Madurai Tourism
State : Tamil Nadu
Temperature : 29°C - 36°C (Summers)21°C - 26°C
(Winters)
Altitude : 100 mts
Best Season : December-February, since winter months are relatively
cooler and better to pay a visit.
Madurai is rightfully called the cultural hub of South
India. One of South India’s temple towns, Madurai is synonymous
with the famous Meenakshi Temple. Situated on the banks of river Vaigai,
Madurai has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the
great Tamil era more than 2500 years old. Madurai was the capital city
for the great Pandya kings.
Legends have it that the daughter of a Pandyan king was born with three
breasts. At the time of her birth, the king was told that the extra
breast would disappear when she met the man she was to
marry, and this duly happened when she met Siva on Mt Kailasa. Siva told
her to return to Madurai and, eight days later, arrived there himself
in the form of Lord Sundareshwara to marry her. Henceforth they settled
in the Madurai Temple as Meenakshi (Fish-Eyed Goddess) and Sundareshwar
(Lord Shiva).
The temple is filled with devotees, each performing his
unique ritual—bowing down before any of the 33,000 sculptures, young
Brahmin boys reciting the Vedas, devotees constantly rubbing ash on hands
and foreheads, drinking the holy water, pressing close to the heart the
sacred flowers. An atmosphere full of incense smoke, reverence and religious
fervor, shrouded in Godly mystery. The 1000 pillar hall has beautifully
carved columns, each different in pattern and some made out of extraordinary
stones which ring out like metal when hit upon.
Outside you can find anything from religious music and ladoos (sweets)
to sacred ash and literature about the temple. Even elephants graciously
accepting offerings in their trunks. And cows acknowledging all requests
for a healthy harvest. It is estimated that in a single day, at least
15,000 devotees and visitors walk through the gopurams for a glimpse of
the Goddess. On certain auspicious days (festivals and Fridays) the number
literally doubles. Keeping such numbers in mind, it is but obvious, that
the essence of Madurai lies within the temple precincts. True, there is
a life on the outside, but can anything come close to the self-giving
seen and experienced in the Meenakshi temple?
History
Madurai's history goes back to over 2000 years ago, when it was
the capital of the Pandyan kings. In the 10th century AD, Madurai was
taken over by the Chola emperors. It remained in their hands, until the
Pandyans regained their independence in the 12th century, only to lose
it to the Muslim invaders under Malik Kafur, a general in the service
of the Delhi Sultanate. Malik Kafur's dynasty was overthrown by the Hindu
Vijaynagar kings of Hampi. After the fall of
Vijayanagar, in 1565, the
Nayaks ruled Madurai until 1781 AD.
During the rule of the Nayaks, the bulk of the Meenakshi temple was built,
the main attraction for visitors, today. Madurai also became the cultural
centre of the Tamil people. Madurai passed on to the East India Company
in 1781, and in 1840, the Company razed the fort which had previously
surrounded the city, and filled in the moat. Four streets, the Veli streets,
which were constructed on top of the fill, till today, define the limits
of the old city.
The Pandyan King Kulasekarar built a great temple and
created a lotus shaped city around the temple. On the day the city was
to be named, as Lord Shiva blessed the land and its people, divine
.
