Tenkasi () is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

.Tenkasi is the third largest city in tenkasi district after Kadayanallur and Sankarankovil. Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu, Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the five sabhas of Lord

Nataraja Nataraja (/ n̪əʈəɾɑd͡ʒᵊ/ ,, ; , ''Naṭarājar'' Telugu: నటరాజు,''Naṭarāju''), also known as Adalvallan (), is a depiction of Shiva, one of the main deities in Hinduism, as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is ca ...

, an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Tamil poet Thirikooda Rasappa Kavirayar describes this temple in his poem as “Kutrala Kuravanji” which means 'beauty of Kutralam'. the city also houses the famous TenKasi Viswanathar temple, Sankarankoil temple and Ilangi Kumarar temple.

Etymology

Tenkasi in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

means south Kashi(''Thenk+Kashi''). As name goes, Tenkasi is situated in the Southern India and home to Tenkasi Viswanathar Temple.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Tenkasi had a population of 70,545 with a sex-ratio of 1,020 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 7,413 were under the age of six, constituting 3,774 males and 3,639 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 14.16% and 0.47% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.49%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 17,887 households. There were a total of 27,885 workers, comprising 279 cultivators, 2,006 main agricultural labourers, 3,332 in house hold industries, 19,903 other workers, 2,365 marginal workers, 28 marginal cultivators, 90 marginal agricultural labourers, 494 marginal workers in household industries and 1,753 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Tenkasi had 64%

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 ...

, 34.18%

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 ...

, 2.7%

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 ...

History

The Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Tenkasi was built in 1467 AD by Parakirama Pandian, Tenkasi is the last capital of the

Pandya dynasty The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

. The iconic temple is situated in the banks of ''Seevalaperi Pond.''

Geography

Tenkasi is located at . It has an average elevation of 143 metres (469 ft). The town is surrounded by the Western Ghats in three sides and lies on the

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

and

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

highways. The Chittar river flows through the city.

Politics

Tenkasi (state assembly constituency) is part of Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency. * S. Palani Nadar from INC is the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Tenkasi, post the

2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election The Sixteenth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Election was held on 6 April 2021, to elect Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), representatives from the List of constituencies of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, 234 constituencies in ...

as a part of

Secular Progressive Alliance Secular Progressive Alliance formerly known as Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) is an alliance of Indian political parties formed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). History The alliance was known as the ''Democratic Progressive All ...

. * Rani Srikumar from DMK is the Member of Parliament (MP) as a part of the

United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance (UPA; Hindi: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a Political group, political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election, 2004 general ele ...

, post the

2024 Indian general election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...

Transportation

Rail connectivity

Tenkasi Town is served by Junction Railway station. Tenkasi Junction railway station for Express and Passenger trains.Trains are available to

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 ...

Punalur Punalur is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It is in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River and footh ...

, Shenkottai,

and

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

from here daily. Three Broad Gauge, Single - Electric railway line, originate from this station. * Tenkasi Junction - Kollam Junction line * Tenkasi Junction - Tirunelveli Junction line * Tenkasi Junction - Virudunagar Junction line

Air connectivity

The nearest airports are as follows:- # Thoothukudi Airport () #

Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is an international airport that serves Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala and the fifth international airport of ...

() # Madurai International Airport () # Tiruchirappalli International Airport (297 kilometres or 185 miles)

Villages

* Kurumbalapperi * Keelapavoor

References

{{Tenkasi district Cities and towns in Tenkasi district