Madurai's origin and name emerge from a misty and lovely legend. in a forest near a lotus pond, indra, King of Gods, Worshipped Lord Siva as a Swayambu Lingam. At this hallowed spot, the Pandyan monarch Kulasekhara built a great temple and clearing the forest, he created a lotus- shaped city around the temple.
On the day the city was to be named, Lord Siva appeared at the ceremony. As he blessed the land and its people, divine nectar (Mathuram) was showered on the city from his matted locks. The city was henceforth known as Madhurapuri.
Madhurapuri grew and prospered to become the capital of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is referred to in the Ramayana and Kautily's Arthashastra. Megasthenes (302 BC), pliny (77AD) and Ptolemy (140 AD) wrote of "Madura, the kingdom of the Pandian". Macro polo visited Madurai in 1293 AD and lbn Batuta in 1333 AD.
Meenakshi Temple
Madurai lies on the banks of the River Vaigai. The temple and the old city are on the southern bank, while modern Madurai with its textile mills, engineering industries and large university sprawls around.
The temple dominates the old city which evolved around it. The street run in concentric circle around the temple. The four 'Veli' street mark the outer limits of the temple town.
The temple is dedicated to both of Meenakshi of the limpid fish-shaped eyes, the lovely consort of Lord Siva; and to Lord Siva himself (Sundareswarar). It is one of the holiest places of worship in South India, drawing thousands of devotees everyday.
It has also been the centre of Tamil culture, sponsoring literature, art, music and dance over the countries. Legend has it that when the third and the last Tamil Sangam (Academy of Tamil Literature) met at Madurai, literary works were thrown into the temple tank, where a divine force caused works of merit to float and inferior literature to sink.
The original temple was probably a modest structure built to Agamic guidelines. However, it has grown with the graceful additions of puissant dynasties and victorious monarchs into an enormous complex extending over an area of 65,000 sq.metres.
The temple is dominated by four enormous towers (gopurams) over the entrance gates. The oldest tower is the 13th century eastern gopuram, opposite to the Sundareswarar shrine, built by Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan.
The southern gopuram is the tallest and was built in the 16th century. From the top of the tower one can get a panoramic view of Madurai and the 11 other gopurams of the temple.
