Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal - Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Thirumalai Nayak Palace is a 17th-century palace erected in 1636 AD by King Tirumala Nayaka, a king of Madurai's Nayaka dynasty who ruled Madurai from 1623–59, in the city of Madurai, India. This Palace is a classic fusion of Dravidian and Rajput styles. The building, which can be seen today, was the main Palace, in which the king lived. The original Palace Complex was four times bigger than the present structure. In its heyday, the palace was considered to be one of the wonders of the South. This palace is situated 2 km south east of the Meenakshi Amman Temple.

The Nayaks of Madurai ruled this Kingdom from 1545 until the 1740s and Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1659) was one of their greatest kings notable for various buildings in and around Madurai. During the 17th centuries the Madurai Kingdom had Portuguese, Dutch and other Europeans as traders, missionaries and visiting travellers. Over a span of 400 years many parts of the buildings were suffered much by time, and not inconsiderably... by the destructive effects of war; a few, however, are sufficiently in repair to be converted into use by the garrison, as granaries, store-houses, powder magazines during time of East India Company. King Thirumalai Nayak’s grandson had demolished much of the fine structure and removed most of the jewels and woodcarvings in order to build his own palace in Tiruchirapalli. However Lord Napier, the Governor of Madras, had partially restored the palace in 1866-72, and the subsequent restoration works carried out several years ago, today, we get to see the Entrance Gate, The Main Hall and the Dance Hall.

After independence, the Thirumalai Palace was declared as a national monument and is now under the protection of the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department. This palace is open for the visitors from 9am to 5pm and the entry ticket price is Rs.10.

Many films are shot in the Palace, primarily due to the large pillars present.

Notable films are Maniratnam's "Bombay" ("Kannalane" song), "Guru" ("Tera Bina" Song) etc. Vikram starrer "Bheemaa" ("Ragasiya Kanavugal" song)

The palace is well equipped to perform light and sound shows depicting the story of Silappathikaram both in Tamil and English languages.