Polur is a scenic town, divisional headquarters and a market center in

Tiruvannamalai district Tiruvannamalai district (previously known as Central Arcot, Tiruvannamalai Sambhuvarayar District) is the largest and one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India. It was formed in the year 1989 through the bifurcation of ...

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Located at the foothills of Javvadhi hills, a popular section of

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 ...

, Polur is often regarded as ''Gateway of Eastern ghats''. Polur was once a eminent center of Tamil Jainism. The town is home to Dharani sugars, chemicals and fertiliser Pvt., Ltd, and number of agro based industries including coir industries. The famous

Chittor Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

road (C.C. Road) passes through the town. The town is located 29 Kilometres north of city of

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

and 45 kilometres south of

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...

Metropolis.

Geography

Polur is located at . It has an average elevation of 171 metres (561 ft). Along with many places of worship, Polur has a huge mountain temple dedicated to Lord

Narasimha Narasimha ( sa, नरसिंह, lit=man-lion, ), sometimes rendered Narasingha, is the fourth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is regarded to have incarnated in the form of a part-lion, part-man being to slay Hiranyakashipu, to end rel ...

. This mountain temple was historically referred to as

Sampathgiri Sampathgiri is a huge hill in the centre of Polur, Tamil Nadu, India. This hill has been dedicated to Lord Narasimha and a temple was constructed in ancient times on the hill. Many celebrities and personalities have visited this temple and dona ...

, which in Sanskrit means "mountain of wealth". From the top of the hill, one can have a clear view of the Tiruvannamalai Arunachala Hill. A small hill named Kunnathur Hill is also seen on the outskirts of Polur. The same term was referred to in Tamil as "Porulur", literally translating to ''Porul'' ''oor'' (place of wealth), now referred to as Polur. It is situated in the

Tiruvannamalai District Tiruvannamalai district (previously known as Central Arcot, Tiruvannamalai Sambhuvarayar District) is the largest and one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, in South India. It was formed in the year 1989 through the bifurcation of ...

, it takes around 30 minutes to reach the

and Silk City of Arani. It takes about 1 hour to reach

Demographics

Population

As of 2001 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Polur had a population of 43,492. Males constituted 49% of the population and females 51%. Polur had an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 79%, and female literacy was 65%. In Polur, 11% of the population were under 6 years of age.

Transport

The nearest Village is Kelur which is situated on the

- Thirvannamalai Highway. The town is about 193 km from Chennai and there are frequent buses (TNSTC - Villupuram) from the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus

CMBT Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) (officially Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G.R. Bus Terminus) is a bus terminus located in Chennai, India, providing inter-state bus transport services. It is located on the inner-ring road (Jawaharlal Nehru Ro ...

, plying on Route # 148 (Chennai - Polur) via Tambaram, Chengalepat, Utthiramerur, Vandavasi, Chetpet. The nearest airport is at Chennai. Parvathamalai 1

The remote village

Sothukanni Sothukanni is a village in Polur taluk, Tiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu. It is at a distance of 8 kilometers from Polur. This village is famous for Mariyamman Temple. Every year during Kanum Pongal, thousands of people from various villag ...

is 8 km east of Polur. It is famous for Kanum Pongal. Kalambur town is 17 km away and is famous for rice production. Polur Railway Station is on the Vellore-Thiruvannamalai rail route. The station is served by the Southern Railway. The station is located about 35 km from Thiruvannamalai. Going north, Vellore Cantonment Railway Station is the main station next to Polur. Traveling south, Thiruvannamalai Railway Station is the nearest major station. The original name (with diacritics) of the town is Polūr. Airports nearest to Polur are sorted by the distance to the airport from the city centre. *Vellore Airport (45 km) *Pondicherry Airport (94 km) *Neyveli Airfield (110 km) *Tambaram Airfield (120 km) *

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest air ...

(130 km)

Arahanthgiri Jain Math

Arahanthgiri Jain Math is a Jain

Math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

that was established at the ancient

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 ...

site of

Tiruvannaamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

in August, 1998. The complex includes three Jain caves, four

Jain temples A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

and a 16 meter high sculpture of

Neminatha Neminatha, also known as Nemi and Arishtanemi, is the twenty-second ''tirthankara'' (ford-maker) in Jainism. Along with Mahavira, Parshvanatha and Rishabhanatha, Neminatha is one of the twenty four ''tirthankaras'' who attract the most devo ...

thought to date from the 12th century that is the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu.

References

{{Chennai - Suburban Railway, West South, Polur, Tamil Nadu, Arni Road (Kalambur), Tamil Nadu, Agaram Sibbandi, 48, 190.95 Cities and towns in Tiruvannamalai district