Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal - Madurai

Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal is one of the key attractions in Madurai and is a tribute to the glorious rule by its original occupier - King Thirumalai Nayakar. 

The Nayaks ruled areas of Madurai, Trichy, Gingee, Mysore, Tanjore for around 200 years from 1540s to 1740s. Thirumalai Nayakar's predecessor had Trichy as its royal residence and there are different stories on why it was moved to Madurai by Thirmalai Nayakar.

a. It is said he had a dream one night and then he consulted with his priests and brahmins who adviced him to move to Madurai

b. The king was affected by a disease which was not getting cured. So Lord Sundareshwara and Meenakshi are said to have come in his dream and advised him to move to Madurai to cure himself. 

c. The most logical explanation in my seems to be from an enemy attack point of view, Madurai was better placed as compared to Trichy. 

In any case the king decided to move his royal residence to Madurai and decided to construct a palace of such splendor which was unseen and unheard in the area around that time. Of all the Nayakar kings, Thirumalai Nayakar is said to be one of the greatest and ruled from 1623 to 1659. He is credited with constructing several great buildings during his regime included Tellakulam Perumal temple, one of the towers of the Meenakshi amman temple and also excavation of the temple pond of the Meenakshi amman temple. An interesting legend around the king is that, he was an ardent devotee of Srivilliputtur Andal. So he used to have food only after the Pujas at the temple were completed. The temple is at a distance of 75 kms from Madurai. So he constructed smaller temples / mandaps at 5 km intervals who would ring the bell to relay the message to Madurai :) 

The palace is a wonderful piece of architecture and has a high European influence obviously since it was conceived by an Italian architect. 

The temple had 2 parts - Ranga Vilasam comprising of the main residence and Svarga Vilasam which is the palace courtyard, royal auditorium and dance hall. Only the latter is open to public today. The construction was completed in 1636. The Kings grandson - Sokkanadha Nayakarn dismantled a significant portion of the palace when he wanted to construct his palace in Trichy. Later Lord Napier during 1860s did a lot of restoration work on the palace and restored some portion of the glory. 

What strikes anyone on entering the palace is the huge pillars each measuring 89 ft by 19ft and the wonderful symmetry they exhibit. 

During various times of the day, the sun provides you with an absolute jugalbandi of lights especially with its striking white and yellow colored pillow colors.

Also of note is the magnificent stucco work, octagonal domes in the royal hall.

To the right of the entry, there is also the dance hall which is now converted into sort of a museum and houses some exquisite paintings of the chola times, sittanavasal paintings etc. The hall by itself is rich in architecture. 

A touch of Islamic architecture may be in the below snap ?

Sittanavasal paintings

Chola period paintings from Thanjavur

For the people who are keen on visiting, there is a light show every night at the place which also explains the history of the place. We skipped that due to paucity of time. Also for people keen on the camera, evening time may be the best here. 

For the movie buffs who are thinking where have I seen this place before - Santosh Sivan and Maniratnam have immortalised it with their songs in Bombay and Guru. 

Ruins of Hampi

Most people familiar about me know that I am a history buff. Its probably brought out by my love for mythology, long lost kingdoms & dynasties and the stories that I have heard during my childhood and the inner urge to seek those stories in art forms and actual representations from the past. So it was only logical that Hampi tops the list given that it represented one of the most historic ruins to be found in India and also being the Kishkinta of Ramayana. Ruins are also more photogenic by nature due to the wild shapes and angles they offer. So after planning for 2 years ( last year we cancelled the trip just weeks before ), we finally made it to Hampi this time. 

This photo log specifically doesn’t cover the Vittala temple, Hazara Rama temple or the Murals of Virupaksha since it requires a separate write up by itself. 

Imagine Mahismathi ( of Bahubali ) being in ruins. Hampi would be just that. A place of absolute grandeur and splendour even in the ruins. It is said to be the 2nd largest city in the world under the Vijayanagara empire after Beijing and also one of the richest cities in the world at that time. Today the place is in ruins for most part but the signs are unmistakeable. It is also the place which in Ramayana was known as Kishkinta. So there are lots of references to Ramayana at Hampi. It also is home to the place where Hanuman was born and where Rama and Lakshmana stayed put before deciding to cross to Lanka.  So a place with huge historic significance. 

Most people familiar with Hampi would know that the stone chariot of vittala temple and this Narasimha statue are the most coveted of Hampi. We can virtually call Lord Narasimha the poster boy of Hampi. The largest monolithic structure in Hampi standing 6.7 metre tall is the statue of Lakshmi Narasimha. The lakshmi statue was destroyed during the muslim raids. Many people mistake it to be Ugra Narasimha but this is actually Prasanna Narasimha or Lakshmi Narasimha.

The Virupaksha temple gopuram towers above the surrounding - a view from aside the Tungabhadra river

The beautiful temple complex of Virupaksha. We were in quite early immediately after witnessing sunrise and it was a serene atmosphere. It turns quite noisy once the crowds flock in since this is the only working temple in Hampi and is very famous. 

Manmatha tank of the Virupaksha temple. A capture just after sunrise

A pin hole effect created by the makers 1400 years ago. You get an inverted image of the temple's main gopuram when the suns rays falls. 

A junior to the bigger monolith, this is called Sasivekalu Ganesh. A cute story attached to the snake around his belly. He kept on eating modaks and feared his belly may burst and decided to tie the poor snake around his belly as a belt to prevent it and went on with this merry eating ways.

A 4.5 metre high monolith called Kadale Kalu Ganesh. Unfortunately to prevent further damage, he has been kept caged and in darkness.

Ruins of mandapas viewed from the Tungabadra river side

If there is one place in Hampi which looks extremely beautiful and surreal even in the ruins its the Achutaraya temple. It has a 300-400 metre open space in the front and with the rock boulders as the back drop gave an other worldly feel. This open space also seems excellent for bird watching. Could see atleast 8-9 varieties of birds just during our walk to this place. 

Inside the Achutaraya temple

The topography of the place yields several such captures. 

Narasimha temple near the Tungabhadra river. Got to feel for the guy guarding the place. Its a real lonely job

2 storied gateway

Kings balance ( Tulabaram ) for weighing the king against precious metals for offering to temple and people.

A view from Talarighatta gate ( toll plaza in those days )

At the Mahanavami Dibba. The Chinese influence is evident throughout Hampi

A beautiful stepped well in reverse pyramid form. Great symmetry. 

Mahanavami Dibba - This is where the kings were supposed to have been seated as they watched over cultural festivities

Pan supari Bazaar

The Pattabirama temple is in the exact opposite direction in comparison to the other Hampi ruins and is easy to miss but do visit this place for the solitude it offers. 

Lotus Mahal

Lotus Mahal

The elephant stables. Huge enclosures for elephants. Only makes you think what grandeur the city would have been if the elephant stables were so well made. 

Entrance to the underground Shiva temple

The underground Shiva temple. Dark and spooky place. Was not sure about getting into the water. 

Badavi Linga. 

The Hemakuta Hills in the evening. 

Virupaksha temple complex

Hemakuta hill temple cluster with the Virupaksha temple on the right

Queens Bath

Hampi is no longer a place where people throng just for the ruins and the temple. There are today a variety of other activities like rock climbing, spiritual seeking and even a marathon that goes around the ruins. It may not be long before a temple run kind of a game is made with the Hampi ruins as the backdrop. It would serve as a perfect recipe for today's mobile generation and also ensure people take some interest in knowing the history of this wonderful place. 

After visiting this place and numerous other locations across South, I am clear that our history books are so poor in content and relevance. 

Travelling to Hampi 

• 350 kms from Bangalore and about 15 kms from Hospet. 
• From Bangalore, roads are good for the first 225 kms and after that there is a massive road laying on and hence slows down the drive. Not that the roads are bad. Its basically the diversions. So its a easy 6.5 hours drive from Bangalore airport. 
• By train, the nearest station would be Hospet. 
• I found staying in Hospet better since the facilities are reasonable and its a 30 min drive from Hampi. 
• Travelling around Hampi can be ideally done with a vehicle or you can hire an auto for a day long trip. Though we had our cab, we commuted a lot by foot. That's a personal choice. If you are not the kind used to walking around, choose the other options and still go around. 
• Don't forget to get a map of the place. It definitely helps. There are enough guys selling you this for 200 bucks. Its a good referencing point. I also recommend reading the book Hampi - History and Architecture by Salini Vineeth for the serious history lovers. Its a short book of around 70 pages. Helps you have a basic grip of Hampi architecture. 
• Also if you are a true history buff like me, do hire a guide or do enough research online so that you are able to relate to the sculptures and their stories. They make it memorable. 
• Food options are limited in Hampi. There is a Mango tree hotel which is quite popular there near the Virupaksha temple. We had our lunch at Classic Inn which is on the way to the Pattabirama temple. It had delicious food and a good ambience. If you are however looking for the economical option, Mango tree would be the better bet. 

Kailasanathar Temple - Kanchipuram

Pushpeshu Jati, Purusheshu Vishnu, Nareshu Rambha, Nagareshu Kanchi is what the great Kalidasa wrote several hundred years back meaning if its flower its Jasmine, if its a man its Vishnu, if its a lady its Rambha and if its a city its Kanchi. 

Kanchipuram as the city is known today is considered as one of the holiest cities in India and was a flourishing location of not only Hinduism but also Buddhism and Jainism. The place is home to some 150 Shiva and Vishnu temples with majority of them being the former. Kanchipuram is actually demarcated into Shiva Kanchi, Vishnu Kanchi and Jain Kanchi. Kanchipuram acted as the capital city during the early Chola period but the city actually rose into prominence when the Pallavas made it into their capital city. 

The place is just 75 kms ffrom Chennai and the roads are extremely good to drive on. We were actually on a 3 day road trip and arrived at Kanchipuram from Tiruvannamalai. We decided we were leaving Kanchi by noon which gave us time to visit 3 temples. Of the 3 Kailasanathar was the one we visited last but it comes up first in the blog because such is the beauty of the place. The temple is the oldest one in Kanchipuram and said to be built around 700 AD by Narasimhavarman II of the Pallavas. The temple is built of sandstone and has an unique 16 sided Shiva Lingam. 

The temple has the main deity at the centre and the inner walls of the temple has 58 small shrines or sculptures depicting Shiva 's various forms / actions. The outer walls of the main pragara has sculptures of other lords as well. Across the temple you find several sculptures of the lions which were the symbol of the Pallava dynasty. The city was later taken over by the Cholas and hence is said to have some influence of the Chola style of architecture as well in the later additions made. I am no history expert. So cant comment on that. It is also said that the Cholas got their inspiration for construction of the Brihadeeswarar temple after seeing the Kailasanathar temple only. There are striking similarities especially in the main gopuram pattern between the 2 temples. 

The place is an ASI protected monument and maintained pretty well. However you can see in places the damage that the restoration works have caused to the beautiful sculptures with shoddy plastering and some paintings defaced. Its not considered a very 'powerful' deity and hence the crowds are thankfully lower which helps in you allowing the location to sink in into you without a constant interruption. A guide would have been really helpful but we couldnt find any. 

Some photos from the visit.