Padmanabhapuram is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

near

Thuckalay Thuckalay or Thakkalai is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality, and is the administrative headquarters of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisional Office is located in Mettuk ...

in Kanyakumari district in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,342.

History

Padmanabhapuram was the erstwhile capital of the

Kingdom of Travancore The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

(now part of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

). The Travancore King, Rama Varma, who was popularly known as Dharma Raja, shifted the capital in 1795 from Padmanabhapuram to

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. By that time, the boundaries of the Travancore had extended to less than half of the present day Indian state of Kerala. Up to 1957, Padmanabhapuram formed part of the Travancore Kingdom and subsequently the Travancore-Cochin State. It was when the states were divided on linguistic basis that

Kalkulam Kalkulam is a small village located in Kalkulam taluk, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 were transferred from ...

(including Padmanabhapuram), Vilavancode,

Thovala Thovalai is a small village located in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is well known in India for its production of flowers, especially jasmine. The taluk was among several in Thiruvananthapuram district that with the passage of the ...

and

Agastheeswaram Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. History Agasteeswaram is named after Sage Agastya who had visited this place to teach Ramayana. Most of the people from this village are well educat ...

Taluks of erstwhile

Thiruvananthapuram District Thiruvananthapuram District (), is the southernmost district in the Indian state of Kerala. The district was created in 1949, with its headquarters in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, which is also Kerala's administrative centre. The present d ...

of Travancore-Cochin State were included in the

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and ...

(later renamed as Tamil Nadu) as Kanyakumari District.

Geography

Padmanabhapuram is located at . It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet).

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Padmanabhapuram had a population of 21,342 with a sex-ratio of 1,029 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 2,120 were under the age of six, constituting 1,084 males and 1,036 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 10.61% and .% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 83.92%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of : 5549 households. There were a total of 7,036 workers, comprising 54 cultivators, 388 main agricultural labourers, 87 in house hold industries, 5,481 other workers, 1,026 marginal workers, 16 marginal cultivators, 73 marginal agricultural labourers, 54 marginal workers in household industries and 883 other marginal workers.

Tourism

The popular Padmanabhapuram Palace, the old palace of the Travancore kings, is also located here. It is spread over an area of . The palace is known for it antiques, including the armoury of the royal family. The woodwork in this palace is intricate. This Palace is maintained by the Govt.of Kerala Archaeology Department. According to ancient records, this charming centuries old palace was built in the Kalkulam forts by Iravi Varma Kulasekharan in the 16th century. Ravi Varma Kulashekhara Perumal’s dream abode now stands as an architectural wonder that echoes the praises of ancient Indian craftsmanship and glory. Other tourist locations include Thirparappu Waterfalls, Hanging Bridge in Mathoor, Ancient

Jain Temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...

Chitharal The Chitharal Jain Monuments and Bhagavati Temple, also known as Chitharal Malai Kovil (literally "Temple on the Hill"), Chitaral Cave Temple or Bhagwathi Temple, are located near Chitharal village in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. T ...

(a small village situated at a distance of 8 km from Marthandam.)

Thiruvalluvar Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of couplets on ethics, political and ...

Statue in Kanniyakumari. One can take a bus from

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on ...

and get down at

, which is two kilometres away from Padmanabhapuram. The nearest places around this old capital city of South travancore is Marunthukottai (It is a very old fort having weapons storage facility), Saralvilai, Kumarakovil (Lord Murugan Temple), Moolachel, Charode, Manali and Udaygiri fort.

Temple

There are many temples around Padmnanbhapuram Palace: Padmanabhapuram Madan-Ishakkiamman Temple, Padmanabhapuram Bhuththan Temple, Padmanabhapuram Pillayar Temple, Padmanabhapuram Murgan Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Padmanabhapuram Sarswathy Amman Temple, Perumal Temple, Neelakandaswamy Temple and Padmanabhapuram Chettu Samudhaya Mutharamman Temple Thirukarthikai is the famous festival celebrated at Padmanabhapuram Chettu Samudhaya Mutharamman Temple. File:Elur_chetty_padmanabhapuram_temple.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Mutharamman Temple. File:Elur_chetty_padmanabhapuram_madan_ishakkiamman_temple.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Madan-Ishakkiamman Temple. File:Elur_chetty_padmanabhapuram_bhuththan_temple.jpg, Padmanabhapuram Bhuththan Temple.jpg

Politics

Padmanabhapuram assembly constituency is part of Nagercoil (Lok Sabha constituency).

References

{{Kingdom of Travancore Cities and towns in Kanyakumari district Culture of Kerala Historical Indian regions Former capital cities in India