Thirparappu is a town located in the Kanyakumari District 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 ...

n 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 ...

. It is a popular tourist destination. It is located from the nearby town Arumanai, from

Kulasekaram Kulasekharam is a town located in the district of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the most important business centres in the district, after Marthandam. Kulasekharam has many rubber plantations that yield high quality latex, whic ...

, from

Nagercoil Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil (, "Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a Municipal Corporation city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the ...

, headquarters of the Kanyakumari District, and from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

, the capital of the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is famous for its falls on the Kodayar (Kothai) River and the Pechiparai Dam, located away.

Geography

Tirparappu falls

Tirparappu Waterfalls are a long rocky riverbed, at a height of nearly . The waterfall flows with great force for around seven months. The bed above the falls is a rocky mass extending up to a distance of about quarter of a kilometre upstream, with a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

constructed for supplying water to nearby paddy fields. Near the falls is a fortified temple dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, called the ''Mahadever Kovil''. It is third of the twelve ''Shivalayas'', famous for the ''Shivalaya Ottam'' during the Indian festival of

Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

. Devotees believe Mahadev lives here as ''Virabhadra'', a fierce incarnation of Shiva to kill Daksha Prajapati, after the death Satidevi. There are many old inscriptions in this temple including one of the Pandiya King dated ninth century. This temple is built around A.D. 9th century.

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 ...

, Thirparappu (Thriparappu) had a population of 21,722. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Thirparappu (Thriparappu) has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 72%. In Thirparappu, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

{{Reflist * http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sptthirparappu.htm * http://www.tn.gov.in/district_statistics.html Government of Tamil Nadu - District Statistics Cities and towns in Kanyakumari district Hindu temples in Kanyakumari district