Thiruparankundram - Revision history

->Billjones94 at 08:05, 2 January 2022

2022-01-02T08:05:31Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:35, 2 January 2022
Line 10:		Line 10:
	\| image_skyline = Thiruparankundram Murugan temple and rock hill.jpg		\| image_skyline = Thiruparankundram Murugan temple and rock hill.jpg
	\| image_alt =		\| image_alt =
	\| image_caption = Thiruparankundram ~~town~~, temple and rock hill		\| image_caption = Thiruparankundram municiple corporation, temple and rock hill
	\| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu		\| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu
	\| pushpin_label_position =		\| pushpin_label_position =
	\| pushpin_map_alt =		\| pushpin_map_alt =
	\| pushpin_map_caption = Location in ~~Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India~~		\| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Singapore
	\| coordinates = {{coord\|9.879623\|N\|78.069899\|E\|display=inline,title}}		\| coordinates = {{coord\|9.879623\|N\|78.069899\|E\|display=inline,title}}
	\| subdivision_type = Country		\| subdivision_type = Country
Line 48:		Line 48:
	\| postal_code = 625005		\| postal_code = 625005
	\| registration_plate =		\| registration_plate =
	~~\| website = http://thiruparankundram.com/~~
	\| footnotes =		\| footnotes =
	\| official_name =		\| official_name =
	}}		}}
	'''Thiruparankundram''', also spelled '''Tirupparankundram''' or '''Tiruparangundram''', is a town in [[Madurai district]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. It is about {{convert\|10\|km}} from Madurai city and constitutes the southwest part of the greater [[Madurai]] city (Municipal Corporation). The town's landmark and fame is the huge monolithic rock hill that towers to a height of {{convert\|1048\|ft}} and has a circumference of over {{convert\|2\|mile}}. It is home to many ancient and historic monuments, some protected as India's national monuments.		'''Thiruparankundram''', also spelled '''Tirupparankundram''' or '''Tiruparangundram''', is a town in [[Madurai district]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. It is about {{convert\|7\|km}} from Madurai city and constitutes the southwest part of the greater [[Madurai]] city (Municipal Corporation). The town's landmark and fame is the huge monolithic rock hill that towers to a height of {{convert\|1048\|ft}} and has a circumference of over {{convert\|2\|mile}}. It is home to many ancient and historic monuments, some protected as India's national monuments.

	As of 2011, the town had a population of 48,810. It was incorporated into a new township in 2011, and the first local body election for the corporation was held on 18 October 2011.		As of 2011, the town had a population of 48,810. It was incorporated into a new township in 2011, and the first local body election for the corporation was held on 18 October 2011.
Line 60:		Line 59:

	[[File:Thiruparankundram rock.jpg\|thumb\|left\|upright=1.25\|Tiruparankundram and southwestern side of the rock hill.]]		[[File:Thiruparankundram rock.jpg\|thumb\|left\|upright=1.25\|Tiruparankundram and southwestern side of the rock hill.]]
	The western edge of the Thiruparankundram hill is home to ancient Jain beds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dated between 2nd-century BCE and 2nd century CE. Uphill, the hills has several other Jain bas-reliefs of Parsvanatha and Mahavira with inscriptions, dated to about 8th to 9th-century. The traditional name of these Jain beds is "Pancha Pandava" beds, reflecting the local historic belief that the beds were one of the places where the five brothers of the ''Mahabharata'' fame rested. The southern side of the hill has a natural spring called ''Saraswati Tirtha'' as well as another [[Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription\|Thirupparankundram rock-cut cave]] temple that some have proposed was an ancient Jain temple converted into Shaiva temple in the 7th-century and expanded in the 13th-century.<ref name=Devakunjari312>D. Devakunjari (1957), ''Madurai through the ages'', Editor: R. Nagaswamy, Society for Archaeological Historical and Epigraphical Research, University of Madras Press, pp. 312–316</ref> Some Hindu pilgrims circumambulate around the entire Thiruparankundram hill given the many religious monuments and history here.<ref name=branfoot148/>		The western edge of the Thiruparankundram hill is home to ancient [[Jain]] beds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dated between 2nd-century BCE and 2nd century CE. Uphill, the hills has several other Jain bas-reliefs of Parsvanatha and Mahavira with inscriptions, dated to about 8th to 9th-century. The traditional name of these Jain beds is "Pancha Pandava" beds, reflecting the local historic belief that the beds were one of the places where the five brothers of the ''Mahabharata'' fame rested. The southern side of the hill has a natural spring called ''Saraswati Tirtha'' as well as another [[Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription\|Thirupparankundram rock-cut cave]] temple that some have proposed was an ancient Jain temple converted into Shaiva temple in the 7th-century and expanded in the 13th-century.<ref name=Devakunjari312>D. Devakunjari (1957), ''Madurai through the ages'', Editor: R. Nagaswamy, Society for Archaeological Historical and Epigraphical Research, University of Madras Press, pp. 312–316</ref> Some Hindu pilgrims circumambulate around the entire Thiruparankundram hill given the many religious monuments and history here.<ref name=branfoot148/>

	A steady flight of stone stairs and walkway from the north end, as well as another from the south end, leads to the top of the hill on the western side where there is another rock-cut pre-9th century Kasi Viswanathar temple – named after the one in Varanasi – with a natural water tank and an overview of the rural scenery around Madurai. The stone walkway is marked and has Torana-like gateways along the way. Covered mandapa (choultry) are found along the hike. Some caverns feature Jain Tirthankara images along the way, confirming the hills importance to Jainism. The cave temple at the top is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva with a few inscriptions.<ref name=Devakunjari312/>		A steady flight of stone stairs and walkway from the north end, as well as another from the south end, leads to the top of the hill on the western side where there is another rock-cut pre-9th century Kasi Viswanathar temple – named after the one in Varanasi – with a natural water tank and an overview of the rural scenery around Madurai. The stone walkway is marked and has Torana-like gateways along the way. Covered mandapa (choultry) are found along the hike. Some caverns feature Jain Tirthankara images along the way, confirming the hills importance to Jainism. The cave temple at the top is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva with a few inscriptions.<ref name=Devakunjari312/>

imported>Marcocapelle: removed Category:Localities in Madurai using HotCat

2021-07-09T06:03:53Z

removed Category:Localities in Madurai using HotCat

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Thiruparankundram
| native_name = 
| native_name_lang =
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type =
| image_skyline = Thiruparankundram Murugan temple and rock hill.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Thiruparankundram town, temple and rock hill
| pushpin_map = India Tamil Nadu
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| coordinates = {{coord|9.879623|N|78.069899|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Madurai district|Madurai]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type = [[Municipal Corporation]]
| governing_body = [[Madurai Municipal Corporation]]
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 48,810
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = maduraites
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code = 625005
| registration_plate =
| website = http://thiruparankundram.com/
| footnotes =
| official_name =
}}
'''Thiruparankundram''', also spelled '''Tirupparankundram''' or '''Tiruparangundram''', is a town in [[Madurai district]] in [[Tamil Nadu]], India. It is about {{convert|10|km}} from Madurai city and constitutes the southwest part of the greater [[Madurai]] city (Municipal Corporation). The town's landmark and fame is the huge monolithic rock hill that towers to a height of {{convert|1048|ft}} and has a circumference of over {{convert|2|mile}}. It is home to many ancient and historic monuments, some protected as India's national monuments.

As of 2011, the town had a population of 48,810. It was incorporated into a new township in 2011, and the first local body election for the corporation was held on 18 October 2011.

==History and significance==
Thiruparankundram and its landmark hill contains some of the earliest cave temples of [[Shaivism]] tradition in this region. The hill is sacred to the Hindus. They call it Skandamalai (lit. "hill of Skanda (Murugan, Kartikeya) – the god of war").<ref name=branfoot148/> One of the early Shaivism-tradition cave temple at the northern foot of the hill was greatly expanded in stages with mandapas and additional shrines over the 7th- to 15th-century by various Hindu dynasties, to include a feeding house, a Vedic school and for traditional performance arts. This is now a major temple complex known as the [[Thirupparamkunram Murugan temple]]. It is one of the [[Six Abodes of Murugan]], a major pilgrimage site. It is among the most visited tourist places in Madurai, next only to the [[Meenakshi Amman Temple]].<ref name=branfoot148>Crispin Branfoot (2003), ''The Madurai Nayakas and the Skanda Temple at Tirupparankundram'', Ars Orientalis, Volume 33, pp. 148–157 (context: 146-179), {{JSTOR|4434276}}</ref>

[[File:Thiruparankundram rock.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Tiruparankundram and southwestern side of the rock hill.]]
The western edge of the Thiruparankundram hill is home to ancient Jain beds with Tamil Brahmi inscriptions dated between 2nd-century BCE and 2nd century CE. Uphill, the hills has several other Jain bas-reliefs of Parsvanatha and Mahavira with inscriptions, dated to about 8th to 9th-century. The traditional name of these Jain beds is "Pancha Pandava" beds, reflecting the local historic belief that the beds were one of the places where the five brothers of the ''Mahabharata'' fame rested. The southern side of the hill has a natural spring called ''Saraswati Tirtha'' as well as another [[Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription|Thirupparankundram rock-cut cave]] temple that some have proposed was an ancient Jain temple converted into Shaiva temple in the 7th-century and expanded in the 13th-century.<ref name=Devakunjari312>D. Devakunjari (1957), ''Madurai through the ages'', Editor: R. Nagaswamy, Society for Archaeological Historical and Epigraphical Research, University of Madras Press, pp. 312–316</ref> Some Hindu pilgrims circumambulate around the entire Thiruparankundram hill given the many religious monuments and history here.<ref name=branfoot148/>

A steady flight of stone stairs and walkway from the north end, as well as another from the south end, leads to the top of the hill on the western side where there is another rock-cut pre-9th century Kasi Viswanathar temple – named after the one in Varanasi – with a natural water tank and an overview of the rural scenery around Madurai. The stone walkway is marked and has Torana-like gateways along the way. Covered mandapa (choultry) are found along the hike. Some caverns feature Jain Tirthankara images along the way, confirming the hills importance to Jainism. The cave temple at the top is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva with a few inscriptions.<ref name=Devakunjari312/>

Thiruparankundram–Madurai area was the target of extensive destruction and lootings by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] in the 14th-century, followed by an attempt to establish an Islamic Sultanate in Tamil Nadu. Known as the [[Madurai Sultanate]], this was short lived and the last Sultan of the Sultanate – Sikandar Shah – along with his generals were killed in Thiruparankundram by the Vijayanagara Empire forces in 1377 CE.<ref name=branfoot148/> The Vijayanagara rulers allowed the Muslim community to build a graveyard memorial for Sikandar Shah in late 14th to early 15th-century on the top of the Tirupparaṅkuṉdṟam hill on the northeastern side.<ref>Mehrdad Shokoohy (1991), ''Architecture of the Sultanate of Ma'bar in Madura, and Other Muslim Monuments in South India'', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Volume 1, Number 1, Cambridge University Press, pp. 67–74 (context: 31-92)</ref> This grave memorial was expanded into a Dargah (mosque) for Muslim pilgrimage, during the 17th and 18th-century. This monument is called the [[Tirupparankunram Dargah]], and the Muslim community calls the same hill as "Sikandarmalai".<ref name=branfoot148/>

In the 18th-century and after, the Murugan temple's mandapas and infrastructure were used as civic hospital by Hindus and as a second outpost of Madurai where soldiers gathered during times of war. Later, the European regiments aided by Haider Ali and Yusuf Khan targeted controlling the temple during the British and French campaign to form what later became the Madras Presidency.<ref name=Devakunjari312/><ref name="Hill1914">{{cite book|author=Samuel Charles Hill|title=Yusuf Khan: The Rebel Commandant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUDPAAAAMAAJ |year=1914|publisher=Longmans, Green|pages=59–60, footnote 4}}</ref>

{{Panorama|image=Panorama of Thiruparankundram Madurai.jpg|height=250|caption=View of Thiruparankundram town and the Murugan temple from hill top, in distance is the Madurai metropolitan area extending to the upper right.}}

==Demographics==
{{bar box|title=Religious census|titlebar=#ddd|left1=Religion|right1=Percent(%)|float=left|bars={{bar percent|[[Hindu]]|Orange|91.79}}{{bar percent|[[Christians|Christian]]|purple|4.46}}
{{bar percent|[[Muslim]]|Green|3.62}}
{{bar percent|[[Sikh]]|yellow|0.01}}{{bar percent|Other|grey|0.11}}}}

According to [[2011 census of India|2011 census]], Thiruparankundram had a population of 48,810 with a sex-ratio of 999 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.<ref name="dashboard">{{cite web|title=Census Info 2011 Final population totals|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/censusinfodashboard/index.html|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|year=2013|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> A total of 4,736 were under the age of six, constituting 2,455 males and 2,281 females. [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes]] accounted for 7.44% and .66% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 79.55%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.<ref name="dashboard"/> The town had a total of 12934 households. There were a total of 18,480 workers, comprising 109 cultivators, 386 main agricultural labourers, 516 in house hold industries, 15,926 other workers, 1,543 marginal workers, 47 marginal cultivators, 69 marginal agricultural labourers, 228 marginal workers in household industries and 1,199 other marginal workers.<ref name=2011census>{{cite web|title=Census Info 2011 Final population totals - Thiruparankundram|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=697520|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|year=2013|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref>

As per the religious census of 2011, Thiruparankundram had 91.79% [[Hindus]], 3.62% [[Muslims]], 4.46% [[Christians]], 0.01% [[Sikhs]], and 0.11% following other religions.<ref name=religion2011>{{cite web|title=Population By Religious Community - Tamil Nadu|year=2011|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|format=XLS|publisher=Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India|access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref>

==Transport==
There is a bus stand with bus services connecting Thirupparangkundram with other parts of Madurai and adjacent villages. Passenger trains running between [[Madurai Junction railway station|Madurai]] and [[Tirunelveli Junction railway station|Tirunelveli]] stop at Thirupparankundram. Thirupparankundram railway station is {{convert|6|km}} from Madurai Junction. The nearest airport is [[Madurai Airport]] which is {{convert|11|km}} from Thirupparankundram.

==Important places==
* The [[Thirupparamkunram Murugan temple|temple of lord Muruga]] one of the oldest temples built in sixth century is here.
* The mausoleum of Sulthan Sikandar Shah [[Thiruparankundram Dargah]] is at the top of Thirupprankundram hills.

{{Gallery
|title=Sites in Thiruparankundram
|width=240
|height=200
|lines=3
|align=center
|Teruparankundram.jpg |The Murugan temple complex, gopura at the northern foot of the rock
|File:Thiruparankundram Umai Andar Cave Temple.jpg|Umai Andar cave at the southern foot of the rock
|File:Indien Tamil Nadu Madurai Dargah.JPG|Mausoleum of Sikandar Shah, on top of the rock
}}

==See also==
* [[Muthupatti]]
* [[Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple]]
* [[Thiruparankundram Dargah]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Municipalities of Tamil Nadu}}

[[Category:Thiruparankundram| ]]
[[Category:Neighbourhoods and suburbs of Madurai]]