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 When
Krishna Devaraya was the King of Vijayanagar,
he sent one general Nagama Naick to Madurai
to control the internal confusion in the
Madurai regional politics. Nagama Naick
controled the waring groups and restored
peace, but declared himself as an independant
ruler. This act provoked the King Krishna
Devaraya and he sent Viswanatha Naick,
the son of the revolutionary Nagama, to
arrest and produce his father in the royal
court. Viswanatha fulfilled the order
of the King, but justified his father's
act and explained the real condition of
the region. King, being convinced by the
explanation of Viswanatha, released his
father and crowned Viswanatha as the ruler
of Madurai as a reward to his loyalty.
Thus the Madurai Naick Principality was
established about 1530 A.D.
This Palace was built in 1636 by King
Thirumalai Nayak with the help of an Italian
Architect. The building we see today was
the main Palace where the King lived.
The original Palace Complex was four times
bigger than the present structure. This
palace consisted mainly of two parts,
namely Swargavilasa and Rangavilasa.
In these two parts, there are royal residence,
theatre, shrine, apartments, armoury,
palanquin place, royal bandstand, quarters,
pond and garden. King Thirumalai Nayak
celebrated festivals like Sceptre festival,
Navarathri, Chithirai festival, Masi festival
and the Float festival.
He
conducted daily dance and music performances
in the palace. This palace was destroyed
by his grandson Chokkanatha Nayak and
the valuables were transferred to other
places.
During 19th century, Lord Napier, governor
of Madras between 1866 and 1872 made several
renovation works. Today, only the spacious
rectangular courtyard called the swarga
Vilasam and a few adjoining biuldings
survive, their awesome scale evoking the
grandeur of a vanished era. The courtyard
measures 3,900 sq.m and is surrounded
by massive circular pillars. To its west
lies the Throne Chamber, a vast room with
a raised, octagonal dome. This room leads
to the Dance Hall. Then the palace was
utilized to house some officials of the
judiciary and district administration.
After independence, this palace was declared
as a national monument and is now under
the care of the Tamilnadu Archaeological
Department. It can be visited from 9a.m
to 5 p.m on payment of the entrance fee.
The thousand pillar mandapam is supposed
to have been built by Arya Natha Mudaliyar,
the Prime Minister of the first Nayaka
of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.) and the founder
of 'Poligar System'. An equestrian statue
of the Mudaliyar flanks one side of the
steps leading to the 'mandapam'. Except
the inner shrines, probably no part of
the temple is older than the 16th century.
The general plan of the sanctuary is typical
of the gigantic South Indian temples with
vast quadrangular enclosures and lofty
'gopurams' overlooking the central shrine.
Round about the temple, outside the higher
wall is, a neat garden fenced with iron
railings. Even a casual visitor is fascinated
by the many paintings and sculptures in
this shrine. The ceilings are decorated
with large paintings showing Shaivite
and Vaishnavite themes. There is a beautiful
painting of the marriage of Sundareswarar
with Devi Meenakshi. Another beautiful
painting is that of Harihara.
In the outer corridor are the most popular
musical pillars, five in number, each
composed of twenty two slender rods carved
out of a single rock of granite, which
produce the 'Saptha Swaras' when gently
tapped with a wooden rod. There is a spacious
'pushkarini' in front of the Meenakshi
shrine called the Golden Lotus Tank or
'Ponthamaraikulam'. Beautifully paved
stone steps on all the four sides are
set to reach the placid water. The great
tower of the south reflected in the Golden
Lilly Tank is perhaps the best known view
of the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple.
According to mythology, Indra from Devaloka
entered this tank and it was filled with
golden Lillies. It is said that the tank
was also used to judge the literary merit
of the manuscripts of poets and authors.
When placed on the water, the manuscripts
would float supported by a plank if its
value was considered worthy otherwise
it would sink to the bottom. This testing
miraculous plank was called 'Sanga Palkki'
(sanga plank) and can still be seen in
the temple museum. This tradition amply
substantiates the view that Madurai was
once a centre of learning and erudition.
The Pandyan kings were great patrons of
arts and letters. One of the first monarchs
of the dynasty, Ugra Paruvaludi (128-140
A.D.) is gratefully remembered for the
patronage he extended to poet Tiruvalluvar.
In the 14th century, Madurai aroused the
cupidity of Malikkafur who invaded it
and set up a Mohammadan dynasty that remained
in power for nearly fifty years, at the
end of which it was conquered by a General
of the Vijayanagar Empire and became a
feudatory. The Vijayanagar Emperor, while
guarding the kingdom against the invaders,
subsequently restored it to the descendants
of the Pandyan kings.
From the middle of the 16th century, right
up to the eighth decade of the 18th century.
the city retained its glory as the principal
seat of the Nayakas. Although Vishwanatha
Nayaka, the first and greatest of a long
line of distinguished rulers, is credited
with having laid the foundations of a
well planned and well fortified city.
Tirumala Nayaka, who ascended to throne
in 1623 A.D., and ruled over Madurai for
36 years can be said to have made the
largest single contribution towards the
enhancement of the beauty and splendour
of the town by magnificent edifices and
monuments.
A little away from the temple precincts
in the town is the ruins of Palace of
Tirumala Nayaka constructed during his
reign (1623-1645 A.D.). It contains beautiful
domes and arches. One of the domes stands
without the support of girder -an architectural
feat of everlasting wonder. They must
have been an extravagance of stucco in
its heyday.
Tirumala Nayaka was undoubtedly the greatest
of the Nayaka rulers. The Nayakas of Madurai
like those of Thanjavur and gingee ruled
South India as the Governors of Vijayanagar
emperors and gradually became independent
rulers as the empire began to decline
and breakup, though they did not like
to call themselves as kings due probably
to their reverence to the dynasty.
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Surya
Tours & Travels
No. 96/56, West Perumal Maistry
Street,
Madurai - 625 001, Tamil Nadu,
India
Mobile: +91 98943 76717 (Surya)
Internet Banking - ICICI Bank
A/C - 601 305013685 Payable
at Madurai |
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