Mayiladuthurai - Geography and Architecture

Geography and Architecture

Mayliladuthurai is situated at a distance of 281 kilometres (175 mi) from Chennai and 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Tiruchirappalli. The town is located at 11°06′N 79°39′E / 11.10°N 79.65°E / 11.10; 79.65. Situated at a distance of 24 kilometres (15 mi) from the Bay of Bengal coast, the town is situated at an altitude of barely 10 metres (33 ft) above mean sea level. The Cauvery River runs through the town bisecting it into Uttara Mayuram and Mayuram proper. Most of the town lies to the north of the river while the Mayuranathaswami Temple lies a mile to its south. There is a bathing ghat on the Cauvery river. Agriculture is the most widely practised occupation.

The climate of Mayiladuthurai is similar to the climate prevailing in the rest of the Cauvery Delta. The average maximum temperature is 39.4 degrees Celsius while the average minimum temperature is 32.8 degrees Celsius. The average annual rainfall is 1,125 mm.

The Mayuranathaswami and Dakshinamoorthi temples are built in the Dravidian style of architecture. The Mayuranathaswami Temple was built during the time of the Medieval Cholas and is 719 feet long and 52 feet wide. The gopuram at the eastern entrance is 164 feet high. The idol of the Hindu goddess Durga in the temple is considered to be one of the best. Within the Mayuranathaswami temple, there is a carving of a devotee of Shiva trying to cut off his own head as an offering to the God. The oldest inscriptions in the shrine date to the reign of Kulothunga Chola I. The temple is maintained by the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam. The Dakshinamoorthi shrine houses an idol of the God Dakshinamoorthi mounted on a Nandhi. There is another idol of Nandhi at the bathing ghat on the Cauvery River. The Punukeeswarar Temple at Kornad and Sri Kasi Viswanathaswami Temple are the other important Hindu temples in Mayiladuthurai. There is a Vishnu temple at Thiruvilandur on the northern banks of the Cauvery.