Srivilliputhur Sanctuary

Description

• Elevation

• 146 m (479 ft)

Srivilliputhur (Tamil: ஸ்ரீவில்லிபுத்தூர் / திருவில்லிபுத்தூர்) is a city and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is also known as Dandipuram. It is on the Virudhunagar - Tenkasi line of the Southern Railway, about 74 km south of Madurai and well connected by road and rail with Madurai, Sivakasi, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Sattur.

The primary landmark of Srivilliputtur is 11-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Lord of Srivilliputtur, known as Vatapatrasayee. The tower of this temple rises 192 feet high and is the official symbol of the Government of Tamilnadu. It is said to have been built by Periyaazhvar, the father-in-law of the Lord, with a purse of gold that he won in debates held in the palace of Pandya King Vallabhadeva. The Government of Tamil Nadu uses this temple tower as part of its symbol. Another wonder in Srivilliputtur is Chariot which runs on AdiPuram. Srivilliputhur is well known for its ancient heritage and devotinal contributions.

Several centuries ago, the land area around Srivilliputhur was under the rule of Queen Malli. This Queen had two sons called Villi and Kandan. One day, while they were hunting in a forest, a tiger killed Kandan. Unaware of this fact, Villi searched for his brother, got tired and feel asleep. In his dream, God narrated to him what happened to his brother. Realising the fact, on divine orders Villi founded a beautiful city by setting right the forest. For this reason, the city is named after him as Villiputhur. Further, due to the divine birth of Sri Andal in this city, it got the honorific of Srivilliputhur.

During the reign of Thirumalai Naikar (1623–1659) and Rani Mangammal (1689–1706), this city became very popular. Thirumalai Naikar had done a lot of renovation consecration to the temples of this city. From 1751 to 1756 A.D., Srivilliputhur came under the rule of Nerkattucheval Jamindar Pulithevar. Then it fell into the hands of Mohammed Yousoof Khan. Until 1850, Sri Andal temple was under the care of the king of Trivancore. The British ruled the country till India attained freedom.

Formerly, Srivilliputhur was a part of Madurai district. Later on, it was annexed with Tirunelveli District in 1838 and in 1910 with Ramnad district respectively. When Ramnad District was divided into three districts, Srivilliputhur, significantly called the city of temples, came under Virudhunagar district. In this renowned city, there are many heritage temples.

The reputed temples of Sri Andal and Sri Vatapathra Sayanar are located in the heart of the city. The big tower of this temple stands as the official emblem of Tamil Nadu Government.

Towards west to this city lies the Western Ghats. And it contains dense forests and provides sanctuary to wild animals.

Srivilliputhur falls en route to the National Highways (N.H.208) extending from Thirumangalam to Kollam. The cities Rajapalayam and Sivakasi are 11 kilometres and 20 kilometres distance away from Srivilliputhur respectively.

The city was originally named for its founder, Villi forming the word Thiru-Villi-Puttur. "Thiru" is the Tamil salutation and it is interchanable with its Sanskrit equivalent - "Sri". Thus, the city can be called by both "Srivilliputtur" and "Thiruvilliputtur".

As of 2001[update] India census, Srivilliputhur had a population of 73,131. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. In Srivilliputhur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Thousands of people from across the State are expected every year to throng Srivilliputtur on this festival to witness the annual car festival at Andal Temple.

This event is the highlight of the 12-day `Aadi Pooram' festival at the temple, one of the 108 holy places for Vaishnavites.

It is one of the biggest festivals for the entire Virudhunagar district.

After early morning special pujas, the presiding deities, Sri Rengamannar and Goddess Andal are taken in decorated palanquins to the car.

The festival marks the adoption of presiding deity, Sri Andal, by Periyazhwar after he had found her near a Tulsi plant in the nandavanam of Vadabadrasai Temple at Srivilliputtur on the eighth day of the Tamil month of Adi.

Shenbaga Thoppu,a forest area about 8 km west from here is a very good option for trekking.There is no proper bus service to reach here though.However the place can be reached by two-wheeler or even cycle.

The forests are found on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats. Only 6.3% of the total geographical area is under forests. Many rare and endemic varieties of flora and fauna are found along the mountain slopes.

A wildlife sanctuary, spread over 480 square kilometres was established in 1989 at Shenbagathopu in Srivilliputtur taluk.. This sanctuary is contiguous with the Periyar tiger reserve on the south-western side and the Megamalai reserve forest on the north-western side. The altitude varies from 100 to 2010 m above sea level. The sanctuary is home to the endangered, arboreal Grizzled Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macrora).

This greyish brown squirrel weighs 1 to 1.8 kg. and is the size of a small cat. It measures about 735 mm. from nose to tail with the tail being 360 to 400 mm. long. They construct drays at forked branches where the crowns of neighbouring trees meet. This enables the squirrel to move away from the site by jumping from tree to tree when threatened. The home range of an individual is between 1,970 and 6,110 square metres.

The sanctuary also hosts a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies. Resident and migratory elephants are common. Other animals sighted are tiger, leopard, Nilgiri thar, spotted deer, barking deer, sambar, wild boar, porcupine, Nilgiri langur, lion-tailed macaque, common langur, slender loris, bonnet macaque, sloth bear and flying squirrel. Over 100 species of birds have been identified. The rare Great Indian horn bill is also found.

Special steps have been taken to conserve the forest areas in the sanctuary. The annual leases given for the collection of fruit and other minor forest produce has been stopped. Fruit bearing trees and other trees have been planted. This will increase the food sources as well as ensure continuity in the canopy. Soil conservation and water harvesting measures have been undertaken to improve the habitat.

There are some waterfalls on the way, you can take bath and enjoy. People from surrounding will gather here especially during the winter and rainy seasons. The river and water falls (Meenvetti Parai) are so famous. Many people visit this nice place everyday from Srivilliputtur, Rajapalayam and Sivakasi regularly. This place is shelter for many tribal communities.

The climate of the region is semi-arid tropical monsoon type. Temperature range is 20°C to 37°C.It has a high mean temperature and a low degree of humidity. April, May and June are the hottest months of the year. The southwest monsoon which sets in June and lasts till August brings scanty rain. The bulk of the rainfall is received during the northeast monsoon in the months of October, November and December.

Weaving & farming are the primary occupation for most of the people in this town. Virudhunagar District with four clusters of handloom weavers — Rajapalayam, Srivilliputtur, Aruppukottai and Sundarapandiyam — accounts for one fourth of the looms in the State producing handloom products meant for free distribution.

Srivilliputtur Palkova, a sweet made up of milk and sugar, is prepared and distributed by area businesses and it's popular all over the Tamil Nadu state. The uniqueness of this sweet is the taste. This is due to high quality of milk that is being available here, because of proximity to Western Ghats.

This town also encompasses jewellery makers and lawyers in particular. It has 10 courts including a district court even though it is not the district headquarters.

One cannot ignore agriculture, there are lot of small villages within 3 km Radius, and agriculture is the main occupation, during draught people take up part time work in Match Box / Textile Industry.

Srivilliputhur assembly constituency is part of Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency).

R. Thamaraikani was elected 5 times from this constituency.

The best time to visit this town is during the Margazhi Thirunal (dec-jan)and the Adi Thirunal (July-August)which are very popular and provide a rare experience of the traditional temple festivals some of them unique to this town.

The nearest domestic airport is Madurai Airport (~70 km). Madurai Airport is around 1.5 hours from Srivilliputtur. Paramount Airways and Jet Airways are operating daily flights between Madurai Airport and Chennai International Airport.

The Pothigai Express train from Chennai Egmore to Sengottai that reaches Srivilliputtur every day at 6.13 in the morning. Summer special trains are available from Virdhunagar Jn in summer(April-June).A daily passenger train service is also available from Madurai. Daily Peoples come from many cities to this srivilliputtur station to visit many places especially Andal Temple. In the coming Budget people are expecting new trains to Bangalore and Coimbatore.

Buses to Srivilliputtur are there from Periyar(to tirumangalam and from there we need to catch another bus to srivilliputtur) and Mattuthavani(direct bus) bus stands of Madurai. Buses from both places are available every 20 mins. Buses to Srivilliputtur from Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar starting from the main bus stand are also available for every half an hour. Buses from various main places in Tamil Nadu to Srivilliputtur are also available frequently.

Buses from Chennai to Tenkasi, Sengottai travel via Srivilliputtur only.

NH208 - (Thirumangalam-Srivilliputhur-Rajapalayam-Tenkasi-Kollam)

SH42 - (Srivilliputhur-Sivakasi-Virudhunagar-Aruppukottai-Thiruchuli-Narikudi-Parthibanoor)

Cinema is the major recreation facility. There are 4 cinema theatres in the town.