TIRUMALAI NAYAK PALACE

TIRUMALAI NAYAK PALACE

AT

MADURAI

This Palace was built in 1636 by King Thirumalai Nayak with the help of an Italian Architect. The building we see today was the main Palace where the King lived. The original Palace Complex was four times bigger than the present structure. This palace consisted mainly of two parts, namely Swargavilasa and Rangavilasa.

It is considered a wonder of South India. Thirumalai Nayak wanted the grandest palace for himself and constructed the palace which is a blend of Dravidian and Islamic styles. The palace was originally four times bigger and it had two parts. The first part was Swargavilasa or the heavenly pavilion, meant for the King and Ranka Vilasa for servants. 

 Currently it has courtyard surrounded with garden. A sound and light show is held in the evening.The Interior of the palace surpasses many of its Indian contemporaries in scale. The interior is richly decorated whilst the exterior is treated in a more austere style.

Tirumala Nayaka, who ascended to throne in 1623 A.D., and ruled over Madurai for 36 years can be said to have made the largest single contribution towards the enhancement of the beauty and splendour of the town by magnificent edifices and monuments.

Tirumala Nayaka was certainly the greatest of the Nayaka rulers. The nayakas of Madurai like those of Thanjavur and gingee ruled South India as the Governors of Vijayanagar emperors and gradually became independent rulers as the empire began to decline and breakup,though they did not like to call themselves as kings due probably to their reverence to the dynasty.

Sound and light show the only one of its kind in South India, really is a boon to Madurai city. This show was established during 1981 when the fifth world tamil conference was conducted. The programme was engineered by the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Mr.M.G.Ramachandran.

The show begins with the reverbrating tribute to the King Thirumalai Naick. It deals with the important events which took place in the life of the King. His victories over the enemies, his love on art, his deep sense of devotion to Goddess Meenakshi are narrated interestingly. The court scene in which Kannagi, the heroine of Silapathikaram challanged the Pandya King Nedunchezhian, is an interesting episode of the show. This is an interesting show that one should not miss.

Daily two shows are conducted one in English and another in Tamil for one hour.

By Air

Madurai has an Airport. The Tirumalai nayak palace is about 8 kms from the airport. There are daily flights to Chennai. Chennai is the closest international airport to Madurai. Nearest

By Rail

 Madurai. Madurai is an important railway junction of the Southern Railway and is directly connected to Chennai (Egmore station), Coimbatore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Tirunelveli.

By Road

 There are several buses from Chennai, Thiruchanapalli, Coimbatore and Thirunelveli. There are also buses to neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka.