This 16th-century pillared hall stands outside the temple, opposite the eastern gopuram . It's filled with colourful textile and crafts stalls and tailors at sewing machines, partly hiding some of the lovely pillar sculptures, but it's easy to find the triple-breasted Meenakshi near the southeast corner, facing Sundareswarar (opposite), and their marriage, accompanied by Vishnu, just inside the western entrance. A particularly handsome light-blue Nandi (Shiva's vehicle) sits outside the mandapa 's eastern entrance.
