Srivaikuntam, also referred to as Thiruvaikuntam, is a panchayat town in

Thoothukudi district The Thoothukkudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. On 20 October 1986, an M. G. Ramachandran-led government bifurcated the Tirunelveli district to form the district. It is shared by its boundaries w ...

in the

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 ...

. It is located on the banks of the river Thamirabarani. Thiruvaikuntam has a temple dedicated to

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 ( ...

, known as Srivaikuntanathan or as Tiruvaikuntapati, with a lofty gopuram. The Thiruvenkadam Udaiyar Mandapam is rich with sculptures of ''yalli'', elephants and warriors. The Ekadasi Mandapam, which is opened on Vaikunta Ekadasi days, contains sculptures. During the period of conflict between the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

forces and Veera Pandiya Kattabomman, the temple served as a fort. The Kailasanathaswamy temple is another important temple and contains six inscriptions of the times of Kattabomman.

Geography

Srivaikuntam is located at . It has an average elevation of 17

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s (55

feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...

). The town is located on the north bank of the Tamirabarani river. It is 30 km east of

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 ...

, 30 km west of Tiruchendur and 39 km from Tuticorin.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Srivaikuntam had a population of 16,214. Males constituted 48% of the population and females 52%. Tiruvaikuntam had an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 81%, and female literacy was 72%. In Srivaikuntam, 11% of the population was under 6 years of age. The city and its surroundings has a considerable population of Appanad Maravars and Brahmins (notably Iyengars).

Landmarks

* Srivaikuntanathan Perumal temple (Vishnu temple ; One of the '' Nava Tirupati'') * Kailasanathar Temple, Srivaikuntam (Shiva temple ; One of the '' Nava Kailasam'') SrivaikundamSivanTempleFrontView

Festivals

*Fifth day festival every year April mid (in the Tamil month of '' Chithirai'') *Ninth day Car festival every year April mid (in the Tamil month of ''Chithirai'') * Vaikunta Ekadashi between December and January *Kuruz Kovil (RC Church) Festival from 16 July to 25 July

Transport

Bus services are conducted from

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 ...

, Tiruchendur and Thoothukudi through Srivaikuntam. There is a railway station at Tiruvaikuntam. Nearest air services are 24.6 km away at Thoothukudi.

Education

*Arulmighu Kumara Gurupara Swamigal Arts College, Srivaikuntam *Arulmighu Kumara Gurupara Swamigal Public Library, Srivaikuntam *Sri Kumara Gurupara Swamikal Hr Sec School, Srivaikuntam *Arulmigu Kumara Gurupara Swamikal Government Girls Hr. Sec. School, Srivaikuntam *TV RamaSubbier Krishnammal Hindu Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Srivaikuntam *Hajji Miyan Abdul Cader Middle School, Srivaikuntam *SDA Mat Hr Sec School, Srivaikuntam *Sri Kumara Gurupara swamigal primary school, Srivaikuntam *St James Matriculation School, Srivaikuntam *Ulagammalanni Niyabahartha Middle School, Srivaikuntam

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Thoothukudi district