Madurai – cultural capital of Tamil Nadu

Madurai has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the great Tamil era more than 2500 years old, and has been an important commercial centre even as early as 550 AD.

Madurai appears on Ptolemy's map of the world. It was considered by foreigners as ‘Athens of the South.' Known as the ‘temple city,' it is a sacred centre or a cosmic centre.

Madurai is referred to in the Ramayana and in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Foreign travelers like Megal thenes (302 B.C.), Pliny (77 A.D.) and Ptolemy (140 A.D.) referred “Modoura, the Kingdom of the Pandyan.

Madurai is Tamil Nadu's oldest city and one of India's oldest cities, with a history dating back to the Sangam period of the pre-Christian era. It was home to the ancient Tamil Sangam the literary conclave that produced the first Tamil epic Silappathikaaram and other masterpieces of Tamil literature.

Madurai was captured by the Cholas in the 10th century AD and was ruled till the end of the 13th century. In 1223 AD, Pandyas came to power again and patronized the Tamil language. The city became prosperous during the reign of the Pandya Kings.

In 1323, the Pandyan kingdom including Madurai became a province of the Delhi sultanate under the Tughlaks.

Madurai is also one of India's most prominent Hindu pilgrimage centers. Madurai is also called as City of Junction (Koodalnagaram), City of Jasmine (Malligaimaanagar), and Temple city (Koilmaanagar), City that never sleeps (Thoonganagaram) and city of four junctions (Naanmadakoodal).

Madurai – cultural capital of Tamil Nadu