Kumbakonam
Encyclopedia
Kumbakonam (kūmpakōṇam), also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town
and a special grade municipality
in the Thanjavur district
in the southeast India
n state of Tamil Nadu
. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai
, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk
of Thanjavur district. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River
to the north and the Arasalar River
to the south. According to the 2011 census, Kumbakonam has a population of 140,113. It has a Hindu
majority; but it also has sizeable Muslim
and Christian
populations. The Kumbakonam Urban Aglomeration, comprising Kumbakonam, Darasuarm and Ullur, has a population of 1,67,098. Other small towns surrounding Kumbakonam like Swamimalai, Thirunageswaram
, Thirubhuvanam, Annal Agraharam, Sakkottai, Theperumannalur, Tiruvidaimardhur, Perumandi, Patteswaram, Korannatu Karuppur, etc., have not been included in the Kumbakonam Urban Aglomeration which would have increased the population near to 3,00,000.
Kumbakonam dates back to the Sangam period and was ruled by the Early Cholas
, Pallavas, Medieval Cholas
, Later Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks
and the Thanjavur Marathas
. It rose to be a prominent city between the 7th and 9th centuries AD, when it served as a capital of the Medieval Cholas. The town reached the zenith of its prosperity during the British Raj
when it was a prominent centre of European education and Hindu culture; and it acquired the cultural name, the "Cambridge
of South India
". In 1866, Kumbakonam was officially constituted as a municipality, which today comprises 45 wards, making it the second largest municipality in Thanjavur district.
Kumbakonam is known as the "temple town" due to the prevalence of a number of temples
here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival which attracts people from all over the globe. The main products produced are brass, bronze, copper and lead vessels, silk and cotton cloths, pottery, sugar, indigo and rice.
to the mythical pot, the Sanskrit kumbha
of the Hindu god Brahma
, which according to Hindu
legend, contained the seed of all living beings on earth. The kumbha is believed to have been displaced by a pralaya
or deluge and ultimately came to rest at the spot where the town of Kumbakonam now stands. This event is now commemorated in the Mahamaham festival held every 12 years. Kumbakonam is also known as Baskarashetram and Kumbam from time immemorial and as Kudanthai in ancient times. Kumbakonam is also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India. Kumbakonam was also formerly known by the Tamil
name of Kudamukku.
Kumbakonam is also identified with the Sangam age settlement of Kudavayil. Winslow, in his 1862 Tamil-English dictionary, associates negative connotations with Kumbakonam. However, Winslow later apologized for his erroneous claim.
. Kumbakonam is identified with the town of Malaikūrram which had served as the Chola
capital as early as the 7th century and with the town of Solamaligai which had also served as a Chola capital. According to the Sinnamanur plates, Kumbakonam was the site of a battle between the Pallava
king Sri Vallabha
and the then Pandya
king in 859 and between the Pandya king Srimara Pandya and a confederacy of the Cholas and Gangas.
Kumbakonam came into the limelight during the rule of the Medieval Cholas
who ruled from the 9th century AD to the 12th century AD. The town of Pazhaiyaarai, 8 kilometres from Kumbakonam, was the capital of the Chola Empire in the 9th century.
Following the decline of the Chola kingdom, Kumbakonam was conquered by the Pandyas in 1290.
Following the demise of the Pandya kingdom in the 14th century, Kumbakonam was conquered by the Vijayanagar Empire.Krishnadevaraya
, the emperor of Vijayanagara
visited the town in 1524 and is believed to have bathed in the famous Mahamaham tank during the Mahamaham festival. Kumbakonam was ruled by the Madurai Nayaks and the Thanjavur Nayaks
from 1535 to 1673 when it fell to the Marathas
. Each of these foreign dynasties had a considerable impact on the demographics
and culture
of the region. When the Vijayanagar Empire fell in 1565, there was a mass influx of poets, musicians and cultural artists from the kingdom.
According to the chronicles of the Hindu monastic institution, the Kanchi matha
, the matha
was temporarily transferred to Kumbakonam in the 1780s following an invasion of Kanchipuram
by Hyder Ali
of Mysore. When Tipu Sultan
invaded the east coast of South India in 1784, Kumbakonam bore the brunt of his invasion. The produce fell sharply and the economy collapsed. Kumbakonam did not recover from the calamity till the beginning of the 19th century.
Kumbakonam was eventually ceded to the British East India Company
in 1799 by the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II
and reached the zenith of its prosperity in the late 19th and early 20th century when it emerged as an important center of Brahminism, Hindu religion and European education in the Madras Presidency. The opening of the Suez Canal
in 1869 fostered trade contacts with the United Kingdom
. In 1877, railway lines were completed linking Kumbakonam with the ports of Madras, Tuticorin and Nagapattinam
. The Tanjore district court was established in Kumbakonam in 1806 and functioned from 1806 to 1863.
Kumbakonam continued to grow even after India's independence though it fell behind the nearby town of Thanjavur in terms of population and administrative importance. The population growth rate began to fall sharply after 1981. This decline has been attributed to limited land area and lack of industrial potential.. On July 16, 2004, a devastating fire in the Sri Krishna school killed more than 80 children.
, 96 km east of Tiruchirappalli, and about 40 km north-east of Thanjavur. It lies in the region called the "Old delta
" which comprises the north-western taluks of Thanjavur district that have been naturally irrigated by the waters of the Cauvery and its tributaries for centuries in contrast to the "New Delta" comprising the southern taluks that were brought under irrigation by the construction of the Grand Anicut
canal and the Vadavar canal in 1934. It has an average elevation of 26 metres (85 ft). The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River
on the north and Arasalar River
on the south.
Although the Cauvery delta is usually hot, the climate of Kumbakonam and other surrounding towns is generally healthy and moderate. Kumbakonam is cooler than Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. The maximum temperature in summer is about 40 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius. Kumbakonam receives an annual rainfall of 114.78 centimetres every year. The region is covered with mainly alluvial or black soil
which is conducive for rice cultivation. Other crops grown in Kumbakonam include mulberry
, cereals and sugarcane
.
The flora of the Cauvery Delta mostly comprises palm trees. The town of Kumbakonam is surrounded by extensive paddy field
s. Methods of irrigation were considerably improved following the opening of the Mettur Dam
in 1934. The fauna
of the Cauvery Delta is limited to cattle
and goats. The town is situated at the western flank of the Kumbakonam-Shiyali ridge
which runs along the Kollidam river basin separating the Ariyalur
-Pondicherry depression from the Nagapattinam
depression
. This granular ridge projects further eastwards penetrating the Pondicherry depression and forms a hard layer of cretaceous
rock underneath the sedimentary top soil.
Residential area
s make up 32.09% of the town's total area while commercial enterprises and industrial units
make up 2.75 and 1.21 percent respectively. The non-urban portion of the town constitutes about 44.72 percent of the total area. Kumbakonam has a total of 45 slums with a population of 49,117. The town has around 141 kilometres of roads, 544 municipal roads making up 122.29 kilometres. There are also around 18.71 kilometres of state highways running through Kumbakonam. Over 87% of the municipal roads are paved. The town gets its water supply mainly through the Valayapettai headworks across the river Cauvery and the Kudithangi headworks across the river Kollidam.
and matha
s. There are around 188 Hindu temples within the municipal limits of Kumbakonam. Apart from these, there several thousand temples around the town thereby giving the town the sobriquets temple town and City of temples. The most important temples present in Kumbakonam are the Sarangapani temple
, the Kumbeswara temple
and the Ramaswamy temple.
The Sarangapani temple was constructed by Nayak kings in the 15th century and is twelve storeys high. The Ramaswamy temple, which has scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana
depicted on its walls, was constructed by the Nayak ruler Raghunatha Nayak in the 16th century. Its principal idol of Lord Rama is made from a single piece of saligrama. The Kumbeswara temple is considered to be the oldest Saivite shrine in the town. It was constructed by the Medieval Cholas in the 7th century AD. At the centre of this temple, lies the Mahamaham tank where pilgrims from all parts of India bathe once every 12 years during the Mahamaham festival. The temple of Nagesvara has a separate shrine for the Sun god Surya
who is believed to have worshipped the Hindu God Shiva
at this place. Kumbakonam has one of the few temples dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma.
Kumbakonam also has a number of Hindu monastic institutions or mathas. The Sri Sankara matha of Kanchipuram was moved to Kumbakonam during the reign of Pratap Singh
and remained in Kumbakonam until the 1960s. There are also two Vellalar
mathas in the nearby towns of Dharmapuram
and Thiruppanandal
and a Raghavendra matha in Kumbakonam. There is also a branch of the Vaishnavite Ahobila mutt
in Kumbakonam.
The Thirupureswarar temple of Patteeswaram
, the Oppliyappan Sannadhi, the Swamimalai Murugan temple
and the Airavateswarar temple at Darasuram
are located in the vicinity of Kumbakonam.
Kumbakonam has a strong Hindu majority; but it also has sizeable Muslim and Christian populations. Among Hindus, Kallars, Thondaimandala Mudaliars
, Brahmins
and Dalits are the numerically dominant Tamil-speaking groups. Brahmins are more numerous and affluent in Kumbakonam than in other parts of Tamil Nadu. There are also large populations of Moopanars, Vanniyars, Konars and Nadars. Amongst Muslims, the Sunnis are dominant. However, there is also a significant Shia minority. Most of the Muslims are Marakkayars
or Labbays. The majority of Muslims in Kumbakonam are involved in commerce or maritime trade. Kumbakonam also has a large population of Protestant Christians largely due to the efforts of the German missionary Christian Friedrich Schwarz
. The Catholics in Kumbakonam are mainly affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumbakonam which was separated from the Archdiocese of Pondicherry in 1899.
The population of Kumbakonam is predominantly Tamil-speaking. The commonly used dialects is the Central Tamil dialect
. There are significant minorities speaking Thanjavur Marathi,Telugu
, Kannada
and Saurashtrian
as their mother tongue.
The Kumbakonam municipality was officially constituted in the year 1866. Initially, the municipality exercised its jurisdiction over an area of 7.68 km2 and its affairs were administered by a town-level committee or municipal committee. Later it was constituted special-grade municipality and currently, exercises its authority over an area of 12.58 km2 out of the town's total area of 64.02 km2. It comprises 45 wards and is the second biggest municipality in Thanjavur district.
The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and the Computer Wing. All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the supreme executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 45 members, one each from each of the 45 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson who is assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.
Kumbakonam is a part of the Kumbakonam Legislative Assembly constituency
and elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. Despite being a hub of militant Communism
in the 1950s, Kumbakonam voted for the Indian National Congress
in the first five state elections held between 1952 and 1977. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
won the elections in 1977 and between 1977 and 1989, the seat was alternatively held by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
or the Indian National Congress. Since 1989, barring an interregnum of five years between 1991 to 1996, the seat has been held by Ko. Si. Mani of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.At present K.Anbalagan of DMK is the MLA of Kumbakonam Constituency. Kumbakonam was a part of the Kumbakonam Lok Sabha constituency
from 1952 till 1977, when the constituency was disbanded. The assembly segments in the erstwhile Kumbakonam Lok Sabha constituency were included in the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency and have remained so ever since.
and pottery. Kumbakonam is considered to be the chief commercial centre for the Thanjavur region. As of 1991, around 30% of the population was engaged in economic activity. Rice production is an important activity in Kumbakonam. Of 194 industrial units in Kumbakonam, 57 are rice and flour mills. Kumbakonam is also a leading producer of betel leaves and nuts; the betel leaves produced in Kumbakonam are ranked amongst the best in the world in terms of quality. The A. R. R. Agencies, a leading manufacturer of arecanut slices has its factory in Kumbakonam. The main administrative offices of T. S. R. & Co., a cosmetic company, are also based in Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam is also famous for its metal works. The Tamil Nadu Handicraft Development Corporation had been established in the nearby town of Swamimalai in order to train bronze artisans. Kumbakonam is an important silk-weaving centre and more than 5,000 families were employed either directly or indirectly in silk weaving. Silk weaved in Kumbakonam is regarded as one of the finest in the subcontinent. They are largely used in the manufacture of Thirubuvanam
silk sarees. Nachiarkovil near Kumbakonam is famous form Bells and Lamps made of brass.Also Kumbakonam was also an important salt-manufacturing area during British rule. In recent times, Kumbakonam has emerged as an important manufacturer of fertilizers..
Apart from its manufactures, tourism is also a major source of income for the town. The Hindu temples and colonial-era buildings have been recognised for their tourism potential. The 12th-century Airaveswarar temple in the town of Darasuram near Kumbakonam is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kumbakonam is also frequented by art collectors interested in handloom cloth and other curios. Banks such as the Bank of Baroda
, State Bank of India
, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Canara Bank
, Indian Bank
, Indian Overseas Bank
, Bank of India
, Union Bank of India
, Corporation Bank
, Lakshmi Vilas Bank
, ICICI Bank
, ING Vysya Bank
, Karur Vysya Bank
, Punjab National Bank
, Syndicate Bank
IDBI Bank, HDFC Bank , Axis Bank, South Indian Bank Vijaya Bank
etc., have their branches in Kumbakonam. The City Union Bank
was founded in Kumbakonam in 1904 as the Kumbakonam Bank Limited and is based in Kumbakonam.
, which is 94 kilometres from Kumbakonam. The nearest seaport is located at Nagapattinam
whch is about 50 kilometres away. There are regular government and private bus services to Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Chidambaram
, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore
, Madurai
, Pondicherry, and Tirunelveli
. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
(KSRTC) operates daily services from Bangalore
to Kumbakonam. On March 1, 1972, the Cholan Roadways Corporation was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu
with its headquarters in Kumbakonam in order to improve transportation facilities in the districts of central Tamil Nadu. The organisation acquired the fleets of buses earlier owned by private operators - Sri Ramavilas Service, Raman and Raman Limited and Sathi Vilas. On July 1, 1997, the organization was renamed Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Kumbakonam and presently forms division no. 1 of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. The corporation runs a reconditioning unit and a tyre re-threading unit in Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam is connected by rail with most important towns and cities in South India. The Mysore-Kumbakonam Express which has been recently extended to Mayiladuthurai
connects Kumbakonam with Mysore. The train also halts at Bangalore on its way to Mysore and back. The Tiruchirapalli-Kumbakonam passenger train connects Kumbakonam with Tiruchirapalli Madurai to Tirupati Express stops at Kumbakonam .
The traditional modes of transportation are bullock cart
s. It is recorded that as late as the 1950s, landlords and rich farmers travelled mostly by bullock carts with the exception of rare long journeys which they undertook by buses or motor vehicles. Kumbakonam has an efficient local bus transportation system. The mofussil bus stand is located in the south-east of Kumbakonam and is situated just opposite to the Arignar Anna Bus Stand where the long-distance buses are stationed. There are occasional ferries that transport people and goods across the Cauvery. Till the beginning of the 20th century, students of the Government Arts College used to cross the Cauvery on coracle
ferries in order to attend college. Since the construction of a bridge in 1944, the practice of transporting men and goods by coracles has greatly diminished.
, established in Kumbakonam in 1867, is one of the oldest educational institutions in the Madras Presidency. It began as a provincial school on October 19, 1854, before being upgraded to a government college in 1867. It was affiliated to the Madras University in 1877. One of the early principals of the college was William Archer Porter
, a Cambridge Wrangler, who, along with T. Gopala Rao
, was instrumental in its elevation to a government college. He is also credited with framing the college's acclaimed educational policy. In 1881, it became a full-fledged college and high school courses ceased to be taught. Notable faculty members included U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
while the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan
who studied from 1904 until 1906 when he dropped out, was one of its noted pupils. The Government Arts College for Women was started in 1963 and had a total strength of 2,597 pupils in February 2006. The college offers various undergraduate courses and one post-graduate course and is affiliated to the Bharathidasan University
. Other colleges in Kumbakonam include Idhya Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Annai College of Arts and Sciences,Annai Engineering College, Mass College of Arts & Sciense, KSK Engineering College,As Salam Engineering College, Sankara Arts and science college, SKSS Arts & Science College, Tirupananadal,PRIST University Satellite Campus,Government College Of Fine Arts and Arasu Engineering College. The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy
has a satellite campus based in Kumbakonam where arts,sciences,engineering are taught.
The Native High School, founded in 1876, and the Town Higher Secondary School
, one of whose students was Srinivasa Ramanujan
, were some of the oldest schools in the Madras Presidency. At present, there a total of 36 government and private schools in Kumbakonam.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and a special grade municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
in the southeast India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk
Kumbakonam taluk
Kumbakonam taluk is a taluk of Thanjavur district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters of the taluk is the town of Kumbakonam.- Population :...
of Thanjavur district. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River
Kaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
to the north and the Arasalar River
Arasalar River
The river Arasalar is a branch of Cauvery which split into 5 different rivers when it enters into Tanjore District from Trichy. Exactly in the place near to Pullambadi where the River Cauvery been stopped by Lower Anaicut and from Tiruvaiyaru this Arasalar separates from River Cauvery....
to the south. According to the 2011 census, Kumbakonam has a population of 140,113. It has a Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
majority; but it also has sizeable Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
populations. The Kumbakonam Urban Aglomeration, comprising Kumbakonam, Darasuarm and Ullur, has a population of 1,67,098. Other small towns surrounding Kumbakonam like Swamimalai, Thirunageswaram
Thirunageswaram
Thirunageswaram is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thirunageswaram is located 8 km east of Kumbakonam.-Demographics:...
, Thirubhuvanam, Annal Agraharam, Sakkottai, Theperumannalur, Tiruvidaimardhur, Perumandi, Patteswaram, Korannatu Karuppur, etc., have not been included in the Kumbakonam Urban Aglomeration which would have increased the population near to 3,00,000.
Kumbakonam dates back to the Sangam period and was ruled by the Early Cholas
Early Cholas
The Early Cholas of the pre and post Sangam period were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Their early capitals were Urayur and Kaveripattinam...
, Pallavas, Medieval Cholas
Medieval Cholas
Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century C.E. and established the greatest empire South India had seen. They successfully united the South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influence in the Southeast Asian countries such as Srivijaya...
, Later Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks
Thanjavur Nayaks
Thanjavur Nayaks were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 16th to the 17th century C.E. The Nayaks were subordinates of the imperial Vijayanagara emperors, and were appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagar Emperor who divided the Tamil country into three...
and the Thanjavur Marathas
Thanjavur Marathas
Thanjavur Marathas were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th to the 19th century C.E. Their native language was Marathi...
. It rose to be a prominent city between the 7th and 9th centuries AD, when it served as a capital of the Medieval Cholas. The town reached the zenith of its prosperity during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
when it was a prominent centre of European education and Hindu culture; and it acquired the cultural name, the "Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
of South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
". In 1866, Kumbakonam was officially constituted as a municipality, which today comprises 45 wards, making it the second largest municipality in Thanjavur district.
Kumbakonam is known as the "temple town" due to the prevalence of a number of temples
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival which attracts people from all over the globe. The main products produced are brass, bronze, copper and lead vessels, silk and cotton cloths, pottery, sugar, indigo and rice.
Etymology
The name "Kumbakonam", roughly translated in English as the "Jug's Corner", is believed to be an allusionAllusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
to the mythical pot, the Sanskrit kumbha
Kumbha
The Kumbha , is a full vase, pot, a jar or a pitcher. In the context of Hinduism and Hindu mythology, it is also symbolic of the womb. It represents fertility, life, generative power of human beings and sustenance; and is generally associated with the mother goddesses, particularly Ganga.In...
of the Hindu god Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
, which according to Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
legend, contained the seed of all living beings on earth. The kumbha is believed to have been displaced by a pralaya
Pralaya
Pralaya, in Hindu cosmology, is an aeonic term which specifies different periods of time during which non activity situation persists, as per different formats or contexts...
or deluge and ultimately came to rest at the spot where the town of Kumbakonam now stands. This event is now commemorated in the Mahamaham festival held every 12 years. Kumbakonam is also known as Baskarashetram and Kumbam from time immemorial and as Kudanthai in ancient times. Kumbakonam is also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India. Kumbakonam was also formerly known by the Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
name of Kudamukku.
Kumbakonam is also identified with the Sangam age settlement of Kudavayil. Winslow, in his 1862 Tamil-English dictionary, associates negative connotations with Kumbakonam. However, Winslow later apologized for his erroneous claim.
History
The region around Kumbakonam was inhabited as early as the Sangam Age (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD). The present-day Kumbakonam is believed to be the site of the ancient town of Kudavayil where the Early Chola king Karikala held his court. Some scholars identify Kumbakonam as the site of the fabled prison of Kudavayir-kottam where the Chera king Kanaikkal Irumporai was imprisoned by the Early Chola king KocengannanKocengannan
Kocengannan was one of the Tamil king's of the Early Cholas mentioned in Sangam Literature. The only surviving details about his reign come from the fragmentary poems of Sangam in the Purananuru poems...
. Kumbakonam is identified with the town of Malaikūrram which had served as the Chola
Chola Dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, of Maurya Empire; the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until...
capital as early as the 7th century and with the town of Solamaligai which had also served as a Chola capital. According to the Sinnamanur plates, Kumbakonam was the site of a battle between the Pallava
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
king Sri Vallabha
Sri vallabha
"Sri" is a Sanskrit word denoting the mythological Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. She is the wife of Lord Vishnu."Vallabha" in Sanskrit means husband."Sri vallabha" refers to the husband of Lakshmi, Lord vishnu....
and the then Pandya
Pandya Kingdom
The Pandyas were fierce warriors who took part in the Kurukshetra War as per the epic Mahabharata. A Pandya king named Sarangadhwaja, is mentioned as participating in the Kurukshetra War, siding with the Pandavas. It is not clear if Pandyas were linked to the Pandavas of North India...
king in 859 and between the Pandya king Srimara Pandya and a confederacy of the Cholas and Gangas.
Kumbakonam came into the limelight during the rule of the Medieval Cholas
Medieval Cholas
Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century C.E. and established the greatest empire South India had seen. They successfully united the South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influence in the Southeast Asian countries such as Srivijaya...
who ruled from the 9th century AD to the 12th century AD. The town of Pazhaiyaarai, 8 kilometres from Kumbakonam, was the capital of the Chola Empire in the 9th century.
Following the decline of the Chola kingdom, Kumbakonam was conquered by the Pandyas in 1290.
Following the demise of the Pandya kingdom in the 14th century, Kumbakonam was conquered by the Vijayanagar Empire.Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya
Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya , , , and also known as Krishna Devarayulu in some inscriptions was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians...
, the emperor of Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
visited the town in 1524 and is believed to have bathed in the famous Mahamaham tank during the Mahamaham festival. Kumbakonam was ruled by the Madurai Nayaks and the Thanjavur Nayaks
Thanjavur Nayaks
Thanjavur Nayaks were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 16th to the 17th century C.E. The Nayaks were subordinates of the imperial Vijayanagara emperors, and were appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagar Emperor who divided the Tamil country into three...
from 1535 to 1673 when it fell to the Marathas
Thanjavur Marathas
Thanjavur Marathas were the rulers of Thanjavur principality of Tamil Nadu between the 17th to the 19th century C.E. Their native language was Marathi...
. Each of these foreign dynasties had a considerable impact on the demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of the region. When the Vijayanagar Empire fell in 1565, there was a mass influx of poets, musicians and cultural artists from the kingdom.
According to the chronicles of the Hindu monastic institution, the Kanchi matha
Kanchi matha
The Kanchi math is a Hindu monastic institutionlocated in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, one of the fivepancha-bhUta-sthalas...
, the matha
Matha
A matha ) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of Hinduism and Jainism. A matha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram.-Advaita Mathas:...
was temporarily transferred to Kumbakonam in the 1780s following an invasion of Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
by Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
of Mysore. When Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
invaded the east coast of South India in 1784, Kumbakonam bore the brunt of his invasion. The produce fell sharply and the economy collapsed. Kumbakonam did not recover from the calamity till the beginning of the 19th century.
Kumbakonam was eventually ceded to the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1799 by the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II
Serfoji II
Serfoji II was the last ruler of the Maratha principality of Tanjore to exercise absolute sovereignty over his dominions. His descendants, however, have managed to thrive as titular Maharajahs of Thanjavur to the present day...
and reached the zenith of its prosperity in the late 19th and early 20th century when it emerged as an important center of Brahminism, Hindu religion and European education in the Madras Presidency. The opening of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
in 1869 fostered trade contacts with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In 1877, railway lines were completed linking Kumbakonam with the ports of Madras, Tuticorin and Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
. The Tanjore district court was established in Kumbakonam in 1806 and functioned from 1806 to 1863.
Kumbakonam continued to grow even after India's independence though it fell behind the nearby town of Thanjavur in terms of population and administrative importance. The population growth rate began to fall sharply after 1981. This decline has been attributed to limited land area and lack of industrial potential.. On July 16, 2004, a devastating fire in the Sri Krishna school killed more than 80 children.
Geography
Kumbakonam is located at 10.97°N 79.42°E. It is situated 273 km south of ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, 96 km east of Tiruchirappalli, and about 40 km north-east of Thanjavur. It lies in the region called the "Old delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
" which comprises the north-western taluks of Thanjavur district that have been naturally irrigated by the waters of the Cauvery and its tributaries for centuries in contrast to the "New Delta" comprising the southern taluks that were brought under irrigation by the construction of the Grand Anicut
Grand Anicut
The Grand Anicut, also known as the Kallanai , is an ancient dam built on the Kaveri River in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India.It was built by the Chola king Karikalan around the 2nd Century AD and is considered one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world,...
canal and the Vadavar canal in 1934. It has an average elevation of 26 metres (85 ft). The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River
Kaveri River
The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...
on the north and Arasalar River
Arasalar River
The river Arasalar is a branch of Cauvery which split into 5 different rivers when it enters into Tanjore District from Trichy. Exactly in the place near to Pullambadi where the River Cauvery been stopped by Lower Anaicut and from Tiruvaiyaru this Arasalar separates from River Cauvery....
on the south.
Although the Cauvery delta is usually hot, the climate of Kumbakonam and other surrounding towns is generally healthy and moderate. Kumbakonam is cooler than Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. The maximum temperature in summer is about 40 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius. Kumbakonam receives an annual rainfall of 114.78 centimetres every year. The region is covered with mainly alluvial or black soil
Vertisol
In both the FAO and USA soil taxonomy, a vertisol is a soil in which there is a high content of expansive clay known as montmorillonite that forms deep cracks in drier seasons or years. Alternate shrinking and swelling causes self-mulching, where the soil material consistently mixes itself, causing...
which is conducive for rice cultivation. Other crops grown in Kumbakonam include mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
, cereals and sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
.
The flora of the Cauvery Delta mostly comprises palm trees. The town of Kumbakonam is surrounded by extensive paddy field
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
s. Methods of irrigation were considerably improved following the opening of the Mettur Dam
Mettur Dam
The Mettur Dam is a large dam in India built in 1934.It was constructed in a gorge, where the Kaveri River enters the plains. The dam is one of the oldest in India . It provides irrigation facilities to a part of Salem, the length of Erode, Namakkal, Karur, Tiruchirappali and Thanjavur district for...
in 1934. The fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
of the Cauvery Delta is limited to cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and goats. The town is situated at the western flank of the Kumbakonam-Shiyali ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
which runs along the Kollidam river basin separating the Ariyalur
Ariyalur
Ariyalur is a Municipality in Ariyalur district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.-Geography:Ariyalur is a municipality and headquarters of Ariyalur District in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is rich in limestone resources. Big industrial houses like Birlas , India cements, Dalmia cements, Madras...
-Pondicherry depression from the Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
depression
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
. This granular ridge projects further eastwards penetrating the Pondicherry depression and forms a hard layer of cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
rock underneath the sedimentary top soil.
Residential area
Residential area
A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit...
s make up 32.09% of the town's total area while commercial enterprises and industrial units
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
make up 2.75 and 1.21 percent respectively. The non-urban portion of the town constitutes about 44.72 percent of the total area. Kumbakonam has a total of 45 slums with a population of 49,117. The town has around 141 kilometres of roads, 544 municipal roads making up 122.29 kilometres. There are also around 18.71 kilometres of state highways running through Kumbakonam. Over 87% of the municipal roads are paved. The town gets its water supply mainly through the Valayapettai headworks across the river Cauvery and the Kudithangi headworks across the river Kollidam.
Temples
Kumbakonam is known for its templesHindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
and matha
Matha
A matha ) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of Hinduism and Jainism. A matha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram.-Advaita Mathas:...
s. There are around 188 Hindu temples within the municipal limits of Kumbakonam. Apart from these, there several thousand temples around the town thereby giving the town the sobriquets temple town and City of temples. The most important temples present in Kumbakonam are the Sarangapani temple
Sarangapani Temple
Sarangapani Temple is a place of worship, dedicated to Vishnu as the Supreme God of the Vaishnava traditions of Hinduism.It lies in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is about 1 miles away from Kumbakonam railway station. Which is on the Chennai - Tanjore main line. is one of the "Divya...
, the Kumbeswara temple
Adi Kumbeswarar Temple
Adi Kumbeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located at the center of the Tamil Nadu town of Kumbakonam, India. The Hindu festival of Mahamaham is associated with this temple...
and the Ramaswamy temple.
The Sarangapani temple was constructed by Nayak kings in the 15th century and is twelve storeys high. The Ramaswamy temple, which has scenes from the Hindu epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
depicted on its walls, was constructed by the Nayak ruler Raghunatha Nayak in the 16th century. Its principal idol of Lord Rama is made from a single piece of saligrama. The Kumbeswara temple is considered to be the oldest Saivite shrine in the town. It was constructed by the Medieval Cholas in the 7th century AD. At the centre of this temple, lies the Mahamaham tank where pilgrims from all parts of India bathe once every 12 years during the Mahamaham festival. The temple of Nagesvara has a separate shrine for the Sun god Surya
Surya
Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
who is believed to have worshipped the Hindu God Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
at this place. Kumbakonam has one of the few temples dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma.
Kumbakonam also has a number of Hindu monastic institutions or mathas. The Sri Sankara matha of Kanchipuram was moved to Kumbakonam during the reign of Pratap Singh
Pratapsingh of Thanjavur
Pratapsingh or Pratap Singh was the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur from 1739 to 1763. His rise to power followed three years of anarchy and civil war and restored the state to its previous greatness...
and remained in Kumbakonam until the 1960s. There are also two Vellalar
Vellalar
Vellalars were, originally, an elite caste of Tamil agricultural landlords in Tamil Nadu, Kerala states in India and in neighbouring Sri Lanka; they were the nobility, aristocracy of the ancient Tamil order and had close relations with the different royal dynasties...
mathas in the nearby towns of Dharmapuram
Dharmapuram Adheenam
Dharmapuram Adheenam is a Saivite mutt or monastic institution based in the town of Mayiladuthurai, India. As of 1987, there were a total of 27 Shiva temples under the control of the adheenam.- References :*...
and Thiruppanandal
Thiruppanandal Adheenam
The Thiruppanandal Adheenam is a Saivite monastic institution based in the town of Thiruppanandal in Tamil Nadu, India. As of 2003, the Thiruppanandal Adheenam was one of the biggest landowning agencies in Thanjavur district....
and a Raghavendra matha in Kumbakonam. There is also a branch of the Vaishnavite Ahobila mutt
Ahobila Mutt
Ahobila Mutt is a Vadakalai Sri Vaishnava religious institution established 600 years ago at Ahobilam in India by Athivan Satakopa Svami...
in Kumbakonam.
The Thirupureswarar temple of Patteeswaram
Patteeswaram
Patteeswaram is a village, eight kilometres from Kumbakonam in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The village was named after Patti, the calf of Kamadhenu, the divine cow in Hindu mythology.- Patteswaram village :-Temples:...
, the Oppliyappan Sannadhi, the Swamimalai Murugan temple
Swamimalai Murugan Temple
Swamimalai Murugan Temple is a Hindu temple located in the township of Swamimalai, 5 km from Kumbakonam on the banks of a tributary of river Cauvery, 250 km from Chennai and is near to Thanjavur in India.-Arupadai Veedu:...
and the Airavateswarar temple at Darasuram
Airavatesvara Temple
Airavatesvara Temple is a Hindu temple of Dravidian architecture located in the town of Darasuram, near Kumbakonam in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
are located in the vicinity of Kumbakonam.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Kumbakonam has a population of 140,113. The male population is 69,350 while the female population is 70,763. Kumbakonam has a literacy rate of 91.70% with a female literacy rate of 88.30%. Kumbakonam town and its suburbs constitute the 22nd largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu and the 337th in India.Kumbakonam has a strong Hindu majority; but it also has sizeable Muslim and Christian populations. Among Hindus, Kallars, Thondaimandala Mudaliars
Thondaimandala Mudaliars
Thondaimandala Mudaliar is a Tamil caste in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They trace their lineage to the ancient Chola Velirs...
, Brahmins
Tamil Brahmin
Tamil Brahmins are Tamil-speaking Brahmins from Tamil Nadu who have settled in other South Indian states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka...
and Dalits are the numerically dominant Tamil-speaking groups. Brahmins are more numerous and affluent in Kumbakonam than in other parts of Tamil Nadu. There are also large populations of Moopanars, Vanniyars, Konars and Nadars. Amongst Muslims, the Sunnis are dominant. However, there is also a significant Shia minority. Most of the Muslims are Marakkayars
Marakkar
Marakkar or Maraikayar or Maraicayar or Maricar or Marican is a distinctive Tamil- and Malayalam-speaking Muslim people of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India.Traditionally, the Maricars engaged in mercantile commerce...
or Labbays. The majority of Muslims in Kumbakonam are involved in commerce or maritime trade. Kumbakonam also has a large population of Protestant Christians largely due to the efforts of the German missionary Christian Friedrich Schwarz
Christian Friedrich Schwarz
Christian Friedrich Schwarz was a German Lutheran Protestant missionary to India, born on 8 October 1726 at Sonnenburg, in the electorate of Brandenburg, Prussia. Having learned Tamil to assist in a translation of the Bible into that language, he was led to form the intention of becoming a...
. The Catholics in Kumbakonam are mainly affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumbakonam which was separated from the Archdiocese of Pondicherry in 1899.
The population of Kumbakonam is predominantly Tamil-speaking. The commonly used dialects is the Central Tamil dialect
Central Tamil dialect
The Central Tamil dialect is a dialect of Tamil spoken in the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Tiruchirapalli in central Tamil Nadu, India and to some extent, in the neighbouring Cuddalore and Pudukkottai districts.Along with Madurai Tamil, the Central Tamil dialect is considered...
. There are significant minorities speaking Thanjavur Marathi,Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
and Saurashtrian
Saurashtra language
Sourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...
as their mother tongue.
Municipal administration and politics
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The Kumbakonam municipality was officially constituted in the year 1866. Initially, the municipality exercised its jurisdiction over an area of 7.68 km2 and its affairs were administered by a town-level committee or municipal committee. Later it was constituted special-grade municipality and currently, exercises its authority over an area of 12.58 km2 out of the town's total area of 64.02 km2. It comprises 45 wards and is the second biggest municipality in Thanjavur district.
The functions of the municipality are devolved into six departments: General, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, Town planning and the Computer Wing. All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the supreme executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 45 members, one each from each of the 45 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson who is assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.
Kumbakonam is a part of the Kumbakonam Legislative Assembly constituency
Kumbakonam (State Assembly Constituency)
Kumbakonam is a state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu. Elections and winners in the constituency are listed below.- Madras State :- Tamil Nadu :- References :...
and elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. Despite being a hub of militant Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the 1950s, Kumbakonam voted for the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in the first five state elections held between 1952 and 1977. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
won the elections in 1977 and between 1977 and 1989, the seat was alternatively held by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...
or the Indian National Congress. Since 1989, barring an interregnum of five years between 1991 to 1996, the seat has been held by Ko. Si. Mani of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.At present K.Anbalagan of DMK is the MLA of Kumbakonam Constituency. Kumbakonam was a part of the Kumbakonam Lok Sabha constituency
Kumbakonam (Lok Sabha constituency)
Kumbakonam was a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. It existed from 1951 to 1977 when it was abolished-Assembly segments:Thanjavur Lok Sabha constituency was previously composed of the following assembly segments :#Orathanad#Tiruvaiyaru#Papanasam...
from 1952 till 1977, when the constituency was disbanded. The assembly segments in the erstwhile Kumbakonam Lok Sabha constituency were included in the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency and have remained so ever since.
Economy
The important products of Kumbakonam include brass, bronze, copper and lead vessels, silk and cotton cloths, sugar, indigoIndigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
and pottery. Kumbakonam is considered to be the chief commercial centre for the Thanjavur region. As of 1991, around 30% of the population was engaged in economic activity. Rice production is an important activity in Kumbakonam. Of 194 industrial units in Kumbakonam, 57 are rice and flour mills. Kumbakonam is also a leading producer of betel leaves and nuts; the betel leaves produced in Kumbakonam are ranked amongst the best in the world in terms of quality. The A. R. R. Agencies, a leading manufacturer of arecanut slices has its factory in Kumbakonam. The main administrative offices of T. S. R. & Co., a cosmetic company, are also based in Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam is also famous for its metal works. The Tamil Nadu Handicraft Development Corporation had been established in the nearby town of Swamimalai in order to train bronze artisans. Kumbakonam is an important silk-weaving centre and more than 5,000 families were employed either directly or indirectly in silk weaving. Silk weaved in Kumbakonam is regarded as one of the finest in the subcontinent. They are largely used in the manufacture of Thirubuvanam
Thirubuvanam
Tirubuvanam is a village near Saliyamangalam in the Papanasam taluk of Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu....
silk sarees. Nachiarkovil near Kumbakonam is famous form Bells and Lamps made of brass.Also Kumbakonam was also an important salt-manufacturing area during British rule. In recent times, Kumbakonam has emerged as an important manufacturer of fertilizers..
Apart from its manufactures, tourism is also a major source of income for the town. The Hindu temples and colonial-era buildings have been recognised for their tourism potential. The 12th-century Airaveswarar temple in the town of Darasuram near Kumbakonam is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kumbakonam is also frequented by art collectors interested in handloom cloth and other curios. Banks such as the Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda is the third largest bank in India, after the State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank and ahead of ICICI Bank. BoB is ranked 763 in Forbes Global 2000 list. BoB has total assets in excess of Rs. 3.58 lakh crores, or Rs. 3,583 billion, a network of over 3,409 branches and...
, State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Canara Bank
Canara Bank
Canara Bank is a state-owned financial services company in India. It was established in 1906, making it one of the oldest banks in the country. As on 2009 November, the bank had a network of 3057 branches, spread across India...
, Indian Bank
Indian Bank
Indian Bank is a major Indian Commercial Bank headquartered in Chennai , India. It has 22,000 employees, 1923 branches and is one of the big public sector banks of India. It has overseas branches in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and 229 correspondent banks in 69 countries...
, Indian Overseas Bank
Indian Overseas Bank
Indian Overseas Bank is a major bank based in Chennai , with 2018 domestic branches and six branches overseas. Indian Overseas Bank has an ISO certified inhouse Information Technology department, which has developed the software that 2018 branches use to provide online banking to customers; the...
, Bank of India
Bank of India
Bank of India is a state-owned commercial bank with headquarters in Mumbai. Government-owned since nationalization in 1969, It is India's 4th largest bank, after State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. It has 3415 branches, including 29 branches outside India...
, Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India
Union Bank of India is one of India's largest state-owned banks , is listed on the Forbes 2000. It has assets of USD 13.45 billion and all the bank's branches have been networked with its 1135 ATMs. Its online Telebanking facility are available to all its Core Banking Customers - individual as...
, Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank
Corporation Bank is an India-based banking company based in Mangalore, India. The bank was founded with an initial capital of Rs. 5000 , and first day’s canvassed resources of less than one USD 1, has currently 12,724 full time employees, and operates from several branches in India.The Bank is a...
, Lakshmi Vilas Bank
Lakshmi Vilas Bank
The Lakshmi Vilas Bank Limited was founded in 1926 by seven people of Karur under the leadership of Shri V.S.N. Ramalinga Chettiar, mainly to cater to the financial needs of varied customer segments...
, ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank Ltd. is India's second largest financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of...
, ING Vysya Bank
ING Vysya Bank
ING Vysya Bank is a Bangalore-based retail and commercial bank, formed after the ING Group formally merged with Vysya Bank in 2002. This merger marks the first between an Indian bank and a foreign bank.-Early years:...
, Karur Vysya Bank
Karur Vysya Bank
Karur Vysya Bank is a privately held Indian bank, headquartered in Karur in Tamil Nadu. It was set up in 1916 by M. A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar.The bank has a branch network of 417 and an ATM network of 620 as on 28.11.2011....
, Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank
Punjab National Bank , was founded in 1894 and is currently the second largest state-owned commercial bank in India ahead of Bank of Baroda with about 5000 branches across 764 cities. It serves over 37 million customers. The bank has been ranked 248th biggest bank in the world by the Bankers...
, Syndicate Bank
Syndicate Bank
Syndicate Bank Ltd. is one of the oldest and major commercial banks of India. At the time of its establishment, the bank was known as Canara Industrial and Banking Syndicate Limited. The bank, along with 13 major commercial banks of India, was nationalized on 19 July 1969, by the Government of...
IDBI Bank, HDFC Bank , Axis Bank, South Indian Bank Vijaya Bank
Vijaya Bank
-History:Vijaya Bank , a medium sized bank with presence across India. It was founded on October 23, 1931 by A. B. Shetty and a few other farmers in Mangalore, Karnataka in India.. The objective was to promote banking habits, thrift and entrepreneurship among the farming community of Dakshina...
etc., have their branches in Kumbakonam. The City Union Bank
City Union Bank
City Union Bank is an Indian bank. The Kumbakonam Bank Limited, as it was at first called, was incorporated as a limited company on 31 October, 1904. The bank initially preferred the role of a regional bank in the Thanjavur District Tamil Nadu....
was founded in Kumbakonam in 1904 as the Kumbakonam Bank Limited and is based in Kumbakonam.
Transport and communication
Kumbakonam is well-connected by road and rail with the rest of India. The nearest international airport is at TiruchirapalliTiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...
, which is 94 kilometres from Kumbakonam. The nearest seaport is located at Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam
Nagapattinam is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. It is a prominent seaport on the east coast of India and an important centre of trade and commerce.The town of Nagapattinam dates back to the Sangam period...
whch is about 50 kilometres away. There are regular government and private bus services to Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Chidambaram
Chidambaram
Chidambaram is a fast growing industrial city in Eastern part of Tamil Nadu and the taluk headquarters of the Cuddalore district. It is located in 58 km from Pondicherry, 60 km from Karaikal, and 240 km south of Chennai by rail...
, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
, Pondicherry, and Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation or KSRTC is the state owned road transportation company in Karnataka.-About:KSRTC was set up in the year 1961 under the provisions of Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. The Government of India is also...
(KSRTC) operates daily services from Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
to Kumbakonam. On March 1, 1972, the Cholan Roadways Corporation was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu
Government of Tamil Nadu
The Government of Tamil Nadu, headquartered at Chennai is the governing authority for the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at the Fort St. George...
with its headquarters in Kumbakonam in order to improve transportation facilities in the districts of central Tamil Nadu. The organisation acquired the fleets of buses earlier owned by private operators - Sri Ramavilas Service, Raman and Raman Limited and Sathi Vilas. On July 1, 1997, the organization was renamed Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Kumbakonam and presently forms division no. 1 of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. The corporation runs a reconditioning unit and a tyre re-threading unit in Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam is connected by rail with most important towns and cities in South India. The Mysore-Kumbakonam Express which has been recently extended to Mayiladuthurai
Mayiladuthurai
Mayiladuthurai , formerly known by its Sanskrit names Māyavaram and Mayūram is a town in the Nagapattinam District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mayiladuthurai taluk of Nagapattinam district and is the second-largest town in the district...
connects Kumbakonam with Mysore. The train also halts at Bangalore on its way to Mysore and back. The Tiruchirapalli-Kumbakonam passenger train connects Kumbakonam with Tiruchirapalli Madurai to Tirupati Express stops at Kumbakonam .
The traditional modes of transportation are bullock cart
Bullock cart
A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...
s. It is recorded that as late as the 1950s, landlords and rich farmers travelled mostly by bullock carts with the exception of rare long journeys which they undertook by buses or motor vehicles. Kumbakonam has an efficient local bus transportation system. The mofussil bus stand is located in the south-east of Kumbakonam and is situated just opposite to the Arignar Anna Bus Stand where the long-distance buses are stationed. There are occasional ferries that transport people and goods across the Cauvery. Till the beginning of the 20th century, students of the Government Arts College used to cross the Cauvery on coracle
Coracle
The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
ferries in order to attend college. Since the construction of a bridge in 1944, the practice of transporting men and goods by coracles has greatly diminished.
Education
Kumbakonam emerged as an important centre of education in the late 19th century and was known as the "Cambridge of South India". The Government Arts CollegeGovernment Arts College, Kumbakonam
The Government Arts College, previously known as the Government Arts College for Men, is an arts college based in the town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest and prestigious educational institutions in the Madras Presidency of British India.- History :The Government Arts...
, established in Kumbakonam in 1867, is one of the oldest educational institutions in the Madras Presidency. It began as a provincial school on October 19, 1854, before being upgraded to a government college in 1867. It was affiliated to the Madras University in 1877. One of the early principals of the college was William Archer Porter
William Archer Porter
William Archer Porter was a British lawyer and educationist who served as the Principal of Government Arts College, Kumbakonam and tutor and secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore.- Early life and education :...
, a Cambridge Wrangler, who, along with T. Gopala Rao
T. Gopala Rao
Rai Bahadur Thandalam Gopala Rao was an Indian educationist who, along with William Archer Porter, was responsible for the growth of the Government Arts College, Kumbakonam in its early stages.- Early life :...
, was instrumental in its elevation to a government college. He is also credited with framing the college's acclaimed educational policy. In 1881, it became a full-fledged college and high school courses ceased to be taught. Notable faculty members included U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
U. V. Swaminatha Iyer , 1855–1942 C.E., was a Tamil scholar and researcher who was instrumental in bringing many long-forgotten works of classical Tamil literature to light...
while the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...
who studied from 1904 until 1906 when he dropped out, was one of its noted pupils. The Government Arts College for Women was started in 1963 and had a total strength of 2,597 pupils in February 2006. The college offers various undergraduate courses and one post-graduate course and is affiliated to the Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University
Bharathidasan University is a university in the city of Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu state, India. It has affiliated colleges in districts of the state, including Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Tiruchirapalli. It is a recognised university, supported by the...
. Other colleges in Kumbakonam include Idhya Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Annai College of Arts and Sciences,Annai Engineering College, Mass College of Arts & Sciense, KSK Engineering College,As Salam Engineering College, Sankara Arts and science college, SKSS Arts & Science College, Tirupananadal,PRIST University Satellite Campus,Government College Of Fine Arts and Arasu Engineering College. The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy
Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy
The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy, known as SASTRA University, is a deemed university in the town of Thirumalaisamudram, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Undergraduate and postgraduate engineering courses are its focus....
has a satellite campus based in Kumbakonam where arts,sciences,engineering are taught.
The Native High School, founded in 1876, and the Town Higher Secondary School
Town Higher Secondary School
Town Higher Secondary School is a school in Kumbakonam, a town in the Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan studied here....
, one of whose students was Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Srīnivāsa Aiyangār Rāmānujan FRS, better known as Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan was a Indian mathematician and autodidact who, with almost no formal training in pure mathematics, made extraordinary contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions...
, were some of the oldest schools in the Madras Presidency. At present, there a total of 36 government and private schools in Kumbakonam.