Thirparappu is a town located in the

Kanyakumari District Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Nad ...

in the

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 ...

n state 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 ...

. It is a popular tourist destination. It is from

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 ...

, headquarters of the

, and from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, the capital of the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. 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 flow with great force for around seven months. The bed above the falls is a rocky mass that extends 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 river 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 Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

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

Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri ( IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu c ...

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

Demographics

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 ...

, 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 (Thriparappu), 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

{{Reflist 1. http://www.shaivam.org/siddhanta/sptthirparappu.htm 2. 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