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Towering presence over a city

Mention Meenakshi temple and image of tall gopurams comes to mind

— Photo: S. James

IMPOSING: The north tower of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai.

One might have read about the topless towers of Ilium only in literature. The majestic towers of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple will give an idea of what the towers of Ilium would have been, if they were real. When one thinks of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple what comes to the mind is an image of the four majestic Rajagopurams, facing four directions. They could be seen from almost any place in the city, the more fortunate of the residents being those around the temple.

All the four Rajagopurams have nine tiers but vary in height. The tallest of them is the imposing south tower, which is easily identified even from a distance. This is said to be the only tower in south India to have a parabolic curve on all sides from top to bottom. This tower, with a height of 51.99 metres (170.6 feet) from the level of South Adi Street, has 1,511 ‘sudai’ works depicting scenes from Tiruvilayadalpuranam, Periapuranam, Kandapuranam and Dasavataram. The height of the ‘sudai’ ranges from 1.5 metres (five feet) to 4.6 metres (14 feet). Some of the interesting figures in the gopuram include the viswarupa darshan of Subramaniaswamy; Mahasadasivam with 25 heads and 50 arms; Sabari; Yakapadamoorthy; Voorthuvathandavam; and the image of Kali.

A rare ‘Panchamuka Lingam’ is also found on the eastern side of the tower, according to a temple publication. An image of Veeda Dakshinamoorthy, facing the Chithirai Street, was added to the tower in 1963. According to a Madurai Kamaraj University publication, Madurai Temple Complex, authored by A. V. Jeyachandrun, Siramalai Sevanthimoorthy Chetty constructed this tower in A. D. 1533-64.

The east gopuram, constructed by Sundara Pandyan in A. D. 1218, is 49.16 metres (161.3 feet) high and has 1,001 ‘sudai’ works of scenes from Tiruvilayadalpuranam and Periapuranam. This is the earliest among the four outer towers of the temple. Residents of the city do not use this gopuram to leave the temple as a habit, it is said.

The west gopuram was constructed by Parakrama Pandyan in A. D. 1323 as per an inscription on its wall. It is 49.77 metres (163.3 feet) in height and contains 1,145 ‘sudai’ works. Those that attract the eye are different postures of Bikshadanar and dwarapalakas. Many relics on its stone base are believed to have been buried below the surface as the road level has come up over the years. Found inside the entrance of this gopuram are Pandya’s fish crest and a verse in praise of Parakrama Pandya.

The north gopuram is the latest of the four and is popularly referred to as ‘mottai gopuram’ due to the absence of a crest for a long time. By the end of the 19th century, a ‘sikara’ was provided by Nattukottai Chettiars. The tower, which is 48.95 metres (160.6 feet) in height, was constructed by Krishna Veerappa Nayak (1572-95). This tower contains possible models of gopurams and vimanas in great architectural detail (404 ‘sudai’ works).

S. ANNAMALAI

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