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Madurai Travel Guide
Madurai General Information
Area
: 22 sq kms
Population : 8,17,562 (1981 census)
Altitude : 101 m above sea level
Climate :
Summer : Max: 37.1'C, Min : 25.0'C
Winter: Max:
29.0'C Min: 20.0'C
Rainfall : 85 cms Average
Clothing : Tropical Local
Language : Tamil
Other Languages Spoken : Sourashtra, English
STD Code : 0452
Madurai's origin and name emerge from a misty and lovely legend. In a forest
near a lotus pond, Indra, King of Gods, Worshipped Lord Siva as a Swayambu Lingam.
At this hallowed spot, the Pandyan monarch Kulasekhara built a great temple
and clearing the forest, he created a lotus- shaped city around the temple.
On
the day the city was to be named, Lord Siva appeared at the ceremony. As he
blessed the land and its people, divine nectar (Mathuram) was showered on the
city from his matted locks.
The city was henceforth known as Madhurapuri.
Madhurapuri grew and prospered to become the capital of the Pandyan Kingdom.
It is referred to in the Ramayana and Kautily's Arthashastra.
Megasthenes (302 BC), pliny (77AD) and Ptolemy (140 AD) wrote of "Madura,
the kingdom of the Pandian". Macro polo visited Madurai in 1293 AD and
lbn Batuta in 1333 AD.
Madurai lies on the banks of the River Vaigai. The temple and the old city are
on the southern bank, while modern Madurai with its textile mills, engineering
industries and large university sprawls around.
