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temple forms a parallelogram about 847 ft. by 729 ft., and is surrounded by nine gopuras, of which the largest is 152 ft. high. These ornamental pyramids begin with See also:

DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door-posts of single stones 6o ft. in height, and rise course upon course, carved with rows of gods and goddesses, peacocks, bulls, elephants, horses, lions, and a bewildering entanglement of symbolical See also:

ORNAMENT (Lat. ornare, to adorn)

ornament all coloured and gilded, diminishing with distance until the See also:

stone trisul at the See also:

TOP (cf. Dan. top, Ger. Topf, also meaning pot)

top looks like the finest jeweller's See also:

WORK

work. The temple, which contains some of the finest See also:

CARVING

carving in See also:

SOUTHERN

southern India, is said to have been built in the reign of Viswanath, first ruler of the Nayak dynasty. Its See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief feature is the sculptured " See also:

Hall of a Thousand Pillars." The See also:

PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace of Tirumala Nayak is the most perfect relic of See also:

SECULAR (Lat. saecularis, of or belonging to an age or generation, saeculum)

secular See also:

ARCHITECTURE (Lat. architectura, from the Gr. ap)(LTEKrwv, a master-builder)

architecture in Madras. This palace, which covers a large See also:

AREA

area of ground, has been restored, and is utilized for public offices. The Vasanta, a hall 333 ft. See also:

long, probably dedicated to the See also:

god Sundareswara, and the Tamakam, a See also:

PLEASURE (through Fr. plaisir from Lat. placere, to please; Gr. rlbovii)

pleasure-palace, now the See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence of the See also:

COLLECTOR

collector, are the other See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal buildings of this See also:

period.

The last of the old Pandyan See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings is said to have exterminated the See also:

JAINS

Jains and conquered the neighbouring See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom of Chola; but he was in his turn overthrown by an invader from the See also:

north, conjectured to have been a See also:

MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan. In 1324 a Moslem See also:

army under Malik Kafur occupied Madura, and the See also:

HINDUS

Hindus were held in subjection for a period of fifty years. Subsequently Madura became a See also:

province of the See also:

HINDU

Hindu See also:

EMPIRE

Empire of See also:

VIJAYANAGAR, or BIJANAGAR (" the city of victory ")

Vijayanagar. In the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the 16th century the See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor Viswanath established the Nayak dynasty, which lasted for a century. The greatest of the See also:

LINE

line was Tirumala Nayak (reigned 1623-1659), whose military exploits are recorded in the contemporary letters of the Jesuit missionaries. He adorned Madura with many public buildings, and extended his empire over the adjoining districts of See also:

TINNEVELLY

Tinnevelly, See also:

TRAVANCORE

Travancore, See also:

COIMBATORE

Coimbatore, See also:

SALEM

Salem and See also:

TRICHINOPOLY

Trichinopoly. His repudiation of the nominal See also:

ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

allegiance paid to the See also:

RAJA

raja of Vijayanagar brought him intocollision with the See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan of See also:

BIJAPUR

Bijapur, and after a See also:

LAPSE (Lat. lapses, a slip or departure)

lapse of three centuries Mahommedans again invaded Madura and compelled him to pay them See also:

TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute. After the See also:

DEATH

death of Tirumala the kingdom of Madura gradually See also:

fell to pieces, being invaded by both Mahommedans and See also:

MAHRATTAS

Mahrattas. About 1736 the district fell into the hands of the See also:

NAWAB

nawab of the Carnatic, and the line of the Nayaks was extinguished. About 1764 British See also:

OFFICERS

officers took See also:

charge of Madura in See also:

TRUST

trust for Mahommed See also:

Ali (Wallah Jah), the last See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent nawab of the Carnatic, whose son finally ceded his rights of See also:

SOVEREIGNTY

sovereignty to the See also:

East India See also:

COMPANY

Company in 18o1. The DISTRICT of MADURA has an area of 8701 sq. m. Pop.

(1901), 2,831,280, an increase of 8.5% in the See also:

DECADE (from Gr. Oka, ten)

decade. It consists of a See also:

section of the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain stretching from the mountains east to the See also:

sea, coinciding with the See also:

basin of the Vaigai river, and gradually sloping to the S.E. The plain is broken by the outlying spurs of the See also:

GHATS, or GHAUTS (literally " the Landing Stairs " from the sea, or " Passes ")

Ghats, and by a few isolated hills and masses of See also:

rock scattered over the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country. The most important See also:

SPUR (A.S. spura, spora, related to spornan, spurnan, to kick, spurn; cf. M.H.G. sporn, mod. Ger. Sporn)

spur of the Ghats is known as the Palni hills, which project E.N.E. across the district for a distance of about S4 M. Their highest peaks are more than 8000 ft. above sea-level, and they enclose a See also:

plateau of about Too sq. m., with an See also:

AVERAGE

average height of 7000 ft. On this plateau is situated the See also:

SANATORIUM (a modern Latinism, formed from sanare, to cure, restore to health, sanus, whole, healthy, well; often wrongly spelled sanatarium or sanitarium)

sanatorium of See also:

KODAIKANAL

Kodaikanal, and See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee-planting is successfully carried on. The other principal crops of the district are millets, See also:

rice, other See also:

food-grains, oil-seeds and See also:

cotton. See also:

TOBACCO

Tobacco is grown chiefly in the neighbourhood of See also:

DINDIGUL

Dindigul, whence it is exported to Trichinopoly, to be made into cigars. There are several See also:

CIGAR

cigar factories and a number of See also:

SALTPETRE (from the Lat. sal, salt, Petra, a rock)

saltpetre refineries. The only other large See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry is that of coffee-cleaning. Madura is traversed by the See also:

main line of the South Indian railway. It has four small seaports, whose See also:

trade is chiefly carried on with See also:

CEYLON

Ceylon.

The most important See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation work, known as the Periyar project, consists of a See also:

TUNNEL (Fr. tonne!, later tonneau, a diminutive from Low Lat. tonna, tunna, a tun, cask)

tunnel through the Travancore hills, to convey the rainfall across the See also:

WATERSHED

watershed. See Madura District Gazetteer (Madras, 1906).

End of Article: MADURA

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