Popularly known as ‘Athens of the East’ Madurai is a place of great historical importance. The oldest city in Tamil Nadu, Madurai lies on the banks of the river Vaigai. A centre of learning and pilgrimage for centuries, it is one of the most lively cities in South India.1 It was originally known as ‘Kadambavanam’2 or the forest of the Kadamba (Nauclea kadamba). According to legends, Lord Siva appeared in the dream of the then king Kulasekhara Pandya. The king was amazed to see drops of nectar, Madhu, falling down on earth from Lord Siva’s matted hair. The Madhu was so sweet that the place where it fell came to be known as Madhurapuri which in course of time became ‘Madurai’.3
Tamil and Greek documents record its existence from the 4th century B.C. Being located in the heart of Tamil Nadu, Madurai has fostered an essentially Dravidian and Tamil culture.4 Famous for its cultural and scholarly pursuits, Madurai had an academy, consisting of critics, poets and savants, was highly esteemed both by kings and commoners. It was in Madurai that successful conferences of Tamil scholars called Tamil Sangams5 flourished under benevolent Royal support.
Madurai is famous for housing one of the five traditional dance halls where Lord Siva, in his form as Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer is said to have danced, known as Velli Ambalam (Silver Hall).6
Madurai was the capital of the Pandya dynasty over the years.7 Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple is its central glory. The Muslims invaded Madurai during the 14th century A.D. Later it came under the rule of the Nayaks of the Vijayanagar empire. Among the Nayaks, the rule of Thirumalai Nayak, remembered as the ‘maker of modern Madurai’ was an eventful one. Today, Madurai is a modern commercial and industrial city, with a vast University campus and renowned for its weaving mills and dyeing industry. “Chungadi”8 cotton sarees are the speciality with their colourful tie and dye motifs, Handicrafts, brassware, bronze items and the famous ‘Madurai Wooden toys’ are notable. Synonymous with Madurai is the Meenakshi Sundareswarar twin temple, the pivot around which the city has evolved. The Meenakshi Temple complex is literally a city – one of the largest of its kind in India and undoubtedly one of the oldest too.9 The temple grew with the contribution of each dynasty and victorious monarchs, into an enormous complex extending over an area of 65000 sq. metres. The temple first came into being 2000 years ago and was substantially expanded during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1655 A.D.).10
Lord Siva in his incarnation as Sundareswarar and his fish-eyed spouse Meenakshi are enshrined in this twin temple. There are four massive gateways enclosing these two shrines.11 Even a casual visitor is fascinated by the mural paintings and sculptures. A striking feature of the temple is the astonishing structure known as “Ayiramkaal mandapam” or the “Hall of Thousand Pillars”12 in the outermost corridor. The hall has 985 pillars and each pillar features high, ornate, bold sculptures that look life-like. Viewed from any angle, these pillars appear to be in a straight line, an architectural masterpiece indeed. In the outermost corridors, are situated the matchless musical pillars carved out of stones. When it is tapped, each pillar produces a different musical note.13
In all the eleven towers of this temple, the largest and the most beautiful is on the southern gateway. Rising to a height of about 70 metres, this impressive ‘gopuram’ is by far the most ornate and florid of the Dravidian towers.14 It has nine storeys and crowded with grinning gargoyles and gryphons that perch on the ornate curved edges. The surface of the ‘gopura’ on the southern gateway is covered with plastic figures of deities and semi-divine characters, freely sculptured and drawn from Hindu mythology representing the appearance of a pulsating mass of masonry.15 With frequent renovations and additions being done down the centuries, there are more than 1600 sculptured figures. Some of these figures were completely rebuilt and painted with gorgeous colours at great cost by the Nattukottai Chettis.16 The northern gopura is also known as Mottai gopura (bald) which carries terracotta figures.
The monolithic figure of Rathi (Goddess of Love) is a marvellous scultpure.17 The slightly elongated Pandyan beauty wears large ear rings. Her arms, neck, waist, bosom and feet are encrusted with delicate jewellery. The folds of her lower garments fall in pleats and swirls over thighs, calf muscles and ankles. She has long hair done in a loose knot. She sits astride a swan. The foot of the flag post (Dhwajastambha) is guilded with gold and faces the shrine directly.18
Even a casual visitor is fascinated by the paintings and sculptures in this shrine. The ceiling is decorated with large paintings showing Saivite and Vaishnavite themes. There is a beautiful painting of the marriage of Lord Sundareswara with Meenakshi. There is a spacious ‘Pushkarini’ in front of the Meenakshi shrine called the Pontamaraikulam (‘Golden Lotus tank’).19 Beautifully paved stone steps on all the four sides are set to reach the placid water. The great tower of the south gate reflected in the ‘Golden Lotus tank’ is perhaps the best known view of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple.20
Madurai is known as the temple of festivals because many festivals are celebrated in the temple.21 The numerous festivals celebrated at the shrine almost all around the year, represent the ideas and thoughts of the cultured and progressive people of that region in the field of philosophy, religion, science and art. The famous festival ‘Chitra Pournami’ in the month of April – May is celebrated on a grand scale.22 With elaborate religious ceremonies, it is celebrated in commemoration of the marriage of Sundareswara with Meenakshi. After the wedding ceremony in the temple, the divine couple are taken in procession through the streets of Madurai. The gay and fifteen day long festival attracts thousands of devotees and visitors from far and near. This festival seems to promote peace and universal brotherhood, communal harmony, regional amity and national integration.23 On the tenth day of the festival, Goddess Meenakshi is symbolically married to Lord Sundareswarar with great pomp and pageantry. The philosophical concept behind this marriage not only emphasises the sanctity of married life but also reveals the divine pair as the universal parents striving for universal brotherhood.24
The festival culminates on the eleventh day with the Car Festival in the morning and the welcoming festival of Lord Alagar (Vishnu) in the evening.25 According to mythology, Lord Vishnu, the brother of Meenakshi, arrives late for the marriage ceremony of His sister. To illustrate this point, the processional idol of Alagar is carried in a large palanquin decorated with gold draperies and halts at each of the numerous pandals and mandapas specially erected for this purpose throughout the 20 km. route from Alagar koil to Madurai in order to receive the offerings and presents from the devotees.26
The Alagar festival is celebrated on the twelfth day which falls on the full moon day. Then Alagar deity moves to various mandapas on the river bank of Vaigai and finally halts at Vandiyur at night to give darshan to Thulukka Nachiar Amman,27 the Muslim princess of Delhi who worshipped Vishnu. 28 Thus, Chitra Pournami unifies not only the great streams of Hinduism – Saivism and Vaishnavism, but also serves as a link between Hinduism and Islam. On the fifteenth day, Alagar leaves for his abode at Alagarkoil and the pilgrims walk the entire distance of 20 km. along with the procession.
Dr. E. Manikannan, Assistant Professor in History, Arignar Anna Govt. Arts College, Villupuram
END NOTES
- Pandithurai Thevar (ed.), Thiruppani Malai (Tamil), (Madurai : Tamil Sangam Publications, 1929), Verse : 3, 19, 20, Vivaram No. 2.
- R. Gopalan, Madurai Talavaralaru (Tamil), (Madras : University of Madras, 1980), pp. 290-291.
- Madurai – Athens of the East (Folder), (Chennai : Dept. of Tourism, 2002).
- Haripada Chakraborti, Trade and Commerce of Ancient India (B.C. 200-650 A.D.), (Calcutta : Academic Publishers, 1966), p. 209.
- V. Kandasamy, Madurai Varalarum Panpadum (Tamil), (Madurai : Indra Pathippagam, 1981), pp. 2-9.
- S. Padmanabhan, Madurai, (Nagercoil : Kumaran Pathippagam, 1981), p. 11.
- D. Savariroyan Pandit (ed.), The Tamilian Antiquity, (New Delhi : Asian Educational Services, 1986), p. 6.
- Jasleen Dhamija, Indian Folk Art and Crafts, (New Delhi : National Book Trust, 1970), p. 14.
- W. Francis, Madura Gazetteer (Reprint), (New Delhi : Cosmo Publications, 2000), pp. 267-269.
- K. Rajaram, History of Tirumalai Nayak, (Madurai : Ennes Publications, 1982), pp. 22-29.
- W. Urwick, India 100 years Ago A Beauty of Old India Illustrated, (London : Bracken Books, 1985), pp. 40-45.
- Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Introduction to Indian Art, (Delhi : Munshiram Manoharlal, 1969), p. 61.
- V.P. Sati, Tourism Development in India, (Jaipur: Pointer Publishers, 2001), pp. 80-81.
- B.S. Baliga, Madurai District Gazetteers, (Madras : Govt. of Madras, 1960), pp. 396-399.
- Karan Raj, Modern Dictionary of Tourism, (Delhi : Ivy Publishing House, 2002), p. 178.
- David West Rudher, Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India : The Nattukottai Chettiars, (Bombay : Munshiram Monoharlal, 1995), pp. 49-56.
- Percy Brown, Indian Architecture, (Bombay : D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Pvt. Ltd., 1971), pp. 96-98.
- N. Subramanian, Tamil Social History, (Chennai : Institute of Asian Studies, 1997), pp. 39-40.
- K. Palaniappan, The Great Temple of Madurai, (Madurai : Temple Renovation Committee, 1963), p. 106.
- P.K. Acharya, Indian Architecture according to Manasara Silpasastra, (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1921), pp. 51-57.
- J.W.H. Joshua, Madura A Tourist Guide, (Madras : Higginbotham & Co., 1913), pp. 108-117.
- D. Devakunjari, Madurai Through the Ages, (Madras : Dept. of Archaeology, 1976), pp. 222-226.
- Shonoy Lasprado, Madurai – The Temple City, (Madurai : CMP Press, 1937), pp. 12-19.
- C.J. Fuller, Servants of the Goddess, the Priests of South Indian Temple, (London : Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 125-127.
- A.V. Jeyachandran, The Madurai Temple Complex, (Madurai : Minakshi Sundareswarar Devasthanam, 1974), pp. 25-29.
- R. Panjanadam Pillai, Madurai Arulmigu Minakshi Sundareswarar Tirukkovil Varalaru (Tamil), (Madurai : Koodal Publishers, 1975), pp. 15-19.
- K.N. Radhakrishnan, Tirumalirunjolai Malai (Alagar Kovil) Stalapurana (Tamil), (Madurai : Sri Kallalagar Devasthanam, 1942), pp. 12-19.
- V.K.T. Balan (ed.), Madura A Perfect Tourist Guide, (Chennai : Madura Travel Services (P) Ltd., 2004), pp. 172-173.