Thandikudi is a Panchayat in
Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () (English: ) is a municipality and hill station in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is situated at an altitude of in the Palani hills of the Western Ghats. Kodaikanal was established in 1845 to serve as a r ...
Circle of
Dindigul
Dindigul (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul City is Located in the Southwest Region of Tamil Nadu. Dindigul is an ancient settlement r ...
District in the Indian state of
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 ...
. 35 km from Kodaikanal at an altitude of about 3705 feet above sea level in the foothills of the
Western Ghats and
Palani Hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin with t ...
. Vathalakundu is a forested area.
The name Thandikudi has multiple theories regarding its origin. One theory suggests that the name is derived from the belief of the locals that Lord
Muruga
Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...
, a
Hindu
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 ...
deity, jumped from that spot and over the hill to reach Palani. 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 ...
, "Thandi" means to jump, and "Kudi" refers to a clan-based settlement. So, according to this theory, Thandikudi would mean "the settlement of the jumping clan."
A theory proposed by the Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology is based on archaeological surveys. It suggests that Thandikudi, located about 47 km northeast of Vattalagundu in the lower Palani hills, was associated with chieftains named "Tondrikon and Kodaiporunan" during the Sangam Age. The present name Thandikudi is believed to have evolved from Tandrikudi.
Archaeological remains found in the area support the notion that Thandikudi has been inhabited for over 3,500 years. The archaeological vestiges indicate that the sites are situated in an ecologically favorable environment, which facilitated continuous occupation throughout the centuries.
To sum it up, the name Thandikudi is thought to have originated from either the belief that Lord Muruga jumped from the spot or the association with chieftains named Tondrikon and Kodaiporunan during the Sangam Age.
People
As per India 2001 census 4058 people live here.
51% of them are male and 49% are female. The average literacy rate of Thandikudi population is 74%, of which male literacy is 80% and female literacy is 67%. This is higher than the Indian national average literacy rate of 59.5%. 9% of the population of Thandikudi is below six years of age.
Major crop
Cash crops like coffee, banana, jackfruit, pepper, and garlic, radish, carrot, beetroot, potato and orange are grown in abundance in this mountain village.{{citation needed, date=June 2023
External links
Thandikudi location in Mappia
References
Villages in Dindigul district