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Sankarankovil Punnai Vanam, Sankarankoil | |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Nickname: Sangai | |
  Sankarankovil Location inTenkasi district,Tamil Nadu, India | |
| Coordinates:9°10′N77°33′E / 9.16°N 77.55°E /9.16; 77.55 | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Tenkasi |
| Taluk | Sankarankovil |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Member of Legislative Assembly | E. Raja |
| Elevation | 143 m (469 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 70,574 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 627756 |
| Telephone code | +91 – 4636 |
| Vehicle registration | TN-79 (SankarankovilRTO) |
| First Grade Municipality | |
Sankarankovil is aTown in theTenkasi district in the Indian state ofTamil Nadu, On the eastern slopes ofWestern Ghats. It was a demonym represents literally Sankara Narayana kovil because The Sankarankovil Town houses the famousArulmigu Sankara Narayanar Temple. Sankarankovil is also the second largest town in tenkasi district after kadayanallur.
Sankarankovil is home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple, which was built by Ugra Pandiyan in 900 BC. Houses the deity by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half Shiva and the other half Vishnu. According to folklore, the devotees ofHari (Vishnu) andShiva once quarreled with each other to determine which god was more powerful, until Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to show his devotees that Hari and Shiva were one and the same. Thus, it is held sacred bySaivites and those Hindus who believe that Shiva and Vishnu are a single deity. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Vishnu only do not accept this and hence reject the temple. The deities of the temple are Sankareswarar,Gomathi Amman and Sankaranarayanar. Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal.
In older times, the city was called asSankaranayinarkoil. It is also noted for the "Adi Thabasu" festival.
There is a belief that the sand from the temple, known asputtrumann (puttru meaning ant hill,mann meaning sand) is capable of curing all diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil'sNagachunai (sacred tank) was dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam, and has a miraculous power to heal those who bath there. Once, adeva called Manikkeerivan was cursed by the goddessParvathi and, as a result, had to come to earth and work as a gardener in a beautiful garden. One day while he was clearing a snake pit, the snake's tail was also cut. He found alingam next to the snake. He went and informed his king, Ugra Pandiyan. The king considered it to be the god's wish to stay there and constructed the temple and a city around it.
According to2011 census, Sankarankoil had a population of 70, 574 with a sex-ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[2] A total of 5,660 were under the age of six, constituting 2,867 males and 2,793 females.Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 22.47% and .3% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 74.9%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[2] The town had a total of 14536 households. There were a total of 24,064 workers, comprising 493 cultivators, 2,003 main agricultural labourers, 2,245 in house hold industries, 17,190 other workers, 2,133 marginal workers, 34 marginal cultivators, 247 marginal agricultural labourers, 413 marginal workers in household industries and 1,439 other marginal workers.[3] Hindus are the majority in the town with 90% of the population, followed by Islam (5%), and Christianity (5%).
Sankarankovil Assembly constituency is part ofTenkasi Lok Sabha constituency.[4] E. Raja from DMK is the MLA.
Apart fromagribusiness, the town is known for its textiles. Nearly 4000 powerlooms are directly involved in producing various kinds of textile products such as terry towels, cotton saris,lungis, handkerchiefs, etc. The produced products are marketed all over India directly.
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Tuticorin domestic airport is the nearest airport located 95.4 km (59.3 mi) from Sankarankovil and SpiceJet serves Tuticorin with two flights from Chennai.
The nearest international airports areMadurai (120km) andThiruvananthapuram (148 kms.) away from Sankarankovil. These airports connect with Chennai, Sri Lanka, Singapore and other major cities of India.
Sankarankovil has two bus stands. The main bus stand is near the Sankarankovil Municipality office, and is also called the Anna Bus Stand. The new bus stand is nearby to the Sankarankovil Taluk office, and is also called the Thanthai Periyar New Bus Stand.
Sankarankovil is situated at the intersection of State Highways 41 and 76. Also it is situated near National Highways 07 and 208.
The main bus routes are to cities / towns likeTirunelveli,Virudhunagar,Madurai,Tuticorin,Nagercoil,Tenkasi,Rajapalayam,AryankavuSrivilliputhur,Sivakasi,Surandai,Kalugumalai,Thiruvenkatam,Valliyur,Courtallam,Shencottah,Theni,Kumili,Papanasam, Tirunelveli,Ambasamudram,Kanyakumari,Tiruchendur,Rameshwaram,Tirumangalam,Aruppukottai,Kovilpatti,Sivagiri,Kayathar,Sattur,Nanguneri,Ettaiyapuram, Karivalamvandha Nallur and so on. Sankarankovil has state transport (SETC) bus routes toOoty,Munnar,Madurai,Chennai,Coimbatore,Trichy,Palakkad,Calicut,Dindigul,Hosur and so on.
The Sankarankovil Railway Station (CODE: SNKL) is a major railhead in Tenkasi district. All the trains running in Virudhunagar - Sengottai line makes a halt at this station.
A Daily Thrice Passenger train that runs betweenMadurai andSengottai on both directions makes a technical halt at Sankarankovil.
Expresses and superfast expresses includingPothigai Super fast express,Kollam Express Connects Sankarankovil toChennai Egmore viaVirudhunagar,Madurai,Dindigul,Tiruchirapalli,Villupuram.
Silambu Super fast Express fromSengottai also connectsChennai Egmore but via different route. ViaVirudhunagar,Manamadurai,Karaikudi,Tiruchirapalli
Sankarankovil includes many localities, including Karivalamvandha Nallur, Gomathi Nagar, Gomathiyapuram Nagar, Ramasamiapuram, Sangupuram Nagar, Lakshmiyapuram Nagar, Vadukkupudhur, Therkku Sankarankovil, NGO Colony, Avrmv Colony,Agasthiyar Nagar,Ezhil Nagar, and Mullai Nagar.
Sankarankovil RTO was opened by chief minister Ms.J. Jayalalithaa via video conference.
