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Known as the Athens of the East,
Madurai, the second largest city in Tamil Nadu is situated on the
banks of the river Vaigai. An ancient city, more than 2,500 years
old, Madurai is believed to have been built by the Pandyan King
Kulasekara in the 6th century BC.
The city is said to have got its
name from the drops of nectar (Mathuram) that fell from Shiva's
locks when he came to bless its people for constructing a temple for
him. Originally named Madhurapuri or the 'land of nectar', the name
later got modified as Madurai. From such legendary beginnings, the
actual history of Madurai emerges sometime during the 3rd century BC
when it was the prosperous Pandya's then capital which had trading
contacts with Greece and Rome.
Photo of Poo Pallakku (Flower Car)
Apart from a brief
period when it fell to the Cholas, Madurai remained with the Pandyas
until the decline of the empire. The next major rulers of Madurai
were the Vijayanagara kings who won over the territory in 1371. They
appointed the Nayaks as governors who, in time, became powerful in
their own right. The 200 - year old reign of the Nayaks marks the
golden period of Madurai when art, architecture and learning, scaled
new heights. In fact, the most beautiful buildings in the city
including its most famous landmark, the Meenakshi temple, are Nayak
contributions.
But unlike the
other temple cities of Tamil Nadu whose fame relies heavily on the
fabulous contributions of great empires, Madurai, though undoubtedly
known first and foremost for the Meenakshi temple, is very much
modern and progressive city.
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