Namakkal () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and the headquarters of Namakkal district,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management, specifically the provision and maintenance of water supply, solid waste and sewage management, town planning, lighting and other social services. Namakkal is known as the Egg City due to its large egg production and Transport city.

History

Namakkal is a historic city with references back to at least the 6th century. The name Namakkal derives from ''Namagiri'', which is the name of the single rock formation at the centre of the town dedicated to

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. The rock is 65 meters high and over a kilometre in circumference. There are two cave temples namely Sri Namagiri Thayar sametha Sri Narasimhaswamy Perumal Temple and Sri Ranganatha Perumal Temple which are excavated in this Namagiri hill and is believed to be built during the 6th century CE by the Satyaputra Kings and Pandya kings with the help of rock-cut architecture style and various inscriptions. Historian Soundara Rajan places the date to a pre-Varagunan I (800–830 CE) era on the 8th century. Based on the palaeography and rock-cut architecture, P.R. Srinivasan has placed it at 6th century. Most of the historians have compared the temples with similar architectural elements found in

Badami Caves The Badami cave temples are a complex of Hindu and Jain cave temples located in Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in northern part of Karnataka, India. The caves are important examples of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami ...

(6th century) and a possible influence. There are few inscriptions in the temple, especially an undated inscription in Grantha Charecters at the Ranganatha temple which are similar to the inscriptions in the Ganesha Ratha in

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is o ...

, which is on the another cave in the upper part of the hill. Another inscription mentions it as Adiyendra Vishnu Grham which evidently shows that the cave was excavated by the

Satyaputra The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and ...

Kings, the recently discovered inscription not only confirms this but also mentions the king's name as ''Gunasila'' (Dated 500 CE). Historians believe it is possible that both the temples were built during the same period. Over this massive rock, is a fort,

Namakkal Fort Namakkal Fort is a historic fort present in Namakkal in Namakkal district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The fort was built during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai in 17th century. It was under the dominion of Tipu Sultan and ...

Kongu nadu Kongu Nadu, also known by various names as Kongu Mandalam and Kongu belt, is a geographical region comprising present day parts of western Tamil Nadu, southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala. In the ancient Tamilakam, it was the seat of th ...

a small kingdom who ruled Namakkal during the 16th century. During Sangam age, Namakkal region formed a part of the historical Kongu Nadu region ruled by Cheras It is believed that Tippu Sultan hid himself in this fort for some time to escape the British. The fort was not built by Tippu Sultan but he occupied it for a brief period of time. Later the fort was captured by British. The front side of the hill is called Thiru. Vi. Ka. Paarai and today is used by taxis as their stand. Namakkal is a part of

Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu, also known by various names as Kongu Mandalam and Kongu belt, is a geographical region comprising present day parts of western Tamil Nadu, southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala. In the ancient Tamilakam, it was the seat of th ...

which was hotly contested and coveted by both the ancient

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahanas, Satavahana dynasty, with whom they ...

and the Pandyas. Namakkal was in the hands of Atiakula King called Gunasila who had an alliance with Pallava King through marriage. Later the taluk was overrun by the

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

in the Mandalam. After the struggle between the Cheras,

and Pandiyan, the Hoysalas rose to power and had control till the 14th century followed by the Vijayanagara Kings until 1565 AD. Then the Telugu Madurai Nayaks came to power in 1623 AD. Two of the polygons of Thirumalai Nayak, namely, Ramachandra Nayaka and Gatti Mudaliars, ruled the Salem area. The

is reported to have been built by Ramachandra Nayakas. After about 1625 AD, the area successively came successively under the rule of Muslim Sultans of Bijapur and

Golkonda Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparud ...

, Mysore kings and then the Marathas. Hyder Ali came to power in about the year 1750 AD. During this period, it was a history of power struggle between Hyder Ali and later Tippu, with the British. Namakkal was held by Killdhar (Caption) of Hyder Ali until it was captured by British in 1768. For a brief period during late 18th and early 19th century Namakkal was under

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or 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 bein ...

district of British Rule. Later, Namakkal was transferred back to Salem District. Then at 01-01-1997 finally announced as a separate district from Salem District.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

held a public meeting in 1933 in Namakkal under the slope of the Namakkal rock.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Namakkal had a population of 55,145 with a sex-ratio of 1,015 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 5,002 were under the age of six, constituting 2,609 males and 2,393 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 13.7% and .5% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 82.52%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 15008 households. There were a total of 21,572 workers, comprising 133 cultivators, 264 main agricultural labourers, 562 in house hold industries, 19,646 other workers, 967 marginal workers, 22 marginal cultivators, 24 marginal agricultural labourers, 151 marginal workers in household industries and 770 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Namakkal had 88.98%

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 9.29%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, 1.48%

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 0.01%

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

, 0.0%

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, 0.01%

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

, 0.23% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

Tourism

Namakkal Anjaneyar temple

Namakkal Anjaneyar temple is located in Namakkal, and is dedicated to the Hindu god

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. It is constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture. The image of Anjaneyar is tall, making it one of the tallest images of Hanuman in ancient temples of India. The image of Anjaneyar is carved out of a single stone and is existing from the 5th century. There is no roof over the sanctum and Anjaneyar has a unique iconography sporting a sword in his waist and holding a garland made of saligrama. The temple is considered one of the prominent temples in the Tamil Nadu state and the country. The Agamam is followed by "Sri Vaikhanasam".

Namagiri Lakshmi Narasimar swami temple

Namagiri Lakshmi Narasimhaswami Temple of Lord Vishnu has the form of Sri Narasimha Swami. The temple is believed to be built during the 8th century by the Pandya kings in Rock-cut architecture. The temple does not find a mention in Naalayira Divya Prabhandams, and thus is not listed in Divya desam series of 108 temples. Annual car festival for the Lord Narasimmaswamy temple is celebrated in March and April every year (Tamil Month "Panguni") as per "Sri Vaikhanasa Ahamam".

Namakkal Fort

is a historic fort present in Namakkal in Namakkal district in the

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n state of

. The rock fort is on the summit of the rock, and the remnants in brick and stone still bear the brunt of the skirmishes to lay

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to the fort by the

in the 9th century. The fort was reinforced during the reign of

kongu Vellalars Kongu Vellalar is a community found in the Kongu region of Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology The Vellalar of the Kongu country came to be known as Kongu Vellalar. They are also known by names such as "Bupaalan", Gangavamsam, Kudiyaanavar and Vi ...

in the 17th century. The fort is located on the top of a hillock made of a single rock, tall. There is a temple and a mosque that are located within the fort, both of which are tourist attractions of the town. In modern times, the fort is under the control of the Archaeological Department of the

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

. The Ranganathaswamy temple is another rock-cut temple alongside the fort.

Ranganatha Ranganatha, also known as Ranganathar, Rangan, Aranganathar, Sri Ranga, and Thenarangathan, is a Hindu deity with his origin in South India, serving as the chief deity of the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam. The deity is a resting form of ...

swamy cave temple is believed to have been built by the Pallavas.

Transport

Road

Buses ply to cities in Tamil Nadu like

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, Erode,

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or 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 bein ...

, Karur,

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

and Dindigul. Namakkal is connected to the rest of India through National Highway 44 Buses from Trichy or Madurai will pass through Namakkal to reach Salem or Bangalore.

Railway

A new broad-gauge railway line from

to Karur via Namakkal started its service on 25 May 2013. There are trains daily from/to Salem, Karur, Chennai Central, Bangalore, Dindigul,

Palani Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal ...

, Madurai,

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

, Pollachi and

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

. Salem Jn to Karur Jn *

Rasipuram railway station Rasipuram railway station (station code: RASP) is a railway station situated in Rasipuram, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The station is an intermediate station on the newly commissioned – line which became operational in May 2013. The ...

* Puduchatram railway station * Kalangani railway station *

Namakkal railway station Namakkal railway station (station code: NMKL) is a railway station situated in the Town of Namakkal in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The station is an intermediate station on the newly commissioned Salem–Karur line which became operationa ...

* Laddivadi railway station * Mohanur railway station Salem Jn to Erode Jn * Anangur railway station * Cauvery railway station

Airports

The nearest airports are Salem Airport (52 km), Coimbatore International Airport (153 km), and Trichy International airport (85 km). Salem Airport started from 15 November 2009.

Geography

Namakkal is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is close to

Kolli Hills Kolli may refer to: * Kolli, Iran (disambiguation), places in Iran * Kolli Hills, is a small mountain range located in central Tamil Nadu * Kolli Pratyagatma, better known as Kotayya Pratyagatma * Kolli Srinath Reddy better known as K. Srinath Reddy ...

– which are part of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

. The closest significant river is the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

and it is located southwest of

and south of

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

.Namakkal's Twin Town Karur is located South across the Kaveri. Tourism in the district of Namakkal is based on the temples namely Namakkal anjaneyar temple and Namagiri amman temple of the area. The Kolli Hills, an outlier of the Eastern Ghats, constitute a prominent mountain range away from Namakkal. It is eighteen miles or twenty eight kilometers long (from north to south), twelve miles or nineteen kilometers wide (from east to west) and the Koll block is spread over an area of 441.4 square kilometers. When viewed from the plains of the Namakkal district, the mountain looks like a flat-topped mass. The mountain has been inhabited from prehistoric times. It is much celebrated in the Tamil Literature of the Sangam Age and at least eleven poets describe about it in their poems. A Shiva Temple, known as the Arappalleeswarar Temple, dates back to twelfth century and is located at Periakoviloor near the waterfalls called Akasa Gangai. An ancient and powerful deity called Kolli Paavai of Ettukkai Amman is also at the Kolli Hills. It attracts large pilgrims and was originally a

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

retreat.

Climate

Namakkal has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

( Köppen ''Aw'') with a wet season from May to October, a relatively mild "cool" season from November to February, and a sweltering "hot" season in March and April.

Platinum

Platinum deposit found in Sithampoondi village near Namakkal. Total deposit 0.7 ton.

Politics

Namakkal assembly constituency is part of

Namakkal (Lok Sabha constituency) Namakkal is a Lok Sabha Constituency in Tamil Nadu, India. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 16 of 39. It was a part of Rasipuram (Lok Sabha constituency) in previous parliament Election. Namakkal Lok Sabha Constituency consis ...

. A.K.P.Chinraj serves as M.P. for Namakkal Constituency. P.Ramalingam serves as M.L.A. for Namakkal.

Gallery

File:N-TN-C93 Narasimha Swamy Namakkal 2.jpg, Entrance of The Narasimhaswamy Temple File:City street scene in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.jpg, City street scene in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu File:Rekla Racer in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.jpg, Rekla Racer in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu File:Man Riding an Elephant in a Pongal Festival Parade in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.jpg, Man Riding an Elephant in a Pongal Festival Parade in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu File:Namakkal Fort 1.jpg File:Namakkal Fort 2.jpg File:Namakkal Fort 3.jpg File:Namakkal fort 3 inscriptions.JPG File:Namakkal Fort (6).jpg

References

{{Authority control Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2001 All articles containing potentially dated statements Cities and towns in Namakkal district