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Madurai
Madurai in
Tamilnadu State is one of the great temple towns of
southern India. The city is synonymous with the celebrated Meenakshi Temple.
Situated on the banks of river Vaigai River, Madurai has a rich 2500 years old
cultural heritage from the great Tamil Era. It was an important cultural and
commercial center even as early as 550 CE. It was the capital city for the great
Pandya kings. The Pandyan King Kulasekarar built a great temple and
created a lotus shaped city around the temple. The Mythological explanation of
the name of the city is interesting. On the day the city was to be named, as
Lord Shiva blessed the land and its people, divine nectar (Madhu) was showered
on the city from his matted locks. This city was henceforth known as Madhurapuri.
Madurai is famous for Jasmine Flowers.
Madurai
is one of the oldest cities of India, with a history dating all the way back to
the Sangam period of the pre Christian era and the very early Christian era. The
glory of Madurai returned in a diminished form in the earlier part of this
millennium; it later on came under the rule of the Vijayanagar Empire after the
ravaging armies of the Delhi Sultanate under Malik Kafur ransacked it. During
the 16th and 18th centuries, Madurai was ruled by the
Nayak rulers, the foremost of whom was Tirumalai Nayakar. The Sangam Period poet
Nakkeerar is associated with some of the
Tiruvilayaadal episodes of
Sundareswarar - that are enacted during the temple festival celebrations.
The Sangam Period or the Golden age of Tamil literature produced
masterpieces in the Pre Christian era and in early first Millennium. Madurai was
the seat of the Tamil Sangam or Academy of learning. The entire city of Madurai
is built around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. Concentric rectangular
streets surround the temple, symbolizing the structure of the cosmos.
Megasthanes visited Madurai as early as the third century BCE. Later many
travelers from Rome and Greece visited Madurai and established trade
relationship with the Pandya rulers. Until the Cholas, the arch rivals of the
Pandyas, captured it in tenth century CE, Madurai was a great temple and trading
city.
The Cholas ruled Madurai from 920 CE until the beginning of the
13th century. In 1223 CE Pandyas regained their kingdom and once
again the city become prosperous. Pandyan rulers patronized the Tamil language
and literature. During their period, many of the classic Tamil masterpieces were
composed. The story of Kannagi who burnt Madurai as a result of the injustice
caused to her husband Kovalan, forms the basis of the great Tamil epic
Silapathikaram. In April 1311, Malik Kafur, the commander of Sultan
Alauddin Khilji of Delhi raided and robbed the Madurai for its precious stones,
jewels, and other rare treasures in its famous temple and in the houses of the
affluent residents of the city. Attracted by the fabulous riches that he looted,
many subsequent Islamic Sultans followed suit. Under the rulers of Tughlaq
Dynasty in 1323 the entire Pandya Kingdom including the famed city of Madurai
became a province of the Delhi Empire for a short period. The Vijayanagar
Dynasty of Hampi (in Karnataka) captured Madurai in 1371 to incorporate it in
their vast empire. Vijayanagar Dynasty had a tradition of appointing local
Nayaks or governors in the territories that they conquered. They
considered this way of administration very efficient because they did not have
to deal with day to day situations in their vast territories. The Nayaks had to
pay a fixed amount to the Vijayanagar Empire in return for their safety and
wellbeing. After the death of Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar Empire in 1530
the Nayaks asserted their independence and ruled the local territories as
sovereign monarchs. In Madurai Thirumalai Nayak who ruled from
1623 to 1659 was immensely popular. Most of the architectural wonders of Madurai
and its surrounding areas date from his period. The Raja Gopuram of the
Meenakshi Amman Temple, The Pudu Mandapam and Palace of
Thirumalai Nayakar are some of the monuments that are testimony of his
artistic and architectural fervor. With the gradual development of British
political power in southern India, Madurai slipped into the territories of
British East India Company. In 1781 they appointed a representative to
administer Madurai. George Procter was their first collector in Madurai. After
independence of India Madurai became one of the major districts of the new Tamil
Nadu State. Within Tamil Nadu Madurai is the second biggest conglomeration of
the state that elects 15 members to the State Legislative Assembly and 2 members
of Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament.
Among the Nayaka rulers the name of a female monarch is a unique
and extraordinary phenomenon. Rani Mangammal was such an
extraordinary queen regent. Mangammal was the daughter of Lingama Nayaka,
a commander of the king Chokkanatha Nayaka, who ruled Madurai from
1659 to 1682. Although Chokkanatha married Mangammal
very early, she became the principal queen only after all his efforts to marry
the daughter of the Thanjavur ruler Vijayaraghava Nayaka failed.
She ascended the throne at a very difficult period in the history
of Madurai. The army of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb was stationed just outside the
Gingee Fort ready to invade Thanjavur and Madurai with all their might. While
her husband, Chokkanatha Nayaka, was still alive, the rulers of Mysore had
started a campaign to expand their territory in the south. The Raja of
Travancore in south Kerala had stopped paying tribute to Madurai rulers. In the
eastern Tamil Nadu, Raghunatha Thevar, the ruler of Ramanad had revolted in a
bid to gain independence. When Chokkanatha Nayaka died in 1682, his son
Rengakrishna Muthu Veerappa, a spirited youth ascended the throne of Madurai. He
was courageous in his dealings with Emperor Aurangzeb. But he died very young in
1689. His queen was pregnant with his son, Vijayranga Chokkanatha. She was so
bereaved by the death of her husband that she committed suicide after delivering
the son. Rani Mangammal was forced to take over the reign as the regent of her
grandson who was crowned at just three months of age.
Zulfikar Ali Khan, the commander of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb had
laid a siege of the Gingee Fort, where the Maratha ruler Rajaram, son of the
famous Maratha Warrior Shivaji, was entrenched. Rajaram sent an army to Madurai
to demand the territory of Thanjavur. The Marathas had taken Thanjavur during
the reign of Chokkanatha Nayaka, Rani Mangammal’s husband. The Rani did not have
many options because her kingdom was surrounded by rulers who had their eyes on
Madurai or at least parts of Madurai. In eastern Tamil Nadu Raghunatha Thevar
was ruling Ramanad. He also saw this opportunity to revolt against Madurai. Rani
Mangammal kept her cool in these trying circumstances. She paid tribute to
Rajaram, the Maratha ruler but at the same time sought the help of the Mughal
commander, Zulfikar Ali Khan to take back the territories lost. Chikkadevaraya,
the ruler of Mysore, sent his famous commander, Dalavoy Kumariyya to invade
Tiruchi. Fortunately Dalavoy Kumariyya had to be called back because the
Marathas attacked Mysore. In 1697 she sent her army to Travancore to demand
tribute from Raja Ravi Varma . In 1700 her commander, Dalavoy Narasappiah
defeated the Thanjavur army. There were friendly relations between Thanjavur and
Madurai for some time and they united against the aggression of Mysore rulers.
But her great failure was the battle with Raghunatha Sethupathi, in which her
commander, Dalavoy Narasappiah died. She never recovered from this loss and died
in 1706. With her political wisdom, diplomatic skill, administrative ability and
cool courage in facing danger, she was able to maintain the prestige of Madurai
and regain for it much of the position it had held during the days of Tirumala
Nayaka.
Despite all the military activity in and around her kingdom Rani
Mangammal administered the civil, trade and industrial matters very effectively.
She had many irrigation canals and new roads constructed. She also had trees
planted on either side of main roads. Her palace still stands in Madurai and is
used as the Mahatma Gandhi Museum. Although she was personally very devout
Hindu, she was very liberal in her state policy towards Muslims and also towards
the newly converted Christians as well as the Christian missionaries.
Madurai
Attractions:
Meenakshi Temple
is one
of largest temples in Tamil Nadu. It is dedicated to Shiva in his Sundereshvara
form and his consort Parvati in her Meenakshi form. It was originally
constructed by Kulasekara Pandya but it has been restored and expanded many
times. Much of the present temple was constructed during the reign of Nayaks in
18th century. There is a very high wall enclosing the massive temple
complex that has twelve very impressive Gopurams, the typical south Indian
temple towers that function as gates. The Gopurams have solid granite stone
foundations. The exterior of these Gopurams is covered with very colorful,
beautifully carved idols of Hindu deities as well as mythical monsters and
animals.
The twelve Gopurams are landmarks of Madurai. Of these four
Gopurams have nine stories:
The East Gopuram has a total height of 161 feet and 3 inches with 1011 Sudhai
figures.
The South Gopuram has a total height of 170 feet and 6 inches with 1511 Sudhai
figures
The West Gopuram has a total height of 163 feet and 3 inches with 1124 Sudhai
figures
The North Gopuram has a total height of 160 feet and 6 inches with much lesser
Sudhai figures
TheseGopurams indicate the entrance to the temple complex at
the four cardinal points, while lesser Gopurams lead to the sanctums of the main
deities. Stucco Work on
the figures of deities on the Gopurams are repaired, repainted and ritually
re-consecrated every 12 years.
Ashta Shakthi Mandapam is the huge assembly hall that a visitor to
the Meenakshi Temple arrives at when entering through its eastern gateway.
Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai, the two wives of Thirumalai Nayakar had this
Mandapam constructed. During the reign of Nayaks food used to be distributed to
everyone who came from distant regions. Next to this hall is the Meenakshi
Nayaka Mandapa, a spacious columned hall used for shops and stores. This hall
has a votive lamp-holder with 1,008 lamps, which are lit on festive occasions
and present a spectacular sight. The sculptures on the pillars here relate some
of Lord Shiva's Thiruvilayadals (miracles) and also the interesting story of
Meenakshi's birth and her life as the princess of Madurai. Her story is:
Malayadwaja Pandya, a king of Madurai , was childless for a long time. He
performed a number of Yagnas (sacrifices made before a sacred fire) to
obtain an heir to his throne. On one occasion, a three-year-old girl came out of
the fire and Malayadwaja welcomed her to his family. But the girl had three
breasts and this worried Malayadwaja. However, a divine voice assured him that
the third breast would disappear as soon as she met her consort. The girl grew
into a brave and beautiful princess. She won many battles, but eventually lost
her heart to Lord Shiva, when she met him on the Kailash peak. As soon as
she saw him, her third breast disappeared and she recognized her divine consort,
for the princess was none other than Shiva's consort, Parvathi. After
ruling over the Pandya kingdom for a while, they settled in the Madurai temple
as Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.
Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam: This big hall is adjacent to Ashta
Shakthi Mandapam and has 110 pillars carrying the figures of a peculiar animal
with a lion's body , and an elephant's head called Yalli.
Potramaraikulam (golden lotus pool):
This temple pool is an ancient ritual place where devotees take bath in the holy
water at festive occasions. The area around this pool was the meeting place of
the Tamil Sangam - the ancient academy of poets. Although the origin of
the Tamil Sangam is lost in mythology, all scholars believe it to be an ancient
literary institution in Tamil Nadu. There is a popular myth that the academy
judged the worth of any work of literature presented before it by throwing it
into the pool. Only those that did not sink were considered worthy of attention.
This is probably just a myth but the Tamil Sangam is certainly a historical
academy. The pool is surrounded by a pillared corridor. Steps lead down to the
pool, enabling worshippers to bathe in it.
Oonjal
(swing) Mandapam and Killikoontu (parrot
cage) Mandapam are on the western side of the pool. The golden idols of
Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are seated on the swing in the Oonjal Mandapam and
hymns are sung as the deities gaily swing to and fro on every Friday. The
parrots in the Kilikoontu Mandapam have been trained to repeat Meenakshi's name.
The twenty-eight pillars of the Mandapam have exquisitely carved sculptures of
figures from Hindu mythology.
Swami Sundareswarar Shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva, the consort of
Goddess Meenakshi is to the north of Kilikoontu Mandapam. A gigantic idol of
Shri Ganesh called Mukkurini Pillaiyar in Tamil precedes the shrine of Lord
Shiva. This idol was found in an excavation done by Thirumalai Nayakar about two
miles away from the Meenakshi Temple. It was brought to the temple and placed
there with the traditional rituals.
In the outer Pragaram (corridor outside the main shrine)
there is a stump of the Kadamba tree that is said to be part of the same tree
under which Indra worshipped the Shiva Lingam. Also in the outer corridor there
are the Kadambathadi Mandapam and big hall called Velli Ambalam. An idol
of Nataraja, Shiva in his form as the Lord of Dance is placed here. This idol of
Nataraja is covered with silver leaves giving this hall the name of Velli
Ambalam (Silver Hall).
The Thousand Pillar Mandapam is one of most important attractions in
this temple. The real number of the beautifully carved columns is actually 985.
These columns are sculpted in traditional Dravidian style. An interesting
collection of idols, photographs and drawings is exhibited in a Temple Art
Museum in this hall depicting the 1200 year old history of this temple. There
are many other Mandapams in this temple. Each pillar just outside this Mandapam
produces a different musical note giving the place its name of Musical
Pillars area. The ritual marriage of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati is
celebrated every year during the festival of Chitiral in mid-April in the
Kalyana Mandapa that is just south of this pillared hall.
Vasantha Mandapam was constructed under the patronage of
Thirumalai Nayakar. The spring festival of Vasanthosavam is celebrated in this
Mandapam in Vaisaki month of Hindu calendar that coincides with months of April
or May. The columns in this Manadapam depict scenes from the marriage of Lord
Shiva and Meenakshi along with figures of ten Nayak rulers and their queens.
Mariammam Teppakulam is a pool about 3 miles from Meenakshi Temple
where there is an idol of Vinayaka or Vigneshwara installed on an island
platform in its middle.
Tirumalai Nayak Mahal is about half a mile from Meenakshi Temple.
The magnificent building was constructed in the Indo-Saracenic architecture
style in 1523. It was originally about four times larger than it is at present.
The Swarga Vilasam in this palace is most remarkable. The 66 feet high ceiling
is not supported by its walls. There are two sound and light shows depicting the
life of Tirumalai Nayak and the Tamil classic story of Silappathikaram in this
palace every evening in English and Tamil languages.
Rani Mangammal’s palace houses the Gandhi Museum that has a collection
of exhibits depicting the history of India’s freedom struggle. A Museum shop has
books on Mahatma Gandhi and the struggle for India’s independence.
Thirupparankunram is a place about 5 miles from Madurai where
the Pandyan rock-cut shrines from eighth century CE and a later Nayak period
Hindu temple are located. The Subramanya cave has a temple dedicated to goddess
Durga with idols of Ganesh and Subramanya on her sides. It is located on top of
a hill.
Azhagar Koil is 21 kilometers or 13 miles north of Madurai. It is a
Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu on top of a very picturesque wooded hill
called Algarmalai.
Koodal Alagar Temple in another Vaishnava temple about 1 mile west
of Madurai that has idols of Lord Vishnu in sitting, standing and reclining
poses.
Events & festivals of Madurai:
The Chittirai Festival celebrates the marriage of
Sundareshvara and his consort, Meenakshi in the months of April or May. During
this festival a ritual marriage of Lord Shiva and his consort is held. It is
followed by a very elaborate procession of the two deities on a chariot
accompanied by beautifully decorated elephants and resounding notes of
Nadaswaram and Mradangam Tamil drum instruments.
Avanimoola Festival is held in late August or early September to
mark the coronation of Lord Shiva. It is celebrated by enacting the classical
Tamil plays based on Hindu mythology and the legend associated with the
Meenakshi Temple. It is also followed by a procession.
Teppam or the Float Festival that is held in January/February in the
Meenakshi Temple lasts for twelve days of which the last two days are most
spectacular. Tirumalai Nayak is believed to have started this tradition to mark
his birthday. During this festival the idols of Meenakshi and Sundareshvara are
decorated with flowers and placed on illuminated floats to be carried to the
Mariammam Teppakkulam Pool accompanied by classical Tamil music and Vedic
chants.
Panguni Festival
is a fourteen-day annual event in the
Tirupparankundram Temple that is held during the months of April and May to mark
the coronation and marriage of Lord Subramanya and his consort, the Devyani, the
daughter of god Indra. The deities from Meenakshi Temple are taken in procession
during this festival.
4-star hotels:
Taj Garden
Retreat – 63 rooms
3-star hotels:
GRT Regency Hotel – 55 rooms
Best Western Germanus Hotel – 84 rooms
Hotel Sangam – 50 rooms
Other hotels:
Hotel M. R. International –
48 rooms
Hotel Supreme – 69 rooms
Park Plaza Hotel – 55 rooms
Days Inn Germanus – 63 rooms
Fortune Pandyan Hotel – 57 rooms
Royal Court – 70 rooms
Distance from Madurai in Kilometers and Miles:
Chennai: 444 Kilometers or 276 Miles
Coimbatore: 217 Kilometers or 152 Miles
Kanyakumari: 235 Kilometers or 168 Miles
Kochi: 270 Kilometers or 168 Miles
Pondicherry: 324 Kilometers or 201 Miles
Mysore: 382 Kilometers or 237 Miles
Rameshwaran: 172 Kilometers or 107 Miles
Thanjavur: 163 Kilometers or 107 Miles
Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram): 264 Kilometers or 164 Miles
Kanyakumari: 235 Kilometers or 146 Miles
Thrissur: 303 Kilometers or 188 Miles
Tiruchchirapalli: 128 Kilometers or 79 Miles
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