"The temple city of Madurai is situated at a distance of 307 miles
south of Madras on the main railway line. This is decidedly the oldest city of South
India, truly representing Dravidian culture. European scholars have compared it to Athens
of Greece. It was in the past the seat of the Tamil Academy (the Tamil Sangam) .... It is
estimated that there are 33 million carvings in the Madurai temple. The temple stands in
the centre of the town and main roads run roughly parallel to the four sides. A writer has
described the architecture as follows: "The architecture is almost purely Dravidian -
its characteristics being the pyramidal towers of colossal height dominating the
surrounding landscape for miles around; the rectangular enclosures one within the other
like a China box; the use of the flat roof and the entire absence of the arch or dome;
delicate sculpture worked in ponderous material, and finally a partiality for long
galleries interspersed with sculptured pillars..." (R .K.Das in Temples of Tamil Nadu)
"Gopuram,
in South Indian architecture, is the
entrance gateway to the Hindu temple enclosure. Relatively small in the earlier period,
the gopuras grew in size from the mid-12th century until the colossal gateways came to
dominate the temple complex, quite surpassing the main sanctum for architectural
elaboration.." (Gopurams -
Encyclopaedia Britannica)
"...Tirumulla Nayak commenced a gopura, which, had he
lived to complete it, would probably have been the
finest edifice of its class in southern India. It
measures 174 ft. from north to south, and 107 ft. in
depth. The entrance through it is 21 ft. 9 in. wide; and
if it be true that its gateposts are 6o ft. (Tripe says
57 ft.) in height, that would have been the height of
the opening. It will thus be seen that it was designed
on even a larger scale than that at Sri Rangam, and it certainly far surpasses that
celebrated edifice in the beauty of its details. Its
doorposts alone, whether 57 ft. or 6o ft. in height, are
single blocks of granite, carved with the most exquisite
scroll patterns of elaborate foliage, and all the other
carvings are equally beautiful. Being unfinished, and
consequently never consecrated, it has escaped
whitewash, and alone, of all the buildings of Madura,
its beauties can still be admired in their original
perfection. The great temple at Madura
...possesses...all the characteristics of a first-class
Dravidian temple, and, as its date is perfectly well
known, it forms a landmark of the utmost value in
enabling us to fix the relative date of other temples.
The sanctuary is said to have been built by Viswanath,
the first king of the Nayak dynasty, A.D. 1520, which
may possibly be the case; but the temple itself
certainly owes all its magnificence to Tirumulla Nayak,
A.D. 1622-1657, or to his elder brother, Muttu Virappa,
who preceded him, and who built a mantapa, said to be
the oldest thing now existing here. The Kalyana mantapa
is said to have been built A.D. 1707, and the Tatta
Suddhi in 1770.These, however, are insignificant parts
compared with those which certainly owe their origin to
Tirumulla Nayak..." (Temple of Madura
)
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