Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal

1798 painting by Thomas Daniell of ruins of the palace at Madurai

The Nayaks of Madurai ruled this Kingdom from 1545 until the 1740s and Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1659) was one of their greatest kings notable for various buildings in and around Madurai. During the 17th centuries the Madurai Kingdom had Portuguese, Dutch and other Europeans as traders, missionaries and visiting travellers. Over a span of 400 years many parts of the buildings were suffered much by time, and not inconsiderably... by the destructive effects of war; a few, however, are sufficiently in repair to be converted into use by the garrison, as granaries, store-houses, powder magazines during time of East India Company. King Thirumalai Nayak’s grandson had demolished much of the fine structure and removed most of the jewels and woodcarvings in order to build his own palace in Tiruchirapalli. However Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras, had partially restored the palace in 1866-72, and the subsequent restoration works carried out several years ago, today, we get to see the Entrance Gate, The Main Hall and the Dance Hall.[1]

Built in 1636, as a focal point of his capital at Madurai, Thirumalai Nayak intended the palace to be one of the grandest in South India. The design and architecture is a blend of Dravidian and Rajasthani styles. 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.

During the 18th century many structures that were part of this palace were pulled down or incorporated into buildings in the adjacent streets. What remains is the enclosed court known as the Svarga Vilasam and a few adjoining buildings. The audience chamber of the Svarga Vilasam is a vast hall with arcades about 12 m high. The architecture is a blend of indigenous and Islamic forms. Thirumalai nayakar mahal is famous for its giant pillars. Pillar's height is 82 feet and width is 19 feet.

Courtyard

View of the corridor around the courtyard of the palace

Upon entering into the gates of the palace, the visitor enters into present day’s huge central courtyard measuring 3,700 m² (41,979 sq ft). The courtyard is surrounded by massive circular pillars. Now it has a circular garden.

A view of the interior of the palace, with an arcade of columns enriched with foliated brick arches. Behind this are cloisters carved in triple rows of columns.

Interior

Inner view of Thirumalai Palace

The palace was divided into two major parts, namely Swarga Vilasam (Celestial Pavilion) and Ranga Vilasam. The royal residence, theatre, shrine, apartments armory, palanquin place, royal bandstand, quarters, pond and garden were situated in these two portions. The courtyard and the dancing hall are the major center of attractions of the palace. The Celestial Pavilion (Swarga Vilasam) was used as the throne-room and has an arcaded octagon covered by a dome 60–70 feet high. The domed structure in the centre is supported by stone ribs and is held up by massive circular columns topped and linked by pointed scalloped arches with an arcaded gallery opening into the nave above the side aisles.

Thirmalai Nayakkar Mahal

After independence, the Thirumalai Palace was declared as a national monument and is now under the protection of the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department. This palace is open for the visitors from 9am to 5pm and the entry ticket price is Rs.10.

Many films are shot in the Palace, primarily due to the large pillars present.

Notable films are Maniratnam's "Bombay" ("Kannalane" song), "Guru" ("Tera Bina" Song) etc. Vikram starrer "Bheemaa" ("Ragasiya Kanavugal" song)

The Palace is located in the eastern side of the city, around 1.2 km South East of the Meenakshi Amman Temple in the city of Madurai. Madurai being a popular tourist center is well connected by railways and has daily flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka), SINGAPORE,[DUBAI]], Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

9.00 AM to 5.00 PM for general visit. Lunch Break: 01.00 PM to 01.30 PM

Sound & Light Show Time: 6.45 PM to 7.35 PM in English

8.00 PM to 8.50 PM in Tamil

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  Entrance of Thirumalainayakarmahal
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  Photograph of Thirumalainayakarmahal, Madurai.
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  Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace, Madurai
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  18th Century Drawing of Ruins of the Palace
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  Great King Thirumalai with His Wives
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  Facade of the Palace
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  Kings Courtyard
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  Mix of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian Architecture
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  Queens residence in Durbar Hall
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  Royal Auditorium aka Dance Hall
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  Paintings in the roof of the Palace
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  Ornamental Throne of Nayak King
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  Queen's Harem inside Palace
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  Domes of the Nayak Palace
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  Queen's residence in Durbar Hall
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  Artistic Paintings in Ceiling
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  Inner view in Ceiling
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  Architectural drawing of ceiling
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  During Night Show
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  The Palace
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  Tamil manuscripts leaf
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  Tamil Inscriptions
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