"Madura temple, festival for the deities (Shiva
The city of Madurai, also called Mathurai or Madura, is situated south
of Madras (Chennai) on the Vaiga River in Tamil Nadu State and is an
important centre for the production of silk and cotton textiles.
According to local legend, the town was named Madhurapri after 'mathuram'
or the nectar that fell from Shiva's locks when he blessed the citizens
for a building a temple in his honour. Madurai was the capital of the
Pandyan rulers until it was taken over by the rulers of Vijayanagar in
1371, which appointed the Nayaks as governors. During the 200-year rule
of the Nayaks art, architecture and education flourished. Madurai has
played a significant role in the history of southern India since the 5th
century BC. It is a leading place of pilgrimage and has several fine
examples of Dravidian architecture, including the famous
Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar temple complex built by the Nayaks between the
14th and 18th centuries AD.
Meenakshi was a Pandya princess born after her parents had performed
several sacrificial rites and was believed to be a reincarnation of
Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva, who came to marry her in the form of
Sundareshwarar. The Meenakshi Temple was designed as a series of
concentric courtyards, or parikramas, with the main structures
dominating the centre and buildings of steadily declining importance
occupying the space out to the outermost ring, which contains practical
buildings such as kitchens, dormitories, maintenance areas, shops and
parking for the large number of temple chariots. The inner circles
contain parikramas for religious singing, bathing tanks and guesthouses.
The innermost court contained the sanctum sanctorum or garbha griha with
the image of the deity and the treasury and formerly also housed
pavilions for the temple-dancing girls. The huge hall in the Meenakshi
temple, commonly known as the Hall of a Thousand Pillars, required 985
pillars to support the roof. The temple has 12 gopurams, four of the
tallest standing at the outer walls. The southern gopuram, 48.8m in
height is the most spectacular with more than 1500 sculptures.
"Abandoned temple in Mahabalipuram, carved out of
one single block of stone. (East coast, South India)." [Caption on
mount] - "Mahabalipuram.
The imposing palace of Tirumalai Nayak, built in 1523, is located at a
distance of one km from the Meenakshi temple. The audience hall, known
as the Swarga Visalam, has a dome, which is its most outstanding
feature, rising as it does without any support other than the outer
walls to a height of 20 meters. Other striking features include massive
white pillars, many of which line the corridor running along the
courtyard and connected by decorative arches.
Mahabalipuram or Mammalapuram, is an ancient port built in the 7th
century by King Mahendravarman of the Pallava dynasty and is located 60
km from Madras. Its name derives from Mammalla - the great wrestler, a
title given to King Narasimhavarman I during whose reign the city became
prosperous and a prominent port that traded with countries of the Far
East. The city is a prime example of the splendid art and architecture
of the Pallava period, and particularly that of temples.
The most outstanding example of temple architecture in the town is the
skilfully carved rock known as Arjuna's Penance, the largest bas-relief
in the world, which depicts Arjuna, hero of the epic Mahabharata,
performing penance to attain a boon from Lord Shiva. It includes
intricate carvings of animals and heavenly beings witnessing the descent
of the River Ganges, and also scenes from the tales of the Panchatantra
on which Aesop's fables are believed to have been based. One school of
thought, however, believes the principal figure to be that of Bhagirath,
that entreated Shiva to let the River Ganga or Ganges to flow over the