Viralimalai is a developing town and Suburb of city of

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

, located in

Pudukkottai District Pudukkottai District is one of the List of districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Pudukkottai is the district headquarters. It is also known colloquially as ''Pudhugai.'' The city is also known ...

, 28 km from

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 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 ...

. The famous Lord Shanmuganathar temple is situated on the top of the granite hill at Viralimalai. The temple was once a renowned seat of the

Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...

dance form and boasted of a separate dancer for each of the 32 ''adavu''s (dance movements).Arunagirinathar vizha(festival) also takes place each year in the Tamil month of aadi.

History

The natural caverns in the hillock show signs of early human habitation and may have shared the fortunes of

Kodumbalur Kodumbalur is a village in Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the site of the Moovar Koil temple complex. Location It is located at a distance of 35km from Trichy and 40km from Pudukkottai. The name Kodumbalur has been mentioned in ...

, 6 km away. The presence of an early

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

temple suggests that Viralimalai was a prosperous village as early as the 9th century AD. The sides of this hill are covered with non-thorny trees, mainly Wrightia. Viralimalai is home to an exclusive kuravanji dance-drama. The kuravanji named after Viralimalai has had an unbroken tradition of presentation for nearly two centuries. On

Maha 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 - ...

night every year, till 1993, the Kuravanji was played as an all-night show to large crowds of nobles, officials and ordinary folk, in front of the mandapam below the foot of the hill.

Peacock Sanctuary

Peacocks Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred to ...

are abundant in the region and Viralimalai forms a sanctuary for the birds. The town, Temple and Peacock Sanctuary have been declared and funded as a Heritage Place by order of the Governor. VIJAYA BASKER. C Constituency : Viralimalai Party : AIADMK Viralimalai tk

Notes

{{reflist Cities and towns in Pudukkottai district

History

Peacock Sanctuary

See also

Notes