History of elements:

Meenakshi amman temple:

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple or Tiru-alavai is a historic Hindu temple located in the south side of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 gopurams ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the souther tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high and two golden sculptured vimana (shrine) over sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature; though the present structure is built during 1623 to 1655 CE. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 during Fridays and gets an annual revenue of sixty million INR. There is an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple and it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". The annual 10 day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival celebrated during April–May attracts 1 million visitors.

History:

The Meenakshi temple is believed to be founded by Indra(king of Devas, celestial deities) while he was on a pilgrimage to cure his misdeeds. The temple was believed to be sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafurin 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559–1600) under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayak Dynasty and the founder of the Poligar System. The original design by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak(1623–55). He took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the Vasantha Mandapam for celebrating vasanthorsavam (spring festival) andKilikoottu Mandapam (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and Meenakshi Nayakar Mandapam were built by Rani Mangammal.

Pudhu mandapam:

The hall is 330 feet long and 105 feet broad over the plinth. It is 25 feet high with 124 Pillars of four rows on either side of the central corridor of this hall there are imposing pillars having the figures of 14 of the Naick rulers including Thirumalai Naick. The date of construction of the Pudu Mandapam is known to be 1628-35. Hence it forms as the Vasantha Mandapam.

According to the work Thiruppani Maalai all the sculptures in the mandapam were executed by Sumandira Moorthy Asari.Since the sculptures were new at the time the mandapam was built, it was called Pudhu Mandapam(New Mandapam). There are interesting episodes of events that took place while the sculptures were being carved.

Nagara mandapam

Nagara mandapam situated opposite the Amman sanctum in East Chitra street was built in the year 1635 by Achutharayan, minister of Rani Mangammal.The dimensions of this mandapam known as Vasantha mandapam and Thirumalai Naickerr Choultry are: length - 333 feet (100 meters), width 105 feet (31.5 meters) and height 25 feet (7.5 meters).On both sides of this mandapam have been carved the statues of ten famous kings of Naicker dynasty. These statues which range from King Viswantha Naicker to Thrimalai Naicker had been chiseled in a life like manner.

On the six pillars next to the western entrance to the mandapam, there are sculptures of Thiripurasankarar, four heroes on horses, Ravana trying to lift Mount Kailash and others.

This mandapam was built for the purpose of sounding the Nagara drum toannounce important events and festivals to the devotees. Even though many shops are situated in the premises, the practice of beating the Nagara drum continues.New Mandapam : The New Mandapam, situated opposite the East Rajagopuram was built by King Thirumalai Naicker with the work starting in 1626 and ending in 1645.

Rayagopuram
                        To the east of the Pudhu Mandapam is the Royagopuram. The base of an unfinished Gopuram may still be seen to the east wing of Puthu Mandapam. Had it been completed it would have been completed it would have been the tallest man-made structure ever created in Africa, Asia or Europe.

Road networks:

In Madurai, the city’s planning layout is based on the temple layout. The roads starts from the temple tower and it is connected to the veli street, which was earlier the fort wall. Vaigai River, being one of the reasons for the settlement of Madurai city have bonding with the history of the temple. The roads taken for study are the roads connecting the temple and palace and the river.