Jayankondam is a First Grade
Municipality in
Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu in India. As of 2023, the town had a population of 46,000.
Huge amounts of lignite deposits have been found here and power projects have been initiated by the
Neyveli Lignite Corporation. This town has more than 25 temples of various historical periods in the vicinity. The existing Government Higher Secondary School at Jayankondam is as the old as the town and has nearly 2000 Students to its name.
Location
Jayankondam is well-connected with roadways. The national highway NH-81 passes through this town, connects
Chidambaram and
Tiruchirapalli. The state highway SH-140 which connects
Virudachalam with
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...
passes through this town.
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
is located at the distance of 247 km. Kumbakonam is to the south, around 29 km away from Jayankondam via the Neelathanallur-Mathanathur bridge.
Ariyalur is 38 km to the west.
Viruthachalam is 36 km to the north and
Chidambaram is 50 km to the east.
Jayankondam Town limit extends over an area of 28 km
2.
Demographics
According to
2011 census, Jayankondam had a population of 33,945 with a sex-ratio of 1,031 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.
A total of 3,520 were under the age of six, constituting 1,866 males and 1,654 females.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 17.88% and 2.06% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 72.%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.
The town had a total of : 8664 households. There were a total of 12,359 workers, comprising 611 cultivators, 1,386 main agricultural labourers, 1,004 in house hold industries, 7,592 other workers, 1,766 marginal workers, 87 marginal cultivators, 736 marginal agricultural labourers, 329 marginal workers in household industries and 614 other marginal workers.
As per the religious census of 2011, Jayankondam (M) had 92.63%
Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 4.53%
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 2.42%
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, 0.06%
Sikhs
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
, 0.01%
Buddhists, 0.01%
Jains, 0.31% following other religions and 0.03% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.
History
Jayankondacholapuram is full name of Jayankondam. Original name is Nellimanagramam. The place was renamed as Jayankondacholapuram (ஜெயங்கொண்டசோழபுரம்) during the period of King Rajendracholan (ராஜேந்திரசோழன்) as they (Rajendra and his son) were victorious in many wars and campaigns. Jayankondam was established as town panchayat during
British rule. Jayankondam was upgraded as second municipality of Perambalur district after Perambalur.Now it is part of Ariyalur district
Administration and politics
Jayankondam is second grade municipality. Jayankondam comes under the
Jayankondam State Assembly Constituency and it elect a member to the
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...
once every five years. Before 2009 Jayankondam came under Perambalur Lok sabha constituency. After 2009 Jayankondam comes under Chidambaram Lok sabha constituency.
Transportation
NH81 - Trichy - Jayankondam - Chidambaram, SH140 - Kumbakonam - Jayankondam - Virudhachalam, NH36 - Kumbakonam - Vikravandi, SH139 Jayankondam - Ariyalur, are major roads via Jayankondam. Jayankondam busstand is located in centre of town. TNSTC Jayankondam branch is under Trichy region of Kumbakonam Corporation. Government, Private buses operated to nearby towns Kumbakonam, Mayiladudurai, Virudhachalam, Trichy, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Puducherry, Neyveli, Thanjavur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thuraiyur, Attur, Salem, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Palani, Madurai, Hosur, Banglore from Jayankondam busstand. Nearest Railway stations are Virudhachalam Junction railway station, located 40 km away, Ariyalur Railway station, located 38 km away, Kumbakonam Railway station, located 30 km away. Nearest Airport is
Tiruchirappalli International Airport, located 98 km away. Nearest seaport is
Karaikal port
Karaikal Port Private Limited (KPPL; French: ''Port de Karaikal privé limité'') a private port developed by the Chennai based MARG Limited, became operational in April, 2009. It is located on the Eastern coast of India in Karaikal around 30 ...
.
Places near Jayankondam
Gangaikonda Cholapuram capital of the
Chola dynasty in c. 1025 during the reign of
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...
, and served as the
Chola capital for around 250 years. The village is the place near 8 km from Jayankondam. The city was founded by
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...
to commemorate his victory over the Pala Dynasty. The name means The town of the chola who took over Ganga (water from Ganga) or who defeated (the kings near) Ganga. It is now a small village, its past eminence only remembered by the existence of the great
Brihadisvara Temple. The temple has been recognised as a
World Heritage site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Chola empire included the whole of southern India to the river Thungabadhra in the north. For administrative and strategic purposes they built another capital and named it Gangaikondacholapuram.
Anaikarai is 15 km from Jayankondam. The Lower Anaicut built by
Sir Arthur Cotton in 19th century AD across
Coleroon, the major distributary of
Cauvery, is said to be a replicated structure of
Kallanai.
Nearly 2000 families live in Anaikarai with the main occupation of agriculture and fishing. It is well known and place for river fishes
PIN (Postal Index) Code for Jayankondam is 621802. Also the following nearby post offices share the same pin
Angarayanallur, Chinnavalayam, Kaluvanthondi, Karadikulam, Kilakudiyiruppu,
Periyavalayam and
Sengunthapuram.
The Historical Shiva temple in Jayankondam was built by wife of Rajendra cholan (queen) for her personal worship during the king's victory celebration over Pala dynasty.
Chola's also esteemed Buddhism, built several Buddha temples, they are now in Srilanka. Archeological department of India found a buddha statue in Jayankondam and maintaining it till date.
References
External links
JKMOnline.com - Information about JayankondamJayankondam Town informationJayankondam People around the world cumminity site- Gangaikondacholapuram - Bragatheeswarar Temple - SiteJayankondam Facebook page
{{Municipalities of Tamil Nadu
Cities and towns in Ariyalur district