Madurai
(2001 est. pop. 1 million). Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India—it has a demonstrable history of some twenty-five hundred years. In ancient times, it was known as Mathura, as cited in the Mahabharata. One of the early descriptions, in the fifth-century Silappadigaram, is that of its fiery destruction. The city lies in south central Tamil Nadu state on the Vaigai River.
For many centuries, the city was the capital of the Pandya kingdom. The chief attraction in the city has long been the great temple of Sri Minakshi, the "fish-eyed goddess," who is associated with fertility. The temple compound also contains the even larger shrine of her consort, Sundareshvar. Much of the temple was constructed by the ruler Tirumala Nayak (1623–1660), but parts of the interior are much older and so are some of the bronze icons they contain. Although the inside of the shrines is rather dark, the outside presents a splendid view from a number of vantage points. The outer walls form a parallelogram of 258 by 222 meters, surrounded by nine massive pyramidal gateways (gopuram), of which the tallest is 46.3 meters high. All are elaborately decorated with hundreds of three-dimensional human figures. Perhaps the most remarkable sight within the temple is the Hall of a Thousand Pillars (actually 997 pillars), nearly all of which differ from each other.
Today, the city does a considerable trade in tea, coffee, and cardamom, all grown on the hills to the west. Local crafts include making silk cloth, woodwork items, brassware, and muslin weaving.
The Sri Minakshi Temple, c. 2000. (CHRIS LISLE/CORBIS)Further Reading
Michell, George, and Philip Davies. (1989) "Madurai." In The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Vols. 1 and 2. New York: Viking Press, 448–452; 554–556.
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