Madurai is a temple town located 450kms south-west of Chennai. It is the third largest city of Tamil Nadu and is located on the banks of River Vaigai. Madurai is famous for its temples built by the Pandyan and Nayak kings in the Dravidian style of architecture.
Chennai is connected to Madurai by as many as 11 daily trains. However, due to the migration of a huge crowd from Madurai to Chennai for work opportunities, the route is usually crowded during weekends. I took one of the trains and alighted at the Madurai junction. There are frequent buses from Madurai junction to the Periyar bus stand and Maatuthaavani bus stand - the two major bus terminals in Madurai. I reached my relative's place in an auto and got ready for a spiritual sojourn. I took a bus to Periyar bus stand. Within 15 minutes of walking distance from the Periyar stand and relatively close to the railway station, stands the towering gopurams of the Meenakshi temple.
The Meenakshi temple is dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi with a sanctum for her consort Sundareswarar. Historically, the Sundareswarar shrine is older and larger of the two temple complexes. Four immense gopurams crown the gateways at each direction. Each tower is encrusted with more than a thousand splendidly painted sculptures, depicting an assortment of mythological and auspicious themes. It is traditional to enter through the south gopuram and worship the Goddess before her consort.
There is a free queue while you can also purchase special entrance tickets of Rs 15 or Rs 100 in case you do not want to spend time waiting. Non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the shrines of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar.
The interiors of the temples are embellished with numerous sculptures that have been recently polished adding to their splendor. The temple authorities have maintained the premises extremely clean and we could see development works in constant progress.
Of special mention in the temple premises is the "Aayiram Kaal Mandapam" or the Thousand Pillared Mandapam. The temple art museum is also housed in the same area.
There are many shops within the east gate of the temple, selling everything from plastic toys to bronze images of the Goddess. The temple is usually open from 5 AM to 12 30 PM and from 4PM to 9 30 PM.
From Meenakshi temple, I walked straight down to Periyar stand and took bus number 44 to reach Alagar temple. Situated 18kms away from Madurai in the nearby hills called Alagarmalai, Alagar Koil is a Vaishnavite temple having extensive sculptures in the hall and other mandapams of the temple. It is revered as one of the 108 abodes of Vishnu glorified by the hymns of the Alwars. The temple is surrounded by the ruins of a historic fort and is located in a very picturesque spot. The impressive main tower at the entrance, believed to have been built by the Pandyan kings, has some beautiful sculptures depicting scenes from the epic.
According to historical records, Malayadhwaja Pandyan, son of Kulasekhara Pandyan, who is said to have established the Pandyan kingdom, appears to be the earliest known monarch who patronised this temple. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan, who reigned during the period 1251-1270 A.D., beautified the 'vimana' of the 'sanctum sanctorum' with gold plates. Later, during the reign of the Vijayanagar king Krishnadeva Raya, the temple was endowed with revenues from two villages for conducting regular festivals. After the end of Pandya rule in Madurai, the Nayaka kings became the chief patrons of this deity. The famous Nayaka king Vishwanatha, who ruled in Madurai during 1558-1563 A.D., made magnificent donations to this temple.
The main deity of this temple is called Paramaswamy and the processional idol is called Alagar and also Sundararajan. This beautiful idol is made of pure gold and is a fine example of craftsmanship of the ancient period. The shrine of Kalyana Sundaravalli, the divine consort of Alagar, is in the southern enclosure. There is another shrine in the north dedicated to Andal who is said to have visited this place with Periyalwar from Srivilliputtur. Other important shrines are those of Sudarshanar and Yoga Narasimha.
The hill by the side of the temple is about 300 metres high and is famous for its holy springs called Silamboru and Noopura Gangai. According to local tradition, this spring is said to have originated from the anklets of Maha Vishnu during His incarnation as Trivikrama. The 3 kms path on the hillock to the temple of the summit, where bathing facilities are available, offers some beautiful natural scenery to the visitors.
On top of the hillock is Pazhamudir Solai, an important temple for Lord Kartikeya. This is one of the six of the holiest of Murugan shrines refered to as the Aarupadai Veedugal. Unlike the other five temples, there is no grand edifice surrounding the central shrine of worship. However, this is a holy shrine venerated by the Skanda puranam and by Nakkeerar’s Thirumurugatrupadai of the Sangam period. Arunagirinathar's Thirupugazh also reveres this shrine.
You can reach this temple from Alagar Koil by the mini bus service provided by the Alagar Koil Devaswam board. These buses run at regular intervals and charge Rs 10 per person for one way. After getting back to Alagar Koil from Pazhamudir Solai, I took the return bus (number 44) to Periyar stand and then back to my relative's place for some well needed rest.
Late in the evening, I left for Thirupparankundram situated 8 kms away from Madurai. Hailed as one of the most sacred temples in Tamilnadu, it has been held in reverence for over 2000 years by the Tamil world. It is home to Subramanyar and to Paramgirinathar. It has been revered by the Tevaram hymns of the Nayanmars and by the Tiruppugazh hymns of Arunagirinathar.
Thirupparankundram enshrines Murugan as the leader of the armies of the Gods, and as the Lord of Devasena, the daughter of Indra, the King of the Gods. Lord Shiva and his family, Lord Vishnu and his family, Narada and other sages witness the marriage of Lord Murugan with Devasena.
Thirupparankundram features rock cut shrines as well as mandapams lined with elaborately carved pillars. This temple is another of the Aarupadai Veedugal of Lord Murugan. The temple has a free queue and a special entrance queue for Rs 20. The temple premises was very clean - which was what I found across all the temples visited in Madurai. Shops selling variety of articles adorned the pathway to the temple.
On the whole, I found the temples in Madurai, leaps ahead of the other temples I had visited recently - in terms of cleanliness, maintenance of sculptures and ease of worship for devotees.
The best time to visit Madurai would be post-monsoon, between October and February.
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