Madurai, well known for the celebrated Minakshi-Sundareshwarar temple, also has many Vishnu shrines, such as the famous Koodal Azhagar temple, which is one of the Divya Desams. However, there are other temples for this deity, though not as old and not as well-known. One among these is the temple for Krishna known as the Madanagopala Swami temple which was built in the 16th century when the Vijayanagaga Emperors were ruling South India and their feudatories, the Nayak kings were reigning in the Madurai area. This temple has a five-tier gopuram, covered with many sculptures, at the entranceway. Devotees then enter a mandapam belonging the Nayak style of architecture, in which are two shrines for Hanuman. One is for Panchamukha Hanuman and the other is for Sanjeevi Hanuman. To the left of this pillared hall is the shrine for Sudarsana (Chakrattazhvar), whose image like those eleswhere has Yoga Narasimha on the rear. Worshippers have to pass through another mandapam to reach the main sanctum. Paintings of Garuda and Hanuman and also two dvarapalakas (door-keepers) adorn the entrance to the main shrine.
The principal deity is the grand image of Madanagopala Swami (Venugopala), approximately four feet high, with four hands (chaturbhuja). The upper hands hold the sankha and chakra, while the lower two hold the flute (venu). This deity also called Deiviha Vasudevan, is flanked by his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama. It is believed that those who want to excell in music should worship Madanagopala Swami. The utsava-murti (processional image) is Vishnu in a standing pose with four arms, with Goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side.
To the right of the main sanctum is a separate shrine for Goddess Lakshmi, worshipped as Madana Madhuravalli Thayar. In the circumambulatory passage (prakaram) around this shrine are huge pillars which are clearly of the Nayak style of architecture. On the other side of the central shrine is Andal’s sanctum.
An eye-catching feature of this temple are the panels of Ramayana sculptures seen on the northern and southern outer walls of the main sanctum. They depict various episodes from the Valmeeki Ramayanam such as Rama stringing the bow in the court of King Janaka to win the hand of Sita; Ahalya Shapa Vimochanam; Rama going after the golden deer; Ravana coming to see Sita in the guise of a sanyasi and others. The sacred tree (sthala-vriksham) of this temple is the plantain.
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The Madanagopala Swami temple is fairly close to the Koodal Azhagar temple and near the Imaiyilum Nanmai Tharuvar temple.
