Maruthuvakudi, also known as Aduthurai is a small

panchayat town A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

situated near Kumbakonam,in the

Thanjavur District Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...

in the Indian state of

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 languag ...

. It is the sub urban region of business city of Kumbakonam.

Etymology

Maruthuvakudi takes its name from the demon Maruthuvasura, who lived there according to legend. The name Aduthurai comes from the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

word ThenKurangaduthurai, which translates to "southern land where monkeys used to dance". The epic tales of

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

, in which monkeys play an important role, and especially the tales of

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and ...

, may be linked to this name.

Geography

There are two rivers to the north of Aduthurai: the Veera Chozhan river and the

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. The landscape of rivers, trees, and

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced sh ...

fields around Viswanathapuram is typical of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

district.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2001 India census, Maruthuvakudi had a population of 11,455. Ten percent of the population was under six years of age. Males and females each constitute 50 percent of the population. Maruthuvakudi's literacy rate is 76 percent, considerably higher than the national average of 59.5 percent.

Culture/Cityscape

Tourist Attractions

Maruthuvakudi's major attraction is the

Ten Kurangaaduturai Temple Abathsahayeswarar Temple, Aduthurai (also calledTen Kurangaadutrai Temple, Aduthurai) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in the village of Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Shiva is worshipped as Apathsaheswarar, and is represented by th ...

, which is believed to be the place where

Sugreeva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kish ...

worshiped

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

. This highly revered shivasthalam is one of two Kurangaaduturai temples in Aduthurai, located south of the

Cauvery River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

Airavateswarar Temple, Maruthuvakudi Airavateswarar Temple is a Hindu temple located at Maruthuvakudi near Aduthurai in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest co ...

is a temple for Lord Shiva. As per a legend, Indra, the god-king of Heaven, and his white elephant Airavata were cursed by Sage Durvasa for throwing a garland given to them by the god Brahma. Indra lost his Kingdom and Airavata turned black. He worshipped the god Shiva here and was eventually released from the curse. It is also the place where Shiva slew the demon Marutthuvasura, from which the name of the village originated from.

Transport

By Air

By Rail

There is a railway station.

By Road

A bus terminal in the town connects it with other parts of Tamil Nadu. Bus route numbers A1, B1, 15A, 15B, 17, 27A, 27B, 27C, 33A, 33B, 53, 54 and 64 operates via the bus terminal. Various private and government long haul buses stop here connecting this town with major cities like

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, Coimbatore, Trichy, Rameswaram, Palani, Pudhuchery, Cuddalore and Madurai. The nearest major railway station, Kumbakonam, is 14 kilometers away. The daily Uzhavan Express train to

stops there. The town is located on the

Mayiladuthurai Mayiladuthurai (formerly known as Mayavaram or Mayuram) is a town and district headquarter of Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located at a distance of from the state capital, Chennai. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Medi ...

Kumbakonam highway, and buses are available from Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam.

Education

Schools

The Sri Kumara Gurupara Swamigal Higher Secondary School (KGSHSS) is the higher secondary school in Aduthurai. There are about 3,000 students in this school studying in both English and Tamil medium (from 6th to 12th grade). It has a computer science curriculum for +2 students, and a well established computer lab. The KGS Primary school, located on Perumal Koil Street, has classes for grades 1 to 5. The Crescent Matriculation School is located in the nearby town of Avaniapuram and has over 2,000 students up to +2 level. The Rice City Matriculation Higher Secondary School, situated near the Aduthurai railway station, aims to provide an all-round education for children at a low cost but with the same standard as the city schools.

Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute

The Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute is located in Aduthurai. The research station was first established at Manganallur in 1912, and was shifted to Aduthurai in 1922. In 1962 it was renamed the Regional Research Institute. In 1981, after 19 years of successful operation, it changed its name again to Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, or TRRI, and was elevated to Directorate of Rice Research Lead Centre in 1985. The institute occupies around 64 hectares and produces various high-quality breeds of rice and cane sugar. The institute's main focus is on promoting short-term cultivation. Some noteworthy breeds developed here are Aduthurai 32 (ADT-32) and Aduthurai 36 (ADT-36).

References

{{Thanjavur district Cities and towns in Thanjavur district