Madurai: The Temple Town

ASR

Madurai: The Temple Town

Madurai, the city of temples, possesses a lot of heritage and history of Tamilnadu. The adage in Tamilnadu is that if someone fights bravely, he would be tagged as “Madurai Veeran” which means a brave man, whose strength is as strong and brave as a Madurai man. Due to its unique history and traditions, it stands out among all other districts.

The location of Madurai, Source:mapsofindia

In 1801, Britishers took over Madurai directly from the Nayaks. Donations from the Britishers to the temple and to administer the city were made every year. This city was surrounded by seven hills, and the major ones were Annamalai, Pasumalai, and Nagamalai. After the 1980s, the vast Madurai was bifurcated into Madurai, Dhindugal, and Theni.

Madurai has many special names, like Koodal nagaram (City of Junctions), Malligai maanagar (City of Jasmine), Koil maanagar (Temple City), Thoonga nagaram(City that never sleeps), and Naanmada koodal (junction of four towers of Meenakshi Amman Temple). Talking about the city and its beauty is endless. But, the people of Madurai’s generosity and kindness are a treasure for the state of Tamilnadu.

The fragrance of jasmine flowers welcomes you into the town of Madurai. Girls in traditional sarees, men in dhotis that are tucked in above the knees, and the Madurai mustache style is something one cannot miss. This represents the bravery of the Tamilians. Most of the streets would be dedicated to temples, either small ones or famous ones. With a bit of hot weather, you can enjoy the old city with the luscious Madurai Jigardhanda.

The recipient city of all these was once a forest, named Kadambavanam that was laying on the banks of River Vaigai. One day, when a farmer named Dhanajaya, passed through the forest, he saw Lord Indra, who was worshiping the Swayambhulingam,(self-manifested form). Seeing him worship the Swayambhulingam under a Kadambam tree, the farmer rushed to the Pandya king Kulsekarar and reported about the incident. This pious king immediately ordered a temple around this lingam and that is the world-famous Meenakshi Amman Temple. The king then created a beautiful city in the shape of a lotus, surrounding the temple.

On the day of naming the created city, Lord Shiva who himself performed his sixty-four Thiruvilayadals in Madurai, appeared and blessed it. The nectar, which was called Madhu from his tangled lock, spilled on the city and so the city is named Madurai. This old city even got mentioned in great epics like Ramayana, Arthasasthra, and also in Kautilyas.

Every Tamilan knew that Madurai was a synonym for the Pandyans, the kings of the Pandya dynasty. From 302 BC, many people came to Madurai, and the visitors included the Romans and Greeks, who established their trade with the Pandya kings. Silapadhikaram, the masterpiece of Tamil literature, has Madurai as its background setting. This book says that the chief character, Kannagi, cursed Madurai to be burnt to avenge the Pandya Nendunj Chezhiya king who did injustice to her by mistake.

Madurai was tossed among different rulers, and one such famous king was Thirumalai Nayak of the 17th century. His contribution to the city was enormous. Architecture was one of the major fields that grew during his time. Though the Pandya king raised the temple for the Swayambulingam, it was the Nayaks who built the Raja Gopuram of Meenakshi Amman temple. He also built Pudhu Mandavam and Thirumalai Nayakar’s palace which are living monuments to his artistic ardor.