Madurai

Temple-town and sacred site (tirtha) on
the Vygai River, in the state of Tamil
Nadu in southern India. Madurai is
most famous for the large temple
dedicated to Minakshi, the goddess,
and her consort Sundareshvara.
Minakshi is a local deity who has
become a major regional goddess,
whereas Sundareshvara is considered
a form of the god Shiva. After the fall
of the Vijayanagar empire late in the
397
Madurai
The Vishvanath Temple at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, dates back to 1002 C.E.
sixteenth century, southern India was
ruled by the Nayak dynasty, with the
capital at Madurai. Much of the
Minakshi temple was built by Tirumalai
Nayak (r. 1623-1659); his palace is
another of the city’s attractions. The
streets around the temple form four
concentric processional circuits, with
the temple directly in the middle. The
town was planned as a lotus with layers
of petals, with the image of Minakshi at
the center, around which all things
revolved. Symbolically, the Minakshi
temple was not only the center of the
city, but the center of the earth. See also
Vijayanagar dynasty.