Indian Columbus

Why is Madurai called the Temple City? Is it because of the vast temple of Meenakshi Sundareswara located at the city's center? Else, is it because of the hundreds of temples at every nook and corner across the city? Maybe, both are valid reasons to call this ancient city the  Temple City . The city, primarily associated with Lord Shiva and his consort, has some important temples of Lord Vishnu too. This article covers one such important Vaishnavite temple -  Madana Gopala Temple . Madana Gopala means lovely cowherd - Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu. This temple is located at Melamasi Street, next to  Immaiyilum Nanmai Tharuvaar Temple . Legend All temples in South India would have some associated legends. This temple, too, has few tales. They are not recorded in Tiruvilaiyadal Puranam or any authentic texts that talk about Madurai. After Lord Shiva, as Sundaresa, married Meenakshi, he installed Shiv Linga (Immaiyilum Nanmai Tharuvaar) and went into deep medita...

Immaiyilum Nanmai Tharuvaar Temple - the word is hard to pronounce for those who do not understand Tamil. It can be loosely translated as "the God who protects the devotees even in their current lifetime". This is one of the important temples of Madurai. There are two unique things about this temple. We could see only the back side of Shiv Linga as he faces the opposite direction of the sanctum's entrance. Lord Shiva himself installed and worshiped this Shiv Linga, which is very unique. Legend As per the legends related to Madurai, Meenakshi, the incarnation of Uma, was born as a Pandya princess, and she ruled the empire. She invaded many kingdoms in Bharat and went up to the Himalayas. There, she met Lord Shiva on a battlefield, which resulted in her marriage to him. Lord Shiva settled down in Madurai. He ruled the empire in the name of Sundaresha (Sundara Pandya). Before his coronation, he installed, worshiped, and performed poojas to the Shiv Linga of this t...

Dandayudhapani Temple is a small temple located on a corner of Netaji Road in Madurai city. However, it remains one of the most famous temples of Madurai. Also called Madurai Palani Andavar temple, it enshrines Lord Kartikeya in the form of Andi. He has a shaven head, clad in a loin cloth, and holds a thin staff called Dandayudham. The iconography is similar to that of the famous temple at Palani hills. Although Dandayudhapani took the form of an ascetic, his idol is always dressed up in royal attire. The temple is famous mainly due to this almost-permanent Raja alankara of the deity. The temple's structure cannot be dated older than 50-60 years. However, as per tradition and belief, Sundarar, the saint in the 7th century CE, stayed in this temple for a few days and went to Tiruparankundram. Hence, the temple is also called Sundarar Mutt. The small mandapa of the temple enshrines many deities, such as Shiv Linga, Dakshinamurti, Durga, Ganesha and Bhairava. Happy travelling. ...