Kanyakumari
Kanyakumari is a town and a
cape at the southernmost tip of the
Indian
peninsula. It is located in the state of
Tamil Nadu. During
British rule, it was known as
Cape Comorin. The closest major city is
Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of
Kerala.
Kanyakumari was once referred to as the
Alexandria of the east. It has been a great centre for art and religion for centuries. It was also an area of heavy commerce and trade.
According to local myth,
Lord Hanuman dropped a piece of earth as he was carrying land to
Sri Lanka. 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.
Christianity arrived in this area around AD 52 through
St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ. 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.
Kanyakumari was ruled by the
Cholas, the
Cheras, the
Pandyas and the
Nayaks. The architectural beauty of the temples is the work of these rulers. During the
British Raj, Kanyakumari was named Cape Camorin, necessitated perhaps by the inability of the English to pronounce local names.
Lord Shiva and
Parvati appear in 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 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.
Kanyakumari 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 Peethas 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.
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. The
Panchappathi, five primary sacred places of the
Ayyavazhi religion were all situated within a ten-kilometer radius of Kanyakumari. It also includes the
Swamithoppe Ayya Vaikundar Temple, ten kilometers to the northwest. It is not large but is known for its non-idolatory system of worship.
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.
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.
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.
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Kanyakumari history*
2004 tsunami hits Kanyakumari at the Tiruvalluvar statue*
Kanyakumari Weather*
Kanyakumari
