunachaleshwar Temple, Tiruvannamalai : The uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that it is one of the Panchtatva temples in India, dedicated to the element of fire. Shiva remains the presiding deity of the complex and hence the temple enjoys its seat on the high pedestal within the followers of Shiva. It is one of the largest temples in India and its hall of thousand pillars built during the Vijaynagar kingdom is a sight to behold.

Arunachalam: PC-Sonuprabha for Sulekha.com

8 Rangnathaswamy Temple, Tiruchirapalli : It has the distinction of being the largest functioning Hindu temple in the world, Angkor being the largest religious structure ever built. The entire temple complex isn't religious in nature , 3 out of the 7 parkrimas are used for commercial purposes and hence they reduce the size to make the complex contestable in size with Brihadeshwara and Annamaliayar temple.

Rangnathaswamy: PC-thelostlander.wordpress.com

9. Varadraja Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram: Kanchipuram isn't one of the seven Sapta-puris just riding on its fame. It also houses some of the most revered sites as well as architectural marvels present in modern India. The temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is one of the sites where 12 Alwars or the saint poets visited. It is the second most visited temple in the city and one of the largest temple complexes in the country

Varadaraja Perumal: PC-divinetraveller,net

10. Rajgopalaswami Temple, Mannarrgudi : The temple is also known as Dakshin Dwarka along with Guruvayoor which indicates the reverence which this site evokes. It also houses one of the most preserved and largest temple tanks in the country which alone makes it a place worth visiting.

Rajagopalaswami: PC-wikimedia.com