Sankarankovil is a city in Tenkasi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was formerly called Sankaranayinarkoil. Sankarankovil is the home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple .

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Sankarankovil Punnai Vanam, Sankarankoil
Village
Nickname:  Sangai
Sankarankovil Location in Tenkasi district,Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates: 9.16°N 77.55°E / 9.16; 77.55
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Tenkasi district
Taluk	Sankarankoil taluk
Founded by	Ukkira Pandiya Raja
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Sankarankoil Municipality
• Member of Legislative Assembly	E. Raja
Elevation	143 m (469 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	70,574
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	627756
Telephone code	+91 – 4636
Vehicle registration	TN-79 (Sankarankovil RTO)
Website	www.sankarankovil.in
1st Grade Municipality

History

Sankarankovil is home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple, which was built by Ugra Pandiyan BC 900^[clarify] and houses the deity by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half Shiva and the other half Vishnu. According to folklore, the devotees of Hari (Vishnu) and Shiva once quarreled with each other to determine which god was more powerful, until Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to show his devotees that Hari and Shiva were one and the same. Thus, it is held sacred by Saivites and those Hindus who believe that Shiva and Vishnu are a single deity. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Vishnu only do not accept this and hence reject the temple. The deities of the temple are Sri Sankareswarar, Gomathi Amman and Sri Sankara Narayanar. Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal.

In older times, the city was called as Sankaranayinarkoil. It is also noted for the "Adi Thabasu" festival.

The general belief is that the Holy Sand "Puttrumann" (Puttru = Ant Hill, Mann = Sand) that one gets from this temple is capable of curing all the diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil's Nagachunai (sacred tank) have been dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam which has a miraculous power to heal those who bath there. Once, a "Devan" (Angel) called "Manikkeerivan" was cursed by the goddess Parvathi. Because of which, he had to come to earth and work as gardener in a beautiful garden. One day while he was clearing a snake pit, the snake tail was also cut. He found a Sivalingam next to the snake. He went and informed about this to his king "Ugra Pandiyan". The king considered it to be the god's wish to stay there and constructed the temple and a city around it.

The snake pit (Ant Hill) is called "Vanmeekam" (Tamil: வன்மீகம்). Hence the deity Sri Sankaralingar is also called "Vanmeeganadhar" (Tamil: வன்மீகநாதர்)

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Sankarankoil had a population of 70, 574 with a sex-ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[2] A total of 5,660 were under the age of six, constituting 2,867 males and 2,793 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 22.47% and .3% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 74.9%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[2] The town had a total of 14536 households. There were a total of 24,064 workers, comprising 493 cultivators, 2,003 main agricultural labourers, 2,245 in house hold industries, 17,190 other workers, 2,133 marginal workers, 34 marginal cultivators, 247 marginal agricultural labourers, 413 marginal workers in household industries and 1,439 other marginal workers.[3]Hindus forms a Majority of 90% , followed by Islam 5% and Christians 5%

Politics

Sankarankovil (State Assembly Constituency) is a part of Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency).[4] E. Raja from DMK is the MLA.

Economy

Apart from agri business, this town is known for its textiles. Nearly 4000 powerlooms are directly involved in producing various kinds of textile products like terry towels, cotton saris, lungies, handkerchiefs, vinayakar towels, etc. The produced products are marketed all over India directly.

Transport

Air

The nearest international airport is Madurai which is 120 km (75 mi) away from Sankarankovil. It is linked with Chennai, Sri Lanka, Singapore and other major cities of India. The other nearest international airport is located in Trivandrum. It is 148 km (92 mi) away from Sankarankovil. Tuticorin (IATA: TCR, ICAO: VOTK) is a domestic airport located 95.4 km (59.3 mi) from Sankarankovil and SpiceJet serves Tuticorin with two flights from Chennai.

Road

Sankarankovil has two bus stands. The main bus stand is near the Sankarankovil Municipality office, and is also called the Anna Bus Stand. The new bus stand is nearby to the Sankarankovil Taluk office, and is also called the Thanthai Periyar New Bus Stand.

Sankarankovil is situated at the intersection of State Highways 41 and 76. Also it is situated near National Highways 07 and 208.

The main bus routes are to cities / towns like Tirunelveli,Virudhunagar, Madurai, Tuticorin, Nagercoil, Tenkasi, Rajapalayam, Srivilliputhur, Sivakasi, Surandai, Kalugumalai, Thiruvenkatam, Valliyur, Courtallam, Shencottah, Aryankavu, Ambasamudram, Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur, Rameshwaram, Tirumangalam, Aruppukottai, Kovilpatti, Sivagiri, Kayathar, Sattur, Nanguneri, Ettaiyapuram, Karivalamvandha Nallur and so on. Sankarankovil has state transport (SETC) bus routes to Kodaikanal, Munnar, Madurai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Palakkad, Calicut, Dindigul, Hosur and so on.

Railway

There are three daily passenger trains Madurai to Shencottah through Sankarankovil. Also there are three daily passenger trains Shencottah to Madurai through Sankarankovil. Also there is daily two express trains. One is Chennai to Shencottah through Sankarankovil . Also there is Shencottah to Chennai through Sankarankovil.

Municipality

Sankarankovil includes many localities, including Karivalamvandha Nallur, Gomathi Nagar, Gomathiyapuram Nagar, Ramasamiapuram, Sangupuram Nagar, Lakshmiyapuram Nagar, Vadukkupudhur, Therkku Sankarankovil, NGO Colony, Ezhil Nagar, and Mullai Nagar.

Sankarankovil RTO

Sankarankovil RTO was opened by chief minister Ms. J. Jayalalitha Jayaram via video conference.

Notable people from Sankarankovil

• Mozhi Gnayiru(The sun of Language). Devaneya Pavanar (Tamil Writer)
• V.Gopalasamy (Vaiko) (Founder of MDMK)
• Karuppasamy (minister in ADMK government, up to 22 October 2011)
• S. Thangavelu (ex state minister, member of parliament (R.S.) [D.M.K]
• Vivek (Actor)
• S. J. Surya (Actor)
• Rajalakshmi Ex.MLA (Ex.Minister of Adidravitar Welfare Dept)
• Ramasamy Rajesh Kumar Nuclear Agriculture Scientist and Social Worker [5][6]

References