Mayiladuthurai
Encyclopedia
Mayiladuthurai formerly known by its Sanskrit
names Māyavaram and Mayūram (English
translation: Peacock town) 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. Mayiladuthurai is situated at distance of 281 kilometres south-west of Chennai
, 70 kilometres north-east of Thanjavur and 50 kilometres north-west of Nagapattinam
.
Mayiladuthurai gets its name from the peahen form in which the Hindu goddess Parvathi worshipped the god Shiva
at this place. The town is one of the 274 Saiva holy places in the world.
Mayiladuthurai is of considerable antiquity and cultural and religious significance. The town must have originated in the Medieval Chola period though there are suburbs which predate the town itself. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by the Early Cholas
, Medieval Cholas
, Later Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, Thanjavur Nayaks
and the Thanjavur Marathas
before it was annexed by the British East India Company
along with the rest of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom in 1799. It rose to be an important town during British rule when it formed a part of Tanjore district
. The town was constituted as a grade III municipality in the year 1866. Currently, Mayiladuthurai forms a grade I municipality.
The town is situated on a flat plain on the banks of the Kaveri River
and is surrounded by paddy fields. The town is situated on the northern border of the Chola Nadu
region of Tamil Nadu.
at this place. While previously known by its Sanskrit name Mayuram meaning "peacock town", the town has been recently de-Sanskritized to its Tamil translation Mayiladuthurai as a result of a petition by the Mayuram municipality to the Government of Tamil Nadu
in the wake of the Dravidian Movement. The Mayuranathaswami Temple
dedicated to the goddess Parvathi is one of the most important Hindu temples in the town. There is a statue depicting goddess Parvathi in a peahen form worshipping a linga, the symbol of the god Shiva to the west of the eastern wall of the temple.
Mayiladuthurai is one of the 274 holy places mentioned by the Saivite saints called Nayanmars in their songs.
.
The region, itself, however, is known to have been inhabited since the 3rd millenium BC. Sherds of megalithic black and red ware have been found at Akkur, 14 kilometres to the east of Mayiladuthurai. In 2006, artifacts with Indus Valley signs dated between 2000 and 1500 BC were found at the nearby village of Sembiyankandiyur
.
There have been references to Mayiladuthurai in the works of the 7th century Saivite saint Campantar
. The Thanjavur Nayak king Rajagopala Nayak constructed mandapams in Mayiladuthurai. During the 17th and 18th centuries AD, Mayiladuthurai was ruled by the Thanjavur Marathas who invited Brahmins from the Telugu, Kannada and Maratha countries to settle in the region and gave large amounts of land to them. In 1799, Mayiladuthurai, was ceded to the British East India Company
, along with the rest of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, by the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II
.
Mayiladuthurai prospered under British rule emerging as an important town in Tanjore district. Carnatic musicians Madurai Mani Iyer
and Gopalakrishna Bharathi
and Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai
, who wrote the first Tamil novel Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram
were born in Mayiladuthurai while Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy
studied at the Municipal High School in Mayiladuthurai. When the Tanjore district was trifurcated in 1991, Mayiladuthurai was transferred to the newly-formed Nagapattinam district.
Accodring to local folklore, Mayiladuthurai was associated with Hindu holy men called "Sithars". To this day, a neighbourhood of Mayiladuthurai is called Sitharkadu.
coast, the town is situated at an altitude of barely 10 metres (32.8 ft) above mean sea level. The Cauvery River runs through the town bisecting it into Uttara Mayuram and Mayuram proper. Most of the town lies to the north of the river while the Mayuranathaswami Temple lies a mile to its south. There is a bathing ghat on the Cauvery river. Agriculture is the most widely practised occupation.
The climate of Mayiladuthurai is similar to the climate prevailing in the rest of the Cauvery Delta. The average maximum temperature is 39.4 degrees Celsius while the average minimum temperature is 32.8 degrees Celsius. The average annual rainfall is 1,125 mm.
The Mayuranathaswami
and Dakshinamoorthi temples are built in the Dravidian style of architecture. The Mayuranathaswami Temple was built during the time of the Medieval Cholas
and is 719 feet long and 52 feet wide. The gopuram at the eastern entrance is 164 feet high. The idol of the Hindu goddess Durga
in the temple is considered to be one of the best. Within the Mayuranathaswami temple, there is a carving of a devotee of Shiva trying to cut off his own head as an offering to the God. The oldest inscriptions in the shrine date to the reign of Kulothunga Chola I
. The temple is maintained by the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam
. The Dakshinamoorthi shrine houses an idol of the God Dakshinamoorthi mounted on a Nandhi. There is another idol of Nandhi at the bathing ghat on the Cauvery River. The Punukeeswarar Temple at Kornad and Sri Kasi Viswanathaswami Temple are the other
important Hindu temples in Mayiladuthurai. There is a Vishnu
temple at Thiruvilandur
on the northern banks of the Cauvery.
-December
). A bathe at the bathing ghats on the banks of the Cauvery on this day, according to Hindu belief, relieves a man of all his sins and misdeeds as the waters of the holy Ganges river mix with the Cavery on this day. As a result, many people flock to the tank in Mayuranathaswami temple during Aippasi. Other important festivals celebrated at the temple are Navarathri
, Adi Pooram, Avani Moolam, Karthigai Deepam and Vaikashi Brahmavotsavam.
An yearly dance festival called the Mayura Natyanjali is conducted within the precints of the Mayuranathaswami Temple by the Saptasvarangal Trust during Maha Shivaratri on the pattern of the Chidambaram Natyanjali festival.
The town of Mayiladuthurai is administered by a municipal council which was created in 1866 as per the Town Improvements Act 1865. The council initially had eleven members. This was increased to 18 in 1883 and currently stands at 36. The municipal council is headed by a Municipal Chariperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson. The executive wing is headed by a Municipal Commissioner. There are a total of four revenue villages with Mayiladuthurai - Thiruvilandur
, Dharmapuram
, Nanchildu and Kornad
.
Mayiladuthurai is represented in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by the Mayiladuthurai state assembly constituency seat. N. Kittappa
of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
served as member for the Mayiladuthurai legislative constituency for four consecutive terms from 1967 to 1984. The Indian National Congress
has won the seat four times (1957, 1962, 1991 and 2006), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, five times (1967, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1989); the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) and the Bharatiya Janata Party
, once each. Mayuram assembly constituency is part of Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency
. Popular Communist leader K. Ananda Nambiar
represented Mayiladuthurai in the Lok Sabha
from 1951 to 1957.Mani Shankar Aiyar
who served as a minister in India
's cabinet was elected to the Parliament from the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency in the 1991, 1999 and 2004 elections. The Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency was enlarged in 1977 and the Assembly segments of the abolished Kumbakonam Lok Sabha constituency
were included in it as per the deliberations of the delimitation committee.
Potable water is provided by the municipality. Mayiladuthurai's main source of water in the Kollidam River
. A total of 7.50 MLD are pumped out every day from 5 water tanks in the town. 38 megatons of solid waste are generated every day. The town has only 12.70 kilometres of storm water drains while, as per estimates, 68 kilometres of drains are required. Both solid and liquid waste management are handled by the municipality.
, Mayiladuthurai had a population of 84,505 with 42,008 males and 42,497 females living in 16,095 households. Mayiladuthurai has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 77%. In Mayiladuthurai, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. There are 26 slums in Mayiladuthurai with a total population of 32,381.
Mayiladuthurai is largely Hindu
, Vanniyars being the dominant Hindu community. Kallars and Thondaimandala Mudaliars
are other significant communities in the town. Tamil Brahmins are numerous in Mayiladuthurai as they are in the northern parts of the Cauvery Delta. There is also a considerable population of Telugu
-speakers and smaller numbers of Kannadigas
and Thanjavur Marathis. Muslims form nearly one-fourth of the total population of the town. There is also a considerable population of Christians in the town. The Roman Catholics are affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumbakonam.
A vast majority of the populace is engaged in agriculture
. 15 percent of the total working population is engaged in trade while 25 percent is engaged in other commercial activities.
The economy of Mayiladuthurai is primarily agro-based. The main products of Mayiladuthurai are rice, coconuts and plaintains. Confectionaries, printing presses, vehicle manufacturing units and rice mills are the major industries in Mayiladuthurai. Industrial workers form barely 27.14 percent of the town's population. Mayiladuthurai is known for an unique variety of cloth known as the "Kornad cloths" which derive its name from the suburb of Kornad where they are manufactured. These cloths are made up of a mixture of cotton and silk and dyed in bright colours.
The municipality runs a vegetable market and fish market in the town. There are many departmental stores in Mayiladuthurai. The only shopping complex is the Kittappa commercial complex which is maintained by the municipality. The Indian Bank
, Indian Overseas Bank
, State Bank of India
, Central Bank of India
, Bank of Baroda
, Canara Bank
, City Union Bank
, Lakshmi Vilas Bank
, Karur Vysya Bank
, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, ICICI Bank
, Punjab National Bank
, Kumbakonam Central Cooperative Bank and the Kumbakonam Mutual Benefit Fund have their branches in Mayiladuthurai.
, A. V. C. College of Engineering, A. R. C. Vishwanathan College, Dharmapuram Adhinam Arts College
, D. G. Government Arts College for Women, Mayiladuthurai Meenakshi Ramasamy Arts and Science College and Mayiladuthurai Community Centre are some of the important colleges in Mayiladuthurai. All these colleges are affiliated to the Bharathidasan University
in Tiruchirappalli.
, which is 130 kilometres from Mayiladuthurai while the nearest seaport is at Nagapattinam
which is 52 kilometres away. The State Highways SH-23 and SH-64 pass through Mayiladuthurai. There are regular bus services to important cities in Tamil Nadu. There are also regular services to other South Indian cities as Bangalore
, Tirupathi and Thiruvananthapuram
. Mayiladuthurai forms a part of the Division 1 of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation which is headquartered at Kumbakonam
. The town's principal bus station is located on the SH-64 State Highway. It has a total of 12 bus bays. The bus station has been given a class B rating and has basic restaurant, toilet and lighting facilities.
Mayiladuthurai is an important railway junction on the Viluppuram-Tiruchirappalli meter gauge line. There are regular trains to Chennai
, Karaikudi
and Tiruchirappalli. The daily Rameswaram Express passes through Mayiladuthurai while the Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express
connects Mayiladuthurai with the city of Mysore in Karnataka
.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
names Māyavaram and Mayūram (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation: Peacock town) is a town in the Nagapattinam District of the Indian 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...
. It is the headquarters of the Mayiladuthurai taluk
Mayiladuthurai taluk
Mayiladuthurai taluk is a taluk of Nagapattinam district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The headquarters of the taluk is the town of Mayiladuthurai.- Population :...
of Nagapattinam district and is the second-largest town in the district. Mayiladuthurai is situated at distance of 281 kilometres south-west of 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...
, 70 kilometres north-east of Thanjavur and 50 kilometres north-west of 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...
.
Mayiladuthurai gets its name from the peahen form in which the Hindu goddess Parvathi worshipped the 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. The town is one of the 274 Saiva holy places in the world.
Mayiladuthurai is of considerable antiquity and cultural and religious significance. The town must have originated in the Medieval Chola period though there are suburbs which predate the town itself. Mayiladuthurai 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...
, 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, 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...
before it was annexed by 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...
along with the rest of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom in 1799. It rose to be an important town during British rule when it formed a part of Tanjore district
Tanjore District (Madras Presidency)
Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu...
. The town was constituted as a grade III municipality in the year 1866. Currently, Mayiladuthurai forms a grade I municipality.
The town is situated on a flat plain on the banks of 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...
and is surrounded by paddy fields. The town is situated on the northern border of the Chola Nadu
Chola Nadu
Chola Nadu is a region of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled most of South India and parts of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia between the 9th and...
region of Tamil Nadu.
Etymology
Mayiladuthurai gets its name from the Mayura or Mayil (peacock) form in which the Hindu goddess Parvathi worshipped the Hindu god ShivaShiva
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. While previously known by its Sanskrit name Mayuram meaning "peacock town", the town has been recently de-Sanskritized to its Tamil translation Mayiladuthurai as a result of a petition by the Mayuram municipality to 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...
in the wake of the Dravidian Movement. The Mayuranathaswami Temple
Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai
The Mayuranathaswami Temple is a Hindu temple in the town of Mayiladuthurai in the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu in India...
dedicated to the goddess Parvathi is one of the most important Hindu temples in the town. There is a statue depicting goddess Parvathi in a peahen form worshipping a linga, the symbol of the god Shiva to the west of the eastern wall of the temple.
Mayiladuthurai is one of the 274 holy places mentioned by the Saivite saints called Nayanmars in their songs.
History
Mayiladuthurai is of great antiquity, its oldest extant temples dating to the time of the Medieval CholasMedieval 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...
.
The region, itself, however, is known to have been inhabited since the 3rd millenium BC. Sherds of megalithic black and red ware have been found at Akkur, 14 kilometres to the east of Mayiladuthurai. In 2006, artifacts with Indus Valley signs dated between 2000 and 1500 BC were found at the nearby village of Sembiyankandiyur
Sembiyankandiyur
Sembiyankandiyur is an archaeological site in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, India.-Excavations in 2006:In early 2006, a polished Neolithic celt that had engravings resembling the Indus script was found by a school teacher V. Shanmuganathan. The celt, a polished hand-held stone axe, has four...
.
There have been references to Mayiladuthurai in the works of the 7th century Saivite saint Campantar
Campantar
Tirugnana Sampantar was a young Saiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived around the 7th century CE....
. The Thanjavur Nayak king Rajagopala Nayak constructed mandapams in Mayiladuthurai. During the 17th and 18th centuries AD, Mayiladuthurai was ruled by the Thanjavur Marathas who invited Brahmins from the Telugu, Kannada and Maratha countries to settle in the region and gave large amounts of land to them. In 1799, Mayiladuthurai, was 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...
, along with the rest of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, 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...
.
Mayiladuthurai prospered under British rule emerging as an important town in Tanjore district. Carnatic musicians Madurai Mani Iyer
Madurai Mani Iyer
Madurai Mani Iyer was a Carnatic music singer, who was famous for his unique style. He was one of the most highly celebrated carnatic vocalists during the first half of the 20th century. He was renowned for his adept skills at singing kalpana swarams, neraval, and raga alapana...
and Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharathi
Gopalakrishna Bharati was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He wrote a katAkALatcEpam , NantanAr Carittiram , two other works in this genre, and many independent kritis....
and Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai
Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai
Samuel Vedanayagam Pillai , also known as Mayavaram Vedanayagam Pillai, was an Indian civil servant and Tamil poet and novelist who is remembered for the authorship of Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram, recognized as the "first modern Tamil novel"....
, who wrote the first Tamil novel Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram
Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram
Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram , written in 1857 and published in 1879, was the first novel in the Tamil language. Penned by Mayuram Vedanayagam Pillai, it was a landmark in Tamil literature, which had hitherto seen writings only in poetry...
were born in Mayiladuthurai while Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy
Kalki Krishnamurthy
Kalki was the pen name of R. Krishnamurthy , a noted Tamil writer, film & music critic, Indian independence activist and journalist from Tamil Nadu, India.- Biography:...
studied at the Municipal High School in Mayiladuthurai. When the Tanjore district was trifurcated in 1991, Mayiladuthurai was transferred to the newly-formed Nagapattinam district.
Accodring to local folklore, Mayiladuthurai was associated with Hindu holy men called "Sithars". To this day, a neighbourhood of Mayiladuthurai is called Sitharkadu.
Geography and architecture
Mayliladuthurai is situated at a distance of 281 kilometres (174.6 mi) from Chennai and 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) from Tiruchirappalli. The town is located at 11.10°N 79.65°E. Situated at a distance of 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) from the Bay of BengalBay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
coast, the town is situated at an altitude of barely 10 metres (32.8 ft) above mean sea level. The Cauvery River runs through the town bisecting it into Uttara Mayuram and Mayuram proper. Most of the town lies to the north of the river while the Mayuranathaswami Temple lies a mile to its south. There is a bathing ghat on the Cauvery river. Agriculture is the most widely practised occupation.
The climate of Mayiladuthurai is similar to the climate prevailing in the rest of the Cauvery Delta. The average maximum temperature is 39.4 degrees Celsius while the average minimum temperature is 32.8 degrees Celsius. The average annual rainfall is 1,125 mm.
The Mayuranathaswami
Mayuranathaswami Temple, Mayiladuthurai
The Mayuranathaswami Temple is a Hindu temple in the town of Mayiladuthurai in the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu in India...
and Dakshinamoorthi temples are built in the Dravidian style of architecture. The Mayuranathaswami Temple was built during the time 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...
and is 719 feet long and 52 feet wide. The gopuram at the eastern entrance is 164 feet high. The idol of the Hindu goddess Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
in the temple is considered to be one of the best. Within the Mayuranathaswami temple, there is a carving of a devotee of Shiva trying to cut off his own head as an offering to the God. The oldest inscriptions in the shrine date to the reign of Kulothunga Chola I
Kulothunga Chola I
Kō Rājakēsarivarman Abaya Kulōthunga Chōla was one of the greatest kings of the Chola Empire. He was one of the sovereigns who bore the title Kulottunga, literally meaning the exalter of his race.-Early life:...
. The temple is maintained by the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam
Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam
Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam is a Saivite mutt based in the town of Thiruvaduthurai in Kuthalam taluk of Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. The adheenam maintains the Mayuranathaswami temple at Mayiladuthurai. As of 1987, there were a total of 15 Shiva temples under the control of the adheenam....
. The Dakshinamoorthi shrine houses an idol of the God Dakshinamoorthi mounted on a Nandhi. There is another idol of Nandhi at the bathing ghat on the Cauvery River. The Punukeeswarar Temple at Kornad and Sri Kasi Viswanathaswami Temple are the other
important Hindu temples in Mayiladuthurai. There is a Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
temple at Thiruvilandur
Thiruvilandur
Thiruvilandur is a town situated to the north of the town of Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is considered to be a suburb of Mayiladuthurai. The township is famous for its Vishnu temple....
on the northern banks of the Cauvery.
Festivals
All the Hindu holy rivers in India are believe to converge in Mayiladuthurai every year on New moon day in the Tamil month of Aippasi (NovemberNovember
November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...
-December
December
December is the 12th and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.December starts on the same day as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year.-Etymology:...
). A bathe at the bathing ghats on the banks of the Cauvery on this day, according to Hindu belief, relieves a man of all his sins and misdeeds as the waters of the holy Ganges river mix with the Cavery on this day. As a result, many people flock to the tank in Mayuranathaswami temple during Aippasi. Other important festivals celebrated at the temple are Navarathri
Navarathri
Navratri, Navaratri, or Navarathri is a Hindu festival of worship of Shakti and dance & festivities. The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped...
, Adi Pooram, Avani Moolam, Karthigai Deepam and Vaikashi Brahmavotsavam.
An yearly dance festival called the Mayura Natyanjali is conducted within the precints of the Mayuranathaswami Temple by the Saptasvarangal Trust during Maha Shivaratri on the pattern of the Chidambaram Natyanjali festival.
Administration and politics
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The town of Mayiladuthurai is administered by a municipal council which was created in 1866 as per the Town Improvements Act 1865. The council initially had eleven members. This was increased to 18 in 1883 and currently stands at 36. The municipal council is headed by a Municipal Chariperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson. The executive wing is headed by a Municipal Commissioner. There are a total of four revenue villages with Mayiladuthurai - Thiruvilandur
Thiruvilandur
Thiruvilandur is a town situated to the north of the town of Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is considered to be a suburb of Mayiladuthurai. The township is famous for its Vishnu temple....
, Dharmapuram
Dharmapuram
Dharmapuram is a village near Srikakulam town in Ponduru Mandal Division in Andhra Pradesh, India....
, Nanchildu and Kornad
Kornad
Kornad is a suburb of the town of Mayiladuthurai in the Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, India. Kornad is a popular weaving centre and is known for "Kornad cloths" manufactured using a mixture of cotton and silk thread. The Punukeswarar Temple is located in Kornad....
.
Mayiladuthurai is represented in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by the Mayiladuthurai state assembly constituency seat. N. Kittappa
N. Kittappa
N. Kittappa was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Mayuram constituency as a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate in 1967, 1971, 1977, and 1980 elections....
of 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...
served as member for the Mayiladuthurai legislative constituency for four consecutive terms from 1967 to 1984. 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...
has won the seat four times (1957, 1962, 1991 and 2006), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, five times (1967, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1989); the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) and the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
, once each. Mayuram assembly constituency is part of Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency
Mayiladuturai (Lok Sabha constituency)
-Assembly segments:Mayiladuturai Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :#Sirkali #Poompuhar#Mayiladuturai#Kumbakonam#Thiruvidamaradur#Papanasam-Members of the Parliament:...
. Popular Communist leader K. Ananda Nambiar
K. Ananda Nambiar
K. Ananda Nambiar was an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India who served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Mayiladuthurai and Tiruchirapalli.- Politics :...
represented Mayiladuthurai in the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
from 1951 to 1957.Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar is a former Indian diplomat who resigned from foreign service and became a politician working for Rajiv Gandhi in 1989-1991. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party and was the Minister of Panchayati Raj until he lost his seat in the 2009 Election...
who served as a minister in 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...
's cabinet was elected to the Parliament from the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency in the 1991, 1999 and 2004 elections. The Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency was enlarged in 1977 and the Assembly segments of the abolished 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...
were included in it as per the deliberations of the delimitation committee.
Potable water is provided by the municipality. Mayiladuthurai's main source of water in the Kollidam River
Kollidam River
The Kollidam is a river in southeastern India. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It splits from the main branch of the Kaveri River at the island of Srirangam and flows eastward into the Bay of Bengal. The distribution...
. A total of 7.50 MLD are pumped out every day from 5 water tanks in the town. 38 megatons of solid waste are generated every day. The town has only 12.70 kilometres of storm water drains while, as per estimates, 68 kilometres of drains are required. Both solid and liquid waste management are handled by the municipality.
Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Mayiladuthurai had a population of 84,505 with 42,008 males and 42,497 females living in 16,095 households. Mayiladuthurai has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 77%. In Mayiladuthurai, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. There are 26 slums in Mayiladuthurai with a total population of 32,381.
Mayiladuthurai is largely Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, Vanniyars being the dominant Hindu community. Kallars and 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...
are other significant communities in the town. Tamil Brahmins are numerous in Mayiladuthurai as they are in the northern parts of the Cauvery Delta. There is also a considerable population of 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...
-speakers and smaller numbers of Kannadigas
Kannadigas
Kannadiga , or Kannadati is a reference to the people who natively speak the Kannada language. Kannadigas are mainly located in the state of Karnataka in India and in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra...
and Thanjavur Marathis. Muslims form nearly one-fourth of the total population of the town. There is also a considerable population of Christians in the town. The Roman Catholics are affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kumbakonam.
A vast majority of the populace is engaged in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. 15 percent of the total working population is engaged in trade while 25 percent is engaged in other commercial activities.
Economy
The economy of Mayiladuthurai is primarily agro-based. The main products of Mayiladuthurai are rice, coconuts and plaintains. Confectionaries, printing presses, vehicle manufacturing units and rice mills are the major industries in Mayiladuthurai. Industrial workers form barely 27.14 percent of the town's population. Mayiladuthurai is known for an unique variety of cloth known as the "Kornad cloths" which derive its name from the suburb of Kornad where they are manufactured. These cloths are made up of a mixture of cotton and silk and dyed in bright colours.
The municipality runs a vegetable market and fish market in the town. There are many departmental stores in Mayiladuthurai. The only shopping complex is the Kittappa commercial complex which is maintained by the municipality. The 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...
, 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...
, Central Bank of India
Central Bank of India
Central Bank of India , a government-owned bank, is one of the oldest and largest commercial banks in India. It is based in Mumbai...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, 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....
, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, 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...
, 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...
, Kumbakonam Central Cooperative Bank and the Kumbakonam Mutual Benefit Fund have their branches in Mayiladuthurai.
Education
Mayiladuthurai has a considerable number of schools and colleges. The first schools in the town were founded by Christian missionaries in April 1819. The Municipal High School constructed by the municipality between 1885 and 1893, was considered to be one of the premium educational institutions in the then Tanjore district. The A. V. C. CollegeA. V. C. College
A.V.C. College ' A ' Grade by NAAC is a college in Mayiladuthurai, India.Anbanathapuram Vahaira Charities College, founded in the year 1955, has completed FIFTY years of its existence. The growth of the institution has been remarkable...
, A. V. C. College of Engineering, A. R. C. Vishwanathan College, Dharmapuram Adhinam Arts College
Dharmapuram Adhinam Arts College
Dharmapuram Adhinam Arts and Science College is a private college located at Dharmapuram near Mayiladuthurai. The college is managed by the Dharmapuram Adheenam....
, D. G. Government Arts College for Women, Mayiladuthurai Meenakshi Ramasamy Arts and Science College and Mayiladuthurai Community Centre are some of the important colleges in Mayiladuthurai. All these colleges are 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...
in Tiruchirappalli.
Transport and communication
Mayiladuthurai 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 130 kilometres from Mayiladuthurai while the nearest seaport is 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...
which is 52 kilometres away. The State Highways SH-23 and SH-64 pass through Mayiladuthurai. There are regular bus services to important cities in Tamil Nadu. There are also regular services to other South Indian cities as 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...
, Tirupathi and Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...
. Mayiladuthurai forms a part of the Division 1 of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation which is headquartered at Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , 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 Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
. The town's principal bus station is located on the SH-64 State Highway. It has a total of 12 bus bays. The bus station has been given a class B rating and has basic restaurant, toilet and lighting facilities.
Mayiladuthurai is an important railway junction on the Viluppuram-Tiruchirappalli meter gauge line. There are regular trains to 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...
, Karaikudi
Karaikudi
Karaikudi is a town in Sivaganga District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Chettinad literally 'Chetti land' in Tamil, is a collection of 76 villages/towns. Chettinad stretched from Ramnad District and Pudukottai State of 'British' India. The Chettiars, or more properly the Nattukottai...
and Tiruchirappalli. The daily Rameswaram Express passes through Mayiladuthurai while the Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express
Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express
The Mysore-Mayiladuthurai Express is a Superfast train operated by the Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways. This train connects the town of Mayiladuthurai with Mysore...
connects Mayiladuthurai with the city of Mysore in Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
.