The district of Madura takes its name from its chieftown. The word is spelt Madurai in Tamil, and some historians (like Yule and Burnell) say that it is generally supposed to be the Tamil form of the name of Mathura, the very ancient and holy city of the Hindus. They point out that the name Madura seems to have been a favourite among eastern settlements under Hindu influence and there are places so called in Sri Lanka and to the north of Mandalayai and an Island ...