Tirumalai Nayak (r. 1623–1659) was a Tamil king who reigned
from 1623 to 1659.
The greatest monarch of the Nayak dynasty in southern India,
who used the fall of the Vijayanagar empire to dominate most of contemporary
Tamil Nadu from Madurai, the capital city.
During Tirumalai's reign, the peace and prosperity were
symbolized by two great works of monumental architecture: his royal palace and
the massive Minakshi temple, which was named after the goddess who was
considered Madurai's patron deity.
Surprisingly, the temple was the city's true ceremonial
center, as shown by its location and the processional avenues that surround it.
Tirumalisai (Tirumalisai) is a Tamil word that means
"Tirumalisa (9th c.) One of the Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints who
flourished during the seventh and tenth centuries in southern India.
The Alvars were all worshippers of Vishnu, and their
emphasis on ardent devotion (bhakti) to a personal deity, expressed via hymns
sung in Tamil, revolutionized and reinvigorated Hindu religious life.
Tirumalisai was the son of a sage and a heavenly nymph
(apsara) who was abandoned by his parents at birth, according to legend.
He was discovered and nurtured by a low-status guy who
referred to his foster kid by the name of their community.
More details may be found in Kamil Zvelebil's Tamil
Literature, published in 1975.
