Sankarankoil
Encyclopedia
Sankarankovil is a city and a municipality
in the Tirunelveli district
of the India
n state
of Tamil Nadu
.
Like every other temple, Sankarankovil has its own interesting story. Once the devotees of Lord Hari
(or Vishnu
) and Lord Shiva
quarreled with each other to determine whose god is powerful. Then Lord Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to mark his devotees to understand that both Hari and Shiva are one and the same. So it is held sacred by Saivites and those Hindus who believe that Siva and Vishnu are a single deity one in one and accordingly, desire to worship the two gods into one form. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Lord Vishnu only, have not accepted the mingling of Siva and Vishnu thus, and therefore, they reject this deity of this temple which depicts the concept of Hari
and Haran
being one God
.
It was built by Ukira Pandiyan AC 900.It houses the deity
by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half - Lord Shiva and the other half - Lord Vishnu.
The deities of this temple are Sri Sankareswarar, Sri Gomathi Amman
and Sri Sankara Narayanar.
Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal-RR.
The general belief is that the Holy Sand "Puttrumann" (Puttru = Ant Hill, Mann = Sand) that one gets from this temple is capable of curing all the diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil‘s Nagasunai (sacred tank) have been dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam which has a miraculous power to heal those who bathe there. The Annadhanam scheme is being conducted in the temple when daily noon meals are being provided for around 100 devotees.
The Puthu Maan in the temple is taken as a holy sand which could cure lot of disease by all devotees.
It is believed that all devotees who pray to the goddess Gomathi amman have always found solace.
The snake pit (Ant Hill) is called "Vanmeekam" . Hence the deity Sri Sankaralingar is also called "Vanmeeganadhar" .
, Sankarankovil had a population of 53,613.
and Manappadu.
For the devotees: at Tirunelveli are the Sri Nellayappar and Gandhimathi temples,at Karivalamvandanallur Sri Palvannanathar Temple, at Courtallam
is the Sri Kutralanathaswamy temple, at Sankarankovil is the Sri Sankaranarayanaswamy temple, at Tenkasi - the Sri Kasiviswanathaswamy temple, at Kalugumalai - the Sri Kalugachalamoorthy temple, at Veerakeralam - Sri Navaneethakrishnan temple and at Srivilliputhur
- Andal
Temple.
Sri Nellayappar and Gandhimathi temple of Thirunelveli is one of the biggest and famous temples in the state.
Consists of ^ industries in a same place.
1.Weaving and sizing industries 2.Plastic Moulding industries 3.Spinning Mills 4.Oil Industries 5.Furniture manufacturing industries. etc.
2.Sengunthar High School,Subbulapuram. 627753
3.Gomathi Ambal Govt Boys higher secondary school.
4.Gomathi Ambal Govt Girls higher secondary school.
5.Sri Gomathi Ambal Matriculation School.
6.St. Joseph's Hr. Sec. School.
7.Sri Vaiyapuri Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School.
8.A.V.Hr Sec School.
9.SNR Hr Sec School. Website:http://snrschool.webs.com/
10.SeventhDay Adventist Matriculation School.
11.36 gst higher secondary school.
12.24 manai telugu chettiar school.
13.Government High School, Sayamalai.
14.T.D.T.A. Middle School, Sayamalai Valasai, Kalugumalai via. 628552.
15.Angel High School.
16.Sri Mahalakshmi Matriculation School.
17. T.D.T.A. Middle School,Subbulapuram, Karivalam Vandha Nallur.627753.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
2.Mano College, (under the Administration of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Thirunelveli).
.
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 Tirunelveli district
Tirunelveli District
Tirunelveli District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji , mullai , marudham , neithal and palai...
of the 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
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
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...
.
The temple
Sankarankovil is home to the famous Sankara Narayanan temple. It is situated at Tirunelveli District and 56 km away from Thirunelveli City. Sankarankovil is the second largest town in the district. It is very famous for "Adi Thabasu" festival. In older times, the city was called as Sankaranayinar kovil. Even now it is called as Sankaran Kovil.Like every other temple, Sankarankovil has its own interesting story. Once the devotees of Lord Hari
Hari
Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...
(or 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....
) and Lord 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...
quarreled with each other to determine whose god is powerful. Then Lord Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to mark his devotees to understand that both Hari and Shiva are one and the same. So it is held sacred by Saivites and those Hindus who believe that Siva and Vishnu are a single deity one in one and accordingly, desire to worship the two gods into one form. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Lord Vishnu only, have not accepted the mingling of Siva and Vishnu thus, and therefore, they reject this deity of this temple which depicts the concept of Hari
Hari
Hari is an Avatar, another name of and , and appears as the 650th name in the Vishnu sahasranama of Mahabharata. In Sanskrit "hari" sometimes refers to a colour, green, yellow, or fawn-coloured/khaki. It is the colour of the Sun and of Soma...
and Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
being one God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
It was built by Ukira Pandiyan AC 900.It houses the deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half - Lord Shiva and the other half - Lord Vishnu.
The deities of this temple are Sri Sankareswarar, Sri Gomathi Amman
Gomathi Amman
Gomathi amman is one of the manifestation of Adhi shakthi. The temple is popularly known as Sankaranayanar Kovil and she is the consort of vanmikanathar and seen along with sankaranarayanar. This temple is 900 years old and was built by Ukkira Pandian a king from Pandiya dynasty...
and Sri Sankara Narayanar.
Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal-RR.
The general belief is that the Holy Sand "Puttrumann" (Puttru = Ant Hill, Mann = Sand) that one gets from this temple is capable of curing all the diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil‘s Nagasunai (sacred tank) have been dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam which has a miraculous power to heal those who bathe there. The Annadhanam scheme is being conducted in the temple when daily noon meals are being provided for around 100 devotees.
The Puthu Maan in the temple is taken as a holy sand which could cure lot of disease by all devotees.
It is believed that all devotees who pray to the goddess Gomathi amman have always found solace.
History
Once upon a time a "Devan" (Angel) called "Manikkeerivan" was cursed by Goddess Parvathi. Because of which, he had to come to earth and work as gardener in a beautiful garden. One day while he was clearing a snake pit, the snake tail was also cut. He found a Sivalingam next to the snake. He went and informed about this to his king Ukira Pandiyan. The king considered it to be the god's wish to stay there and constructed the temple and a city around.The snake pit (Ant Hill) is called "Vanmeekam" . Hence the deity Sri Sankaralingar is also called "Vanmeeganadhar" .
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...
, Sankarankovil had a population of 53,613.
- Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%.
- Sankarankovil has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 60%.
- In Sankarankovil, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Festivals
- Chithhirai Bramotsava ( 10 days ) Every April
- Adi thapasu festival ( 12 days ) August
- Iyppasi Thirukkalyanam festival ( 10 days ) October
- Theppam floating festival - Thai last Friday ( Every February )
Thiru Kotti Ayyanar Temple Festival
The great thiru kotti ayyanar temple is situated near sankarankovil. sankaranarayan temple is completely linked with the activity's of this temple..in the Tamil month of masi people from all over Tamil Nadu will visit here and get the tharshan of great thiru kotti ayyanar.the great power of this god is whenever you calling him in tough times you can able to understand any gesture and your problem will be solved after the guesture .it is exactly far from 6 km from sankarankovil.once upon a time the temple is own property of kalappakulam village and the great story is their.Picnic spots
There are many picnic spots in and around Sankarankovil. They are the KalugumalaiKalugumalai
Kalugumalai is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.-Geography:Kalugumalai is located at . It has an average elevation of 105 metres .-Demographics:...
and Manappadu.
For the devotees: at Tirunelveli are the Sri Nellayappar and Gandhimathi temples,at Karivalamvandanallur Sri Palvannanathar Temple, at Courtallam
Courtallam
Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of on the Western Ghats in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, India. Many seasonal and a few perennial rivers such as the Chittar River, the Manimuthar River, the Pachaiyar River and the Tambaraparani River originate in this region...
is the Sri Kutralanathaswamy temple, at Sankarankovil is the Sri Sankaranarayanaswamy temple, at Tenkasi - the Sri Kasiviswanathaswamy temple, at Kalugumalai - the Sri Kalugachalamoorthy temple, at Veerakeralam - Sri Navaneethakrishnan temple and at Srivilliputhur
Srivilliputhur
Srivilliputhur is a semi-urban town and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu....
- Andal
Andal
Andal is the the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of...
Temple.
Sri Nellayappar and Gandhimathi temple of Thirunelveli is one of the biggest and famous temples in the state.
Industrial places
There are many industries in Sankarankovil.Apart from agri business, this town is well known for its textiles. Nearly about 4000 powerlooms is directly involved in producing various kinds of textile products like Terry towel, Cotton Sarees, lungies, hand kerchiefs etc. The produced product are marketed all over India directly. Subbulapuram, a village 14 km away from sankarankovil, is popularly known as "TERRY CITY". TERYY TOWEL are largely manufactured in these places. By frankly saying that these are the places were cotton yarns are largely used.Consists of ^ industries in a same place.
1.Weaving and sizing industries 2.Plastic Moulding industries 3.Spinning Mills 4.Oil Industries 5.Furniture manufacturing industries. etc.
Schools
1.A.M.C Govt Higher Secondary school,Karivalam Vanda Nallur 627753.2.Sengunthar High School,Subbulapuram. 627753
3.Gomathi Ambal Govt Boys higher secondary school.
4.Gomathi Ambal Govt Girls higher secondary school.
5.Sri Gomathi Ambal Matriculation School.
6.St. Joseph's Hr. Sec. School.
7.Sri Vaiyapuri Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School.
8.A.V.Hr Sec School.
9.SNR Hr Sec School. Website:http://snrschool.webs.com/
10.SeventhDay Adventist Matriculation School.
11.36 gst higher secondary school.
12.24 manai telugu chettiar school.
13.Government High School, Sayamalai.
14.T.D.T.A. Middle School, Sayamalai Valasai, Kalugumalai via. 628552.
15.Angel High School.
16.Sri Mahalakshmi Matriculation School.
17. T.D.T.A. Middle School,Subbulapuram, Karivalam Vandha Nallur.627753.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Colleges
1.Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar College for Arts and Science, Malaneelidanallur.2.Mano College, (under the Administration of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Thirunelveli).
Politics
Sankaranayanarkoil assembly constituency (SC) is part of Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency)Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency)
Tenkasi is a Lok Sabha constituency in Tamil Nadu. The seat is reserved for scheduled castes.-Assembly segments:Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency is composed of the following assembly segments :...
.