MADURAI

This Mother was brought up as son arid she ruled, warred and felled several emperors before encountering Maheswar and getting united with him in wedlock.  So the land and her rule became doubly sacred; for it was this region, converted by Lord Maheswar into auditorium for enacting his 64 plays to lifting the Saranagathas; it is to this temple several illustrious monarchs endowed lavishly in all forms and made it the foremost timple of unparalleled beauty and glory; it is this shrine that stands unsurpassed in sculptural adornments and architectural marvels covering an area of 847 x 792 feet, encircled by massive outer walls with four tall towers; it is this place deemed as a great centre of Tamil culture; it is this place visited by almost all spiritual dignitaries; it is this region drenched by the waters of river Vaigai blessing the people with bumper crops, sumptuous verdure and colourful landscapes; it is this holy place reputed as one of the Saktipitas; it is this hallowed place that was the capital of Pandyan Kingdom for centuries; it was here a warrior Pandiyan Emperor performed Aswamedhyaga under the august aegis of Agasthya; it was this holy land that went by the name of Kadamba Vana during the Pouranic age; it was here Indra worshipped Maheswar and got back his throne; it was here alone Nataraja danced with his right leg at the solicitation of King Rajasekhara Pandya; it was this place, where goddess Saraswathi bestowed her lustrue on 48 poets, who formed the much-renowned Sangam; it is this place that witnessed the rule of Muruga under the name of Ugra Pandya; it is this pilgrimage centre that can be rightly called Harihara kshetra on account of several temples built both for Siva and Vishnu.  Numerous are the marvels that this Mokshapuri demonstrated to the world with Siva as the protagonist of every piece.

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