Srimushnam is a

town panchayat A nagar panchayat () or 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 12,00 ...

, and the headquarters of Srimushnam taluk, in

Cuddalore district Cuddalore District is one of the 38 List of districts of Tamil Nadu, districts in the States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu in India. History Since ancient times, the old town has been a seaport. Through the centuries, Cu ...

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 ...

, India. The town is sacred to

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 ...

and

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

. It is one of the eight Svayam Vyakta Ksetras of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

, and is known for Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, which is dedicated to

Varaha Varaha (, , "boar") is the avatar of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a wild boar, boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. In legend, when the demon Hiranyaksha steals ...

, the boar-avatar of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, and his consort,

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. The Bhuvaraha temple has been visited by Madhva saint Sri

Vadiraja Tirtha Sri Vadiraja Tirtha (1480 – 1600) was a Dvaita philosopher, poet, traveller and mystic. He authored many works, often critical, on Madhva theology and metaphysics. Additionally, he composed numerous poems and as the pontiff of Sodhe Mutt, r ...

in sixteenth century and is written in his work

Tirtha Prabandha The ''Tirtha Prabandha'' () is one of the main Sanskrit works by Vadiraja Tirtha, the 16th century Dvaita philosopher and saint. The document is written in the form of a travelogue and contains descriptions of pilgrim centers throughout India. ...

. Jagadguru

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; 1199–1278 CE or 1238–1317 CE), also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) school of Vedanta. Madhva called his philosophy ...

visited Bhuvaraha temple many times and took even Chaturmasya deeksha here. During his Chaturmasya deeksha he created a Dhanda Tirtha, a pond with stick which can be seen even today.

Geography

Srimushnam is within Srimushnam taluk, which is in the southern part of Cuddalore district. It covers of land in the southwestern part of the taluk, near the border with Ariyalur district. Nearby large settlements include

Virudhachalam Virudhachalam, also called Vriddhachalam, is a Municipality and taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The ancient name of this town is Thirumudhukundram. As per the 2011 census, the town had a population of ...

, to the northwest, and

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a major town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to b ...

, to the east. It is located southwest of

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

, the district headquarters, and southwest of the state capital of

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 ...

. The town is within the drainage basin of the

Vellar River The Vellar River is a river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It originates in the Kalrayan Hills, and flows generally eastward through Salem, Perambalur, and Cuddalore districts, before flowing into the Bay of Bengal near Parangipettai. The r ...

Demographics

In 2011 Srimushnam had a population of 13,971 people living in 3,277 households. 7,020 (50.2%) of the inhabitants were male, while 6,951 (49.8%) were female. 1,448 children in the town, about 10.4% of the population, were at or below the age of 6. 68.0% of the population was literate, with the male rate of 74.4% higher than the female rate of 61.6%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 18.9% and 0.56% of the population, respectively.

Landmarks

Bhu Varaha Swamy temple is a Hindu temple, located at Srimushnam, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Constructed in the Chola style of architecture, the temple is dedicated to Varaha (Bhu Varaha Swamy), the boar-avatar of the god Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi as Ambujavalli Thayar. The temple had contributions from Medieval Cholas of the 10th century with later expansions by

Thanjavur Nayak The Thanjavur Nayak dynasty (or Thanjavur Nayak kingdom) were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries founded by Sevappa Nayak, Sevappa Nayaka. The Nayaks, who were Telugu people, Telugu Balija, Balijas,* * * * * * * * * ...

king

Achuthappa Nayak Achuthappa Nayak was the Nayaka of Thanjavur under the Vijayanagara Empire from 1560 to 1614. From 1560 to 1580, he was co-Nayaka along with his father and from 1580 to 1614, he ruled on his own. His reign was eventful and its later years were ...

. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all the shrines and the temple tanks. There is a seven-tiered rajagopuram, the temple’s gateway tower. Six daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Chariot festival, celebrated during the Tamil month of Vaikasi (April–May), being the most prominent. The festival also symbolises Hindu-Muslim unity in the region – the flag of the chariot is provided by Muslims; they take offerings from the temple and present to Allah in the mosques. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

References

External links

{{commonscat Cities and towns in Cuddalore district