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Places
to see in Madurai City :-
Meenakshi
Temple :
It is in the midst of the city . The entire city is planned
keeping the Temples as its core like a lotus. The city is
planned according to the silpa canons and the other city
that has the same basis is Kanchipuram famously known
as 'Nagaresthu Kanchi' in Sanskrit. The temple is an
important landmark and nucleus of the life of the city. The
temple has 11 gopurams and the tallest of them is at the
southern portal rising to a height of 200 ft. This portion
is exclusively dedicated to goddess Meenakshi. The shrine is
usually entered from Vittavasal Street the entrance of which
is adorned by the Astalakshmi (Eight goddesses of wealth)
Mandapam. Scences of Kumara Sambhva and the marriage of
goddess Meenakshi with Sundareswara are painted on the
ceiling. At the entrance are the statures of Subramanya and
Vinayaka and on the passage is the beautiful sculpture of
Shiva and Meenakshi as a huntress. An exquisite brass-
faced doorway gifted by the rulers of Sivaganga is the inlet
to the mandapam lined with sculptures of Shiva in various
poses. It leads to the Potramarai tank with arcades all
around. The corridors of the tank display the 64 leelas
called Thiruvilaiyadalgal of Shiva.
The thousand-pillared
mandapam is a veritable museum of Dravidian art and
architecture. Goddess Saraswathi arrests our attention in
here demeanor , folds of dress and the grace with which her
fingers play the instrument veena. Thirumalai Nayak has
carved the Ardhanari ( both male and female in left and
right half) that spellbinds the onlooker. In Kambathadi
Mandapam , Agni Veerabadra and Agora Veerabadra speak
volumes of their valour and fiercesome look. The wedding of
Meenakshi with all the important participants in the
marriage is a lively sulpture each one expressing apt
feelings in his face Shiva with his grace. Malayatwaja
Pandya with his joy , Brahma with rapt attention in
observing the rites and the others looking on without
winking their eyes in gaiety. All these make one feel that
he /she is a participant in the event.
The Nataraja dances here in
a different style instead of raising his left leg up , he
plays it vice versa. The dancing hall is called Velliambalam
and the idol is plated with silver.
The Temple Museum is
housed in the 1000 pillared mandapam. There are 985 richly
carved pillars each one surpassing the other in elegance.
The Vasanta Mandapam or Pudumandapam has more scenes of the
wedding ceremony. The spring festival is held here in
April-May.
Oonjal Mandapam : It is on
the western end of the tank called Potramarai Kulam. There
is swing on which goddess Meenakshi and here consort
Shiva are seated and worshipped every Friday . Adjacent is
the Kilikootu Mandapam or hall of parrots having beautiful
sculptures with caged parrots that chant the name of
Meenakshi.
The Madurai temple is a
twin temple complex and Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple
is across the courtyard/ The corridor outside the shrine has
the stump of a tree under which Indira (the head of Devas)
is said to have worshipped a lingam.
Out of the 12 gopurams ,
the tallest four stand at the outer walls. The southern
goupuram the tallest of them is the most spectacular and has
over 1500 sculptures. From its top one can have a
panoramic view of the city. The Rayagopuram on the eastern
side is still unfinished having 3 base of 174 sq.ft. and had
it been completed it would have been the tallest. (
The unfinished tower with only the base and initial super
structure is called Rayagpuram and the finished is one is
called Rajagopuram) . The eight smaller gopurams are within
the compounds of the twin temples. There are few temples in
India which share the grandeur of this twin temple complex.
It is so huge that newcomers will be upset to find their way
proper , hence , it is better to go with a guide or with a
person who had already been there several times.
The
Mariamman Teppakulam : This
tank is also known as Vandiyur Teppakulam and is about 5 kms
east of Meenakshi temple. It occupies and area equal to the
Twin - temple complex. This tank was also built by
Thirumalai Nayaka. In the middle is an island with a temple
for Ganesa. The tank was created due to digging of
earth to make bricks for the Thiurmalai Nayak palace. It is
1000 ft logn and 950 ft wide and four white turrests border
the garden of the island. The float festival sof the
Meenakshi Amman temple is held here in January - Febrauray.
The
Thirumalai Mayak Mahal : This
is the palace of Thirumalai Nayak , just a km away from the
temple. This Indo-Saracnic marvel was constructed in
1523 A.D. It has pillars of granite cased with mortar and
supporting arches which presents a majestic view. It is said
that originally it was four times than what it looks now.The
corner of the east face has towers. On three sides of a
quadrangle 250 ft by 180ft . are corridors with arches
supporting roof. The most remarkable part of the structure
is the swarga vilasam or the audience hall . Its dome is
60ft in diameter and 70ft high. Such a lofty dome stands
firm without any support revealing the engineering skill of
its builders. Circling this was the Zenana from where the
royal ladies witnessed the durbar. It is fine example of the
architechtural style of the Nayaks.
Kudal
Azhagar Temple: The
Vishnu of Madurai is called Kudal Azhagar and his temple is
as ancient as the Meenakshi Temple. Thouth all goupurams are
absent , the vimana called Ashtanga stands in the centre
with diminshing tiers under which is the sanctum. Ferguson,
the connoisseur of arts, estimates that it surpasses
anything of its kind to be found in South India. The base
has excellent carvings. There are three sanctums where the
deities are seen in sitting , standing and recumbent
postures one above the other.
The
Tamakam : It
is a beautiful relic of Thirumalai Nayak resembling his
palace the Mahal. The Lotus Hall here has a dome with
ceiling , shaped like an inverted lotus. It was the Nayak's
summer palace.
Goripalayam
Mosque : There is a
large mosque in Goripalayam containing 2 tombs of two Delhi
Sultans of the Madurai Sultanate. The amazing thing about it
is that the dome which is 70ft. diameter and 20ft. high is
made of a single block of stone. It is said that it
was built by Thirumalai Nayak for his muslim subjects.
The
Gandhi Museum : It
contains a picture gallery , a gallery of relics , a
kadhi and village industries section and a south Indian
handicrafts section . It is located in an old palace.
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