| Kanyakumari | |
| State - District(s) | Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation | 25.89 km² - 0-300 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density | 19,678 - 665/km² |
| Mayor | ? |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle | - 629 xxx - +914652 - TN 74 |
Kanyakumari pronunciation is a town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a cape at the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula. During British rule, it was known as Cape Comorin. The closest major city is Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.
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Kanyakumari got its name from the Kumari Amman or the Kanyakumari Temple situated at the shore on the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. According to the local lore, Kanya Devi, an avatar of Parvati, was to marry Shiva, but he failed to show up to the wedding. The rice and other grains meant for the wedding feast remained uncooked. Today tourists can buy tiny stones which look like rice, in remembrance of the marriage that was never solemnized. The princess Kanya Devi is a virgin goddess who blesses pilgrims and tourists.
According to another local myth, Lord Hanuman dropped a piece of earth as he was carrying the mount with the life-saving herb, Mrita Snajivani from the Himalayas to Lanka during the Rama-Ravana war. This chunk of earth is called Marunthuvazh Malai, which is literally translated to "medicine-residing hills". This is said to be the reason for the abundance of unique native plants in the area. The district is home to many practitioners of various branches of ancient India's health tradition, including siddha, ayurvedha, varma kalai.
Kanyakumari has been a great centre for art and religion for centuries. It was also an area of heavy commerce and trade. It was ruled by the Cholas, the Cheras, the Pandyas and the Nayaks. The architectural beauty of the temples is the work of these rulers. Later Kanyakumari becamew part of the Venad kingdom with its capital at Padmanabhapuram. The king of Venad, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma established Travancore by extending his domain further north up to Aluva, during his reign from 1729 to 1758. By this, the present Kanyakumari District came to be known as Southern Travancore. King Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch East India Company at the famous Battle of Colachel in 1741. Kanyakumari was under the rule of the Kings of Travancore under the over all suzerainity of the British till 1947. Travancore joined the independent Indian Union in 1947. Obviously, the royal reign came to an end. In 1949, Kanyakumari became part of the reconstituted Travancore-Cochin State. By this time, the popular agitation for the amalgamation of Kanyakumari District with Tamil Nadu by the tamil majority under the leadership of Thiru M.A. Nesamony intensified. Eventually, in 1956, Kanyakumari was integrated with Tamil Nadu (then known as Madras State) as per the language-based reorganisation of States.
According to legend, Christianity arrived in South India around AD 52 through St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ. However, European missionaries, who arrived in the 16th century, propagated Christianity in the area. St. Francis Xavier (April 7, 1506 – December 2, 1552)was the pioneer in preaching Christianity in the present day Kanyakumari District. Islam is believed to have entered the southern part of India through Kanyakumari during the early part of the eighth century AD through the sea route with traders and missionaries. Islam, Christianity and Jainism have also contributed to the architectural wealth and literary heritage of the region.
It is very popular to watch the sunrise/sunset here. Because this is a meeting point of three ocean bodies - the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea - the spectacular sunrise/sunset sight is considered to even more special.
Kanniyakumari is located at <ref>Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Kanniyakumari</ref>. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet). It lies at the meeting point of three bodies of water: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. It is situated in 8° 4′ 41″ N, 77° 32′ 28″ E, and is the terminating point of the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. On the north and the east, it is bounded by the Tirunelveli District. On the west and northwest it is bounded by Kerala. It is suggested that there once existed a continent called Kumari Kandam to the south of Kanyakumari, often compared with Lemuria.
The Kumari Amman or the Kanyakumari Temple, located on the shore, is a Shakti Peetha dedicated to a manifestation of Parvati, the virgin goddess who did penance to obtain Lord Shiva's hand in marriage. The temple and the adjoining ghat, situated overlooking the shore, attract tourists from all over the world. The sparkling diamond nose-ring of the deity is said to be visible even from the sea. Two rocks reach out of the ocean, southeast of the Kumari Amman temple. At one of these, Sri Padaparai, which is said to bear the footprints of the virgin goddess, Swami Vivekananda is said to have sat in deep meditation. It is also the site of Vivekananda Rock Memorial built in 1970. There is a dhyana mandapam, an area for meditation. Ferry services are available to reach the memorial. The Gandhi Memorial has been built on the spot where the urn containing the Mahatma's ashes was kept for public viewing before immersion. Resembling central Indian Hindu temples in form, the memorial was designed so that on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, October 2, the first rays of the sun fall on the exact place where his ashes were kept.
The Panchappathi, five primary sacred places of Ayyavazhi were all situated within a twenty-kilometer radius of Kanyakumari. It also includes the Swamithope Pathi, one of the famous temples in Tamil Nadu, situated ten kilometers to the northwest. It is not structurally massive but is known for its non-idolatory system of worship.
Vattakottai (literally, "circular fort") is an 18th-century fort overlooking the sea, located six kilometers from Kanyakumari. The Udayagiri Fort, built by King Marthanda Varma, has a foundry for casting guns. It is also the site of the grave of the king's trusted European general De Lennoy. Suchindram has a Sthanumalayan temple with a repository of art treasures belonging to several kingdoms. The temple is famous for its ninth-century inscriptions, musical columns, and 6-meter-tall statue of the monkey god Hanuman. The main deity in the form of a shivlinga represents Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, the trinity of the Hindu pantheon. Nagercoil has a temple to Nagaraja, and shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and Vishnu. The entrance to this temple is reminiscent of the Chinese architecture of a Buddhist Vihar. Padmanabhapuram Palace is a large mansion of the Travancore kings. Other tourist attractions include Mathur Hanging Trough, Sitharal Jain monuments, Thirunandhikarai cave temple, Thiruparrapu falls, Udayagiri Fort, Muttom, Vattakottai, Olakai Aruvi, Pechiparai Reservoir, and St. Xavier church, all within 30 kilometers of Nagercoil. Tiruchendur on the Bay of Bengal is the site of a temple dedicated to Lord Subramanya. Baywatch (water amusement-park),and Wax museum are the newest attractions , located within 2kms from Kanyakumari.
The Vivekananda Memorial at Kanyakumari is also one of the important tourist spots and attracts many Hindus. According to local Christians, the place which is now called Vivekananda rock was once actually a small rock with a cross on it to inspire local Christian fishermen while they were at sea. But according to the Hindus who built the Vivekananda Memorial, it is the place where Swami Vivekananda meditated for some time before attending the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893. The religious significance has been a point of contention. Today, a Vivekananda memorial stands on a rock half a kilometer into the sea, as well as a temple built around the rock bearing the footprints of Kanya Devi at the point where she performed her penance.
In 2000, the government of Tamil Nadu installed a large stone statue of the Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar sculpted by a team led by Ganapathi Sthapathi. It is 133 feet high, representing the 133 chapters of Thirukural.<ref>Thiruvalluvar Statue. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.</ref>
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Kanniyakumari had a population of 19,678. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kanniyakumari has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 79%. In Kanniyakumari, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
<references/> Heroes on NBC makes a loose reference to it at the end of this article, a possible location site for the show in the coming weeks. http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=8817
This is where Mohinder Suresh spread the ashes of his father Chandra (played by Actor Eric Avari).
fr:Kânyâkumârî hi:कन्याकुमारी ja:カンニヤークマリ pt:Kanyakumari ro:Kanyakumari sv:Kanniyakumari ta:கன்னியாகுமரி
