This photo journal features Madurai, our stop on day 6 of the tour. Madurai, located some 470kms southwest of Chennai, is the 2nd largest city in Tamil Nadu (next to Chennai) & home of the Tamil language. The city (population about 1 million) is situated on the banks of the Vaigai River & is often called the 'Athens of the East' & the 'City of Festivals'.

Madurai is one of the oldest cities of India & also one of its most sacred temple towns. The presence of the Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple complex, around which the city evolved, has made Madurai one of the most widely visited pilgrimage sites in India as well as a popular tourist destination.

Their greatest Nayak king was Tirumala (1623-60) who was the 17th ruler of Madurai. He was responsible for building a large portion of the town & the famous Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple. The remains of the Nayak Palace, also a popular attraction here, was his residence. Another major attraction that we saw was the Mariamman Teppakulam tank/temple. If visiting here, you may want to check out the Gandhi Museum (in an old palace). Other places of interest in Madurai or in the area can be found here: www.madurawelcome.com/contents/districts/madurai/MADURAI_places_of_interest.htm

Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple:

This ‘temple’, an excellent example of Dravidian architecture* , is an enormous 45 acre complex enclosed within high walls with huge gateway towers (gopurams) in the middle on each side. Actually, there are an amazing 12 gopurams in the complex including the four on the outer walls which can be seen from great distances. These multicolored gopurams are virtual mountains of plasterwork figures that cover the entire surface without an inch to spare, depicting scenes & characters from Hindu mythology. The towers were recently repainted in bright colors which some critics feel were outlandish & make the towers appear garish? The tallest gopuram, on the south side, reaches an awe-inspiring height of 60 meters.

[* Dravidian architecture - consists mainly of pyramid shaped temples with intricate carved stone figures of deities, warriors, kings, & dancers, that creates a stepped design. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian_architecture ]

The complex has two principal shrines, one for Meenakshi (Parvati, Vishnu’s sister) & one for Sundareswarar (Shiva, her husband). As well as several other shrines, the complex also has two areas that should not be missed should you be lucky enough to visit there - the thousand-pillared hall & the Golden Lily water tank.

The history of the original structure is not exactly known although it is believed that the inner sanctum sanctorum is more than 3500 years old, & the outer walls & external construction are about 1500-2000 years old. The present structure is believed to have been built in the early 17th century.

The most important annual festival associated with the temple is the annual Vagai River Festival that’s celebrated each spring (March-April) for 10 days. Meenakshi Thirukalyanam (the divine marriage of Meenkashi) is celebrated on the 10 day of the festival.

Great photo gallery: www.orientalarchitecture.com/madurai/srimeenakshiindex.htm

also here: http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/architecture/madurai.htm

Lots of info here: http://www.religiousportal.com/MeenakshiTemple.html

and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meenakshi_Temple