Tirukalukundram also known as Tirukazhukundram is a

panchayat town A nagar panchayat (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 12,000 ...

and Taluk head of

Tirukalukundram taluk Tirukalukundram taluk or Thirukalukundram taluk ( ta, திருக்கழுகுன்றம் வட்டம்) is a taluk of Chengalpattu district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The sacred town, Tirukalukundram is the present tal ...

Chengalpattu district Chengalpattu District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, in India. The district headquarters is located at Chengalpattu. Chengalpattu district came into existence on 29 November 2019 when it was carved out of Kanchipuram district after ...

in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 famous for the

Vedagiriswarar temple The Vedagiriswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva, located in Tirukalukundram (also known as Thirukazhukundram), Tamil Nadu, India. The Temple Tirukalukundram is known for the Vedagiriswarar temple complex, popularly known a ...

, a

Hindu 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 ...

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 ...

History

Tirukazhukundram's name is derived from ''kazhughu'', meaning eagle. At one time, two eagles soared above this Shiva hilltop temple every day at lunch time, and the priest at the temple gave them food as a ritual. According to legend, these eagles were not ordinary eagles, but two rishis whom a curse had transformed into birds. The legend also said that the eagles would stop coming to the temple during the

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

. The eagles have not been sighted in recent years, which is regarded as a sign that the Kali Yuga has begun. There is no Nandi on this hilltop temple of lord Shiva as it is believed that Nandi refused to step on this hill as it considered the whole of this hill as lord Shiva himself, hence stayed back on the ground level by the foothills. The prefix ''Tiru'' in Tirukazukundram means 'holy' or 'sacred' and is traditionally used in names of temple towns in all parts of Tamil Nadu.

Demographics

In the 2011 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 ...

, Tirukalukundram had a population of 29,391. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Tirukalukundram has an average literacy rate of 72%, lower than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 65%. In Tirukalukundram, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. Tirukalukundram3

There are about 565 steps to reach this hilltop temple. The picture above is another ( big ) Shiva temple by name 'Shri Tirupura Sundari' on the ground level.

Location

Thirukazhukundram is located on State Highway 58 between

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 ...

and

Thiruttani Tiruttani is a town in Tiruvallur district, suburb of Chennai within Chennai Metropolitan Area limit in state of Tamil Nadu, India. This town is famous for Tiruttani Murugan Temple which is one of the Arupadaiveedu and is dedicated to (Kartike ...

, from the tourist town of

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 ...

. It lies from

Old Mahabalipuram Road State Highway 49A (SH-49A) also known as Rajiv Gandhi Salai and Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway or just IT Expressway is a major road connecting Chennai, Tamil Nadu with Mahabalipuram in Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu. It is 45 km long and ...

, from

East Coast Road East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, built ...

, and from

GST road Grand Southern Trunk Road (or) National Highways 45 is an arterial road in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Chennai–Trichy Highway. The Road starts from Kathipara Junction in St Thomas Mount, Chennai towards Tiruchirappalli. It branches out from ...

Cultural references

In the Tamil science fiction thriller film '' 2.0'' (2018), the story partially takes place in Thirukazhukundram.

References

Cities and towns in Chengalpattu district {{Kanchipuram-geo-stub