Thiruvidaimarudur (also spelt as Thiruvidaimaradur or Tiruvidaimarudur) is a

panchayat town 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 ...

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauv ...

, 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 ...

. The town is notable for its Mahalingeshwarar Temple, 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 ...

shrine for Lord

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 ...

Geography

Tiruvidaimarudur is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Demographics

The 2001 Indian

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 ...

recorded Thiruvidaimarudur as having a population of 13,758. Males and females each constituted 50% of the population. Thiruvidaimarudur has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 68%. 11% of the town's population is under 6 years of age.

Politics

Thiruvidaimarudur assembly constituency is part of

Mayiladuturai (Lok Sabha constituency) Mayiladuthurai is a Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) constituency in Tamil Nadu. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 28 of 39. It spreads on two districts, Mayiladuthurai and Thanjavur. History Mayiladuthurai (Lok Sabha constitu ...

. Govi. Chezhiyan is the current MLA of Thiruvidaimaruthur assembly constituency and the current MP of Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency

S. Ramalingam Sellaperumal Ramalingam is an Indian politician belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.He was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from Mayiladuturai (Lok Sabha constituency), Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu in the ...

is from Thiruvidaimaruthur.

The temple

Located about north-east of the temple city of

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

and serves as one of the Taluk headquarters in the

Tanjore District Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. Geography The dis ...

. The region is known for its fertile soil, allowing farmers to harvest crops three times a year. On occasion, the waters of the

Cauvery River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

enable a fourth harvest. Tiruvidaimarudur (also known as ''madhyārjunam'') is located on the banks of the Virasolanar River. It is home to the Mahalingeswarar Temple, where the deity Shiva is worshipped as ''Mahalingeswara Swami'' (in Sanskrit, ''mahā-lingeśvara svāmi'', meaning "the great lord of the lingam"), represented by a lingam known as ''jothimayalingam'' (in Tamil, ''ஜோதிமயலிங்கம்'', ''jōthimaya liṅgam'', meaning "lingam of radiant light"). The goddess of the temple is ''Brihad Sundara Gujambal'' (''perunala mamulai ammai''). The lingam is “believed to be the focal point for the seven consorts of Shiva.” The temple’s ''Nandi'', one of the largest in the district, is notable for not being carved from a single stone, which is why it does not surpass the weight of the ''Nandi'' at the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, despite being larger in size. There is also a separate sanctum (''sannidhi'') for ''Mookambikai'' (in Tamil, ''மூகாம்பிகை'', ''mūkāmbikai'') with a ''Maha Meru'' (in Sanskrit, ''mahāmeru'', meaning "great sacred mountain"). Two major temple festivals are celebrated annually at the Mahalingeswarar Temple. The first, ''

Thaipusam Thaipusam or Thaipoosam (Tamil language, Tamil: Taippūcam, ) is a Tamil Hindu festival celebrated on the first Purnima, full moon day of the Tamil calendar, Tamil month of Pausha, Thai coinciding with Pushya, Pusam Nakshatra, star. The festiv ...

'' (in Tamil, ''தைப்பூசம்'', celebrated during the Tamil month of ''Thai'' anuary–February, and the second, ''Thirukkalyana Utsavam'' (in Tamil, ''திருக்கல்யாண உற்சவம்'', ''tirukkaḷyāṇa uṟcavam'', meaning "divine wedding festival") or ''Vasantha Utsavam'' (''vasanta utsava'', meaning "spring festival"), is observed in the Tamil month of ''Vaigasi'' (May). Other significant festivals include the ''63 Nayanmar Ula'' (in Tamil, ''நாயன்மார் உலா'', a procession honouring the 63 Shaivite saints) and ''Arudra Darisanam'' (''ārdrā darśana'', meaning "sacred sight of Lord Shiva on the Ārdra star day"), similar to the celebration in

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 ...

. The temple is also known for its 27 star lingas, the idol of the prince ''Ammani Ammal'' (in Tamil, ''அம்மணி அம்மாள்'', meaning "beloved mother"), and the ''Chitra prakaram'' (''citra-prākāra'', meaning "painted enclosure" or precincts of the temple), which is adorned with extensive paintings. Additionally, there are several charitable trusts associated with the temple, one of which is the ''

Pachaiyappa Mudaliar Vallal Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754–1794) or Arcot Pachayyappa Mudaliar was a Madras merchant, philanthropist, and dubash of the 18th century. Commemorative stamp on Vallal Pachaiyappa was released 31 March 2010. Early life Vallal Pachaiya ...

Arakattalai'' (''பச்சையப்ப முதலியார் அறக்கட்டளை'').

Notable People

Tiruvidaimarudur is the birthplace of the

Saint Pattinathar - in the medieval period - whose lyrics are renowned for realizing self in the Tamil Saiva tradition of Hinduism. It is also the birthplace of the

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

T. R. Mahalingam. The family of Amar Singh, who was deposed from the throne of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

in 1798, resides here.

External links

Thiruvidaimaruthur Maha Linga swamy temple information and photos

References

{{Thanjavur district Cities and towns in Thanjavur district