Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal was built by Thirumalai Nayak one of the Madurai Nayak rulers in the 17th century in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. It is situated in the south east of Meenakshi Amman Temple at a distance of two kilometers. The palace was constructed in 1636, and is an aesthetic blend of Dravidian, Islamic and European styles. One of the grandest palaces in south India,the palace excels in style and details than many of its Indian contemporaries.

After entering the Thirumalai Nayakkar palace there is a huge central courtyard which measures 3,700 square meters ( 41, 979 square feet) which is surrounded by massive circular pillars. Inside the palace, there are two portions, which are named Swarga Vilasam ( celestial pavilion) and Ranga Vilasam. In the palace complex there is the royal residence, theatre, shrine, apartments, armoury, royal bandstand, quarters, pond and garden and palanquin place. The Swarga Vilasam is used as the throne crown, which has arcaded octagon covered by a dome which is sixty to seventy feet high.

The building was constructed using foliated brickwork. The finish is done in exquisite stucco called chunnam using chunnam ( shell lime) mixed with egg white to obtain a polished and shiny texture. At present, the palace also has light and sound shows depicting the story of Silappathikaram in Tamil and English.