Tenkasi
| Tenkasi தென்காசி |
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 India
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| State : | Tamil Nadu | ||
| District : | Tirunelveli | ||
| Sub-district : | Tenkasi | ||
| Location : | 8 ° 58 ′ N , 77 ° 19 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 149 m | ||
| Residents : | 70,545 (2011) | ||
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Tenkasi ( Tamil : தென்காசி Teṉkāci [ ˈt̪enkaːsi ]) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with around 71,000 inhabitants (2011 census).
Tenkasi is located in the Tirunelveli district in southern Tamil Nadu, 620 kilometers southwest of Chennai (Madras), the capital of the state, and 50 kilometers northwest of the district capital Tirunelveli . The city is located in the lowlands a few kilometers from the foot of the Western Ghats , which form the natural border with the neighboring state of Kerala . Courtallam, known for its waterfalls, is five kilometers southwest of Tenkasi . Tenkasi is the capital of the Taluk of the same name (sub-district) in the Tirunelveli district.
The name Tenkasi means "Kashi ( Varanasi ) of the south" in the local Tamil language . According to belief, a visit to Tenkasi should replace the pilgrimage to Varanasi. The main temple of the city is dedicated to the god Shiva as Kasi Viswanathar , the form of Shiva that is worshiped in the holy city of Varanasi. The temple was founded in the 15th century by Arikesari Parakrama , a late representative of the Pandya dynasty, who ruled the area around Tirunelveli after the fall of the Pandya Empire. The most striking architectural feature of the 1.6 hectare temple complex is the 54 meter high gopuram (gate tower), which rises above the main entrance in the east.
Tenkasi is on the road connection from Tirunelveli via the Western Ghats to Kerala. Tenkasi is also a railway junction between Tamil Nadu and Kerala: Here the line coming from Madurai via Virudhunagar meets a line that leads from Tirunelveli via the Western Ghats to Kollam in Kerala. Due to the ongoing switch to broad gauge , the Tirunelveli-Kollam line is currently only in operation as far as Shenkottai .
62 percent of Tenkasi's residents are Hindus , 35 percent Muslim and 3 percent Christian . As in all of Tamil Nadu, the main language is Tamil, which is spoken by 98 percent of the population as their mother tongue.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Census of India 2011.
- ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
- ↑ Census of India 2001: C-16 City: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .