[TorryJens]

Ennaanga Mr. JayBee. )
What is the connection, please?
Ennai homework seiyya cholla maatteenga-nu namburen. )

[Paul Bunyan]

In a discussion forum, someone made the claim that Madurai was named after Mathura. Do let me know of the statement's strength.
I am reproducing his post here...

Madurai incidentally was named after Mathura.

Mathura is very very very old, and there is historical evidence to show that Madurai was
named after Mathura because it was the temple town of the south, analogous to Mathura. Mathura
has been a major religious and trade center for over 3000 years. It is a major city in the
Mahabharata, and ancient Buddhist and Greek writers refer to it.

Madurai, like most of the urban south, developed in AD, not BC.

by
Venkatesh G Rao on Sulekha CoffeeHouse

[HedgeYourBets]

JB, the standard explanation for "land taken by sea" myths of all cultures is the flood legend. The anthopologists usually term it a manifestation of folk memory of the great flood, melting of the ice caps at the end of the last ice age 9000BC that raised the sea level by 90 meters. They dont believe anyone had written grammar and established cities that long ago. But they consider it a definite proof that enough social organisation, and enough linguistic framework existed to propagate the memory of the great flood through generations.

The flood is mentioned found in Hindu, Judeo-Christian religions, the native american cultures, greek and mesopetomian legends also.

[HedgeYourBets]

NOV,
avar Dr.Jaybee

[Beerinkol]

There is a district in Indonesia called Madura.
Any connections?

[brraverishhh]

The Chinese and Malays do have it also
Thats what makes people pause in their tracks......
and think.
Like what I did.

[PhillipHer]

Its an island.
There is connection.
The people there speak a different language called Madurese which is related to Javanese.

[radikal]

That was "Then Madurai". This was on the banks of PahRuLi River in Kumari. It was swallowed once.
The second capital was Kapaata Puram on the banks of the Kumari River. This was swallowed up,later.
The third capital is Madurai(present).

[softy54534]

Jay Bee wrote "In Medan, there are the Hindus of the Batak tribe". What is interesting about these Batak tribe is that some of the tribal clan names are Tamilized Sankrit names such as "Mukham", "Sinkam" etc. All sorts of Indians immigrated to South Esat Asia during and after Gupta period but only this Batak tribe still maintains its connection with the Tamils.

[MannoFr]

>>>>>From: vj (@ chme6pc4.ecn.purdue.edu) on: Tue Aug 24 18:06:24
Dr. JayBee,
Do I take your words as a hypothesis ? How would you 'counter' the theory that Madurai was named after Mathura? >From: kiru (@ surf0004.sybase.com) on: Tue Aug 24 20:22:46
Another theory is that 'maruthai' maruvi became madurai. 'maruthai' is a kind of tree ??

[doctorzlo]

Very informative thread. I heard that there is some connection between our Madurai and that of Madrid in Spain. Kindly plz elloborate.