Madurai is also well known for its biggest and renowned Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple. It is one of the oldest heritages of the city. Madurai and its nearby areas are very rich in prehistoric material. These include a large number of natural caves on isolated hills where prehistoric man lived.
During the ancient period, Madurai city was also known as `Koodal`. It was the capital of the Pandyan kings from the Sangam age onwards. The ancient Greeks and Romans were well acknowledged about the city. The elaborate detail of the Pandyan kingdom at Madurai was provided by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador at the court of Chandragupta Maurya (320 B.C.). Along with Hinduism, Madurai was also a stronghold of Jainism. It can be traced from the ancient inscriptions of the Brahmi script. It is known that several Jaina monks inhabited this area.
Another old heritage of Madurai is the Koodal Alagar temple, situated in the heart of the city. It was a favourite of Vaishnavites as it was one of the one hundred and eight Divya Desams praised by the Vaishnava saints or Alvars. One more heritage centre of Madurai is the Alagar Koil, another important Divya Desam. Anaimalai and Tirupparankunram, both situated on the outskirts of Madurai have cave temples belonging to the Pandyan age of the 8th century A.D.
The Meenakshi temple of Madurai got its present form during the later-Pandyan age of the 13th century A.D. And more was added subsequently during the age of the Nayaka kings who ruled from this city from the 16th century A.D. The pompous `gopurams` at the entrance of the temple complex are built with startling features and attracts many visitors. These were constructed by the later Pandyan and Nayaka rulers. This heritage temple has the `Potramarai Kulam` (tank of golden lotuses) and the gold-plated `vimanas` of the shrines of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar within its premise. There are also several mandapas in the temple, which have carved pillars as well as the paintings on the ceilings painted with vegetable dye, mostly belonging to the Nayaka age.
In the Madurai city, lots of festivals are celebrated throughout the year. The most important festival among them is the marriage of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar celebrated in the month of Chittirai (April-May).
The Tirumalai Nayaka of the 17th century A.D. constructed many monuments in Madurai and the most important among them is his palace called Tirumala Nayaka`s palace. But unfortunately, his successor named Chokka-natha Nayaka broke this palace into pieces and removed to Tiruchirapalli for erecting another palace there. Now, only the surrounding court known as the `Swarga Vilasam` or audience hall can be seen. It is a huge pavilion, which is 235 feet in length and is105 feet in breadth with a big dome measuring 60 feet supported by twelve columns.
There are also few other heritages of Madurai like the `Tamukkam`, the arched palace of Rani Mangammal of 17th century AD. It is situated across the Vagai River and is supported by great pillars. It was used as a courthouse and collector`s office during the British period and was later used to house the Gandhi and Government museums.
