Devakottai is a first-grade

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the state of

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. Located in the

Sivaganga district Sivaganga District is one of the 38 districts (an administrative district) in Tamil Nadu state, India. This district was formed on 15 March 1985 by trifurcation of Ramanathapuram district into Ramanathapuram district, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunaga ...

, the town is situated close to the

Karaikudi Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area ...

, near Rameswaram National Highway Road (NH-210). It is one of the major cities comes under the Chettinad area with rich heritage of houses built with limestone called "Karai Veedu". This Region is one of the towns in Chettinad belt. The town is famous for its ancient temple Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple also known as Nagara Sivan Kovil. As of 2011, the town had a population of 76,037.

Etymology

The name 'Devakottai' is derived from the Tamil word 'Devi Kottai'. It was one of the towns where Nattukottai Nagarathar once lived in Kaveripoompattinam in the

Chola Empire 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 ...

. In honor of it, when they migrated to the Pandya Empire, they named the new town as Devi Kottai. Later on, the town became known as 'Devakottai'.

History

Devakottai was an active town in the

Indian Independence Movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

. The municipal court of Devakottai was burned to the ground during the Quit India Movement. This leads to the town becoming one of the historical landmarks of

with typical building structures and monuments. Devakottai is now under the

constituency following the reformation of constituencies. However, for parliamentary elections, it comes under the Sivaganga constituency.

Demographics

Devakottai is Taluk in Tamil Nadu state, Devakottai Taluk population in 2022 is 97,327. According to 2011 census of India, Total Devakottai population is 76,037 people are living in this Taluk, of which 38,448 are male and 37,589 are female. Population of Devakottai in 2021 is 94,286 Literate people are 54,080 out of 30,517 are male and 23,563 are female. Total workers are 42,674 depends on multi skills out of which 24,638 are men and 18,036 are women. Total 13,697 Cultivators are depended on agriculture farming out of 8,297 are cultivated by men and 5,400 are women. 5,900 people works in agricultural land as a labour in Devakottai, men are 3,069 and 2,831 are women. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 8.5% and 0.16% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 80.95%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. In total, the town had 13192 households. In particular, there were a total of 18,696 workers, comprising 865 cultivators, 415 main agricultural laborers, 219 in house hold industries, 14,056 other workers, 3,141 marginal workers, 53 marginal cultivators, 1,011 marginal agricultural laborers, 58 marginal workers in household industries and 2,019 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Devakottai had 82.85%

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 9.92%

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

, 7.%

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, 0.02%

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a 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 ''Sikh'' ...

, 0.01% Jains and 0.2% following other religions.

Transport

Devakottai is situated on

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 ...

- Rameswaram National Highway Road (NH-210). The nearest airport is in

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, about 92 km away. The nearest major railway station is Devakottai Road Railway Station. There are frequent bus services available in Devakottai. Regular bus services are available to all important cities of Tamil Nadu.

Culture

The town is famous for its ancient temple, Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple also known as Nagara Sivan Kovil. This temple is associated with Sekkizhar, one of the famous Nayanars, who wrote Periapuranam, an epic eulogizing Lord shiva, hence the temple is also known as Sekkizhar temple. The temple is a big complex housed next to a vast sacred pond. Lord Sundareswarar and his consort Meenakshi are housed in separate shrines with separate rajagopurams. The town also has an

Agraharam An ''Agraharam'' (Sanskrit IAST: agrahāram) or ''Agrahara'' (Sanskrit IAST: agrahāra) was a grant of land and royal income from it, typically by a king or a noble family in India, for religious purposes, particularly to Brahmins to maint ...

which locals identify to as the ''Sivankoil Agraharam''. The town is known for its rich and traditional culture where the community of

Nagarathar Nagarathar (நகரத்தார்) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. The Nagarathar community was not originally a single caste, but developed from an assortment of related subcastes, which over time became known under t ...

s play a big role. The Kandar Sasti Vizha, a festival for the rich culture of Devakottai, has been conducted by Kandar Sasti Vizha Kazhagam for the past 68 years (as of the year 2013) at the Nagara Sivan Kovil, at Devakottai.

References

External links

Devakottai Municipality
{{Chettinad Villages Cities and towns in Sivaganga district