Road to Rameswaram

After leaving Madurai our next stop was Rameswaram, the pilgrimage site on Pamban island. The drive was a smooth and pleasant 3 hours along the brand new NH87 four-laned highway. With the network of NH highways, traveling by motor vehicle has become a breeze in these parts. We stayed at the Hyatt - comfortable, clean and modern hotel belonging to the international chain. A few years ago there were not many nice options for quality accommodation, but this is rapidly changing.

Rameswaram is home to the famous Ramanathaswamy Sivan temple. We will dedicate another post to it.

The island has many interesting sites and a storied past. At Dhanushkodi, the very tip of the island you can see the ruins of the ghost town of Dhanushkodi devastated and abandoned by the cyclone of December 1964 that took many lives in Northern Sri Lanka and Rameswaram. The ferry to Mannar used to leave from here. 

The island has many sites intimately connected to the Ramayanam.

The Pamban bridge to the island is one the longest sea bridges in India. 

As you enter the island you will also encounter the memorial to APJ Abdul Kalam, scientist, statesman and former president of India. This newly built modern monument is well designed and worth a visit.

Gandhi Museum Madurai

Before we leave Madurai and explore another set of temples, I thought I will highlight this historical building. Called the Thamukkam Palace, it was built in 1670 in the early Indo-Saracenic style as a palace for the Nayakkan royal family. The powerful and able Nayakan queen Rani Mangammal, lived here whenever she was in Madurai. It served as the British administrative headquarters during colonial times. Today, it houses the Gandhi Memorial Museum which is a nice exhibit of the Mahatma's life. Wonder how many people know that the young and dapper lawyer returning from South Africa shed his Western clothes for the Khadhar garment that he wore afterwards, right here in Madurai. The museum houses a part of the blood-stained garment that he wore on the day of his death. Admission is free.

Visited August 2019.

Thiruchuli Thirumeninathar or Bhoominathar temple

Ready for another jewel of a temple? This large temple to Siva is situated 45 kms to the southeast of Madurai. Solidly built granite temple with wide prakarams, it is a nice quiet temple to experience without the crowds you will encounter in more well known temples. It is a Paadal Petra Sthalam - 12th of the 14 in the Pandian country. Suntharar composed the Pathikam in the 8th century. As usual it has been added on to by many dynasties but has a very solid Pandian foundation as evident by the many fish symbols on the ceilings of the inner prakarams. It has a seven tier rajagopuram, likely of Nayakkan or later origin but not very tall. Pay attention to the inner walls built of granite blocks without mortar or other binders that have withstood the test of time for a thousand years. Its is a Katrali or granite temple. I loved this temple and will highly recommend it to anyone. It is only about an hour's drive from Madurai

Visited August 2019 Base Madurai

Srivilliputhur

82 km to the southwest of Madurai, about a 90 minutes drive, lies this vast and beautiful twin temple complex. It is a Divya Desam Vishnu temple. One part of the temple is dedicated to the woman Alvaar saint Andaal, who was born here in the 8th century. The main deity Vatapatrasayi is a reclining form of the Lord Vishnu. The idol is large and there are three entrances to the sanctum, one for the head, one for the body and one for the feet. Again it is an ancient temple built over the ages with original Pandian construction with later contributions from Chola, Vijayanagar, Nayakkan and other dynasties. Well worth the trip to those of you who want to go there. Many believe that the Tamil Nadu state government emblem is designed after the rajagopuram here. The last picture is that of the ceiling in one of the inner precincts and has an engraving of a fish, the royal stamp of the Pandian kings.

Visited August 2019

Vandiyur Mariamman Theppakulam - Madurai

This man made tank with a beautiful mandapam in the middle was built in 1645 by King Thirumalai Nayakkan. It is believed that the soil excavated from this site was used to build the Thirumalai Nayakkan Palace. During the rainy season it brims with water but for most of the year it is dry. It is famous for the Float Festival in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/ Feb).

Visited Aug 2019

Thirupuvanam - Thirupushpavanesvarar

Not to be confused with Thirubhuvanam, the Chola temple on the Kaveri, this Sivan temple is located 20 km or a 30 minute drive east of Madurai on the banks of the Vaigai River.

Originally built in the 7th century, the outer structures existing today are of more recent origin. The pretty rajagopuram looks like it has been built in the last 200 years. But the granite inner core has all the markings of an ancient Pandian temple with plenty of fish symbols. Many dynasties including the Nayakkar contributed to this temple. The muhamandapam has a statue of King Thirumalai Nayakkar. This is the 10th of the 14 Paadal Petra Sthalams in the Pandya Naadu and has pathikams from Gnasampanthar, Thirunaauvukkarasar and Sundarar. Lots of divine stories about this temple. The 36th Thiruvilaiyaadal, that of the dancing girl is supposed to have occurred here. Many inscriptions here with the earliest belonging to the 10th century reign of Pandian Sadayan Maran. Although not architecturally as impressive as some of the other temples we visited, it has a lot of history and legends.

Visited Aug 2019. Base Madurai

Thiruvedagam - Edaganathar Thirukoil - Madurai

This is an ancient Sivasthalam near Madurai. Situated 20 km or a 30 minute drive northwest of Madurai, it is the 248th Paadal Petra Sthalam and the 4th in the Pandian country. Originally built by Pandian kings, the current masonry structure is mostly 16th century Nayakkan. It is a relatively small temple compared to others we have been to and is in a state of mild disrepair and needs better maintenance. There is an interesting story about this temple. During the early 7th century, Madurai was ruled by King Arikesari Maravarman or Koon Pandian as he had a hunchback. He was an ardent follower of the Jain faith. The queen, the Chola princess Mangayarkarasiyaar was a Saivite. She enlisted the help of Thirugnanasampanthar to convert the king to Saivism. So a debate was arranged between the Jain monks and Sampanthar at this site. Sambanthar wrote the first verse of his pathikam - "Vaalga Anthanar..." on a palm leaf Edu and threw it into the River Vaigai and the Jain monks wrote some lines from their scriptures and did the same. The Jain leafs were washed away while Sampanthar's leaf reached the other bank and the king was convinced to change his faith and became the saint Nindraseer Nedumaran. It was a bit dark when we reached this temple and I could not take enough pictures. Unless you are very much in to Saivite history and legend you can skip this one. If you are interested in Saivite history or want to see all the Paadal Petra Sthalams, then this one is easily reached from Madurai.

We visited in August 2019. Base Madurai.