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**9mm_fan** · 11-17-2005, 08:00 AM

I am not so sure that 'maruthai' as an earlier name for the modern Madurai is a joke. The Sangam work, 'Paripaatal' mentions in many places that 'Thiru marutha thurai' exits on the banks of vaigai,near the pANdiya capital.

Perhaps when the third capital/sangam had to be established after the destruction of Then Madurai and Kapaatapuram, PANdiya king renamed the Maruthath thurai (or Maruthai)on the banks of Vaigai as Mathurai, based on Then Madurai. (Often folklore -here the unrefined usage of the word maruthai- had proved to be a major source of intuition in properly establishing the correct human history.

Modern Madurai perhaps also took the name Alaivaay, (I differ here from J.B) remnescent of the alternate name of Kapaatapuram (a city on the banks of sea - alai vaay). (Incidentally Thiruchendur also had another name ThirucIr alaivaay during Sangam era. Thiruchendur is closer to Korkai, the legendary PANdiya port. After the second deluge, PANdiya king was supposed to have moved to a place called Manalur, again closer to Korkai, before moving on to establish the present Madurai. There is also a major town in Kerala with the name aalavaay near ErnakuLam, perhaps remnescent of the second pANdiya capital alaivaay or the modern Madurai.

As for the etymology of Then Madurai, there are two theories.

The first one is related to the word 'Mathirai' which is derived from the base 'Mathi' meening moon, the clan deity of PANdiya (mathikkulam - lunar dynasty, just like Choza was kathirava kulam-solar dynasty and Chera was thIkkulam-fire dynasty). With this theory, the meaning of Madurai may be 'the city of the lunar dynasty'.

An alternate theory is from the base 'mathil'-meaning ramparts-fort etc. The meaning of Mathurai would then mean 'walled city'. If we accept both the theories, the combined meaning would be 'the capital city of the lunar dynasty'.

Incidentally, this concept of capital city being called walled city is similar to the name Beijing (northern walled city), Chunjing (central walled city), Nanjing (southern walled city), Tokyo (eastern walled city) Kyoto (Walled city in the east) etc.

Two other Sangam era capitals in Tamil nadu also have names employing similar concept, namely Uraiyur - the place where the King and the government resides, Karuvur- the place which is central to the country meaning the place where King and the govt. resides.

I think there is uniformity in the concept of naming the three cities Mathurai, Uraiyur and Karuvuur - cities where the King and the govt.reside.

anpudan,
RM.K.

11-17-2005, 08:00 AM	#6
9mm_fan Join Date May 2007 Age 53 Posts 5,191 Senior Member	I am not so sure that 'maruthai' as an earlier name for the modern Madurai is a joke. The Sangam work, 'Paripaatal' mentions in many places that 'Thiru marutha thurai' exits on the banks of vaigai,near the pANdiya capital. Perhaps when the third capital/sangam had to be established after the destruction of Then Madurai and Kapaatapuram, PANdiya king renamed the Maruthath thurai (or Maruthai)on the banks of Vaigai as Mathurai, based on Then Madurai. (Often folklore -here the unrefined usage of the word maruthai- had proved to be a major source of intuition in properly establishing the correct human history. Modern Madurai perhaps also took the name Alaivaay, (I differ here from J.B) remnescent of the alternate name of Kapaatapuram (a city on the banks of sea - alai vaay). (Incidentally Thiruchendur also had another name ThirucIr alaivaay during Sangam era. Thiruchendur is closer to Korkai, the legendary PANdiya port. After the second deluge, PANdiya king was supposed to have moved to a place called Manalur, again closer to Korkai, before moving on to establish the present Madurai. There is also a major town in Kerala with the name aalavaay near ErnakuLam, perhaps remnescent of the second pANdiya capital alaivaay or the modern Madurai. As for the etymology of Then Madurai, there are two theories. The first one is related to the word 'Mathirai' which is derived from the base 'Mathi' meening moon, the clan deity of PANdiya (mathikkulam - lunar dynasty, just like Choza was kathirava kulam-solar dynasty and Chera was thIkkulam-fire dynasty). With this theory, the meaning of Madurai may be 'the city of the lunar dynasty'. An alternate theory is from the base 'mathil'-meaning ramparts-fort etc. The meaning of Mathurai would then mean 'walled city'. If we accept both the theories, the combined meaning would be 'the capital city of the lunar dynasty'. Incidentally, this concept of capital city being called walled city is similar to the name Beijing (northern walled city), Chunjing (central walled city), Nanjing (southern walled city), Tokyo (eastern walled city) Kyoto (Walled city in the east) etc. Two other Sangam era capitals in Tamil nadu also have names employing similar concept, namely Uraiyur - the place where the King and the government resides, Karuvur- the place which is central to the country meaning the place where King and the govt. resides. I think there is uniformity in the concept of naming the three cities Mathurai, Uraiyur and Karuvuur - cities where the King and the govt.reside. anpudan, RM.K.
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