Kapur district General information

Karur is regarded as one of the ancient cities in Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, Cholas, the Naickers, and the British ruled this Karur district successively. There is proof that Karur may have been the centre for old jewellery making and gem setting. It was also connected with the gold imported mainly from Rome. It has been proved from various excavations. According to the Hindu mythology, Brahma began the work of creation here, which is referred to as the "place of the sacred cow."

History

Karur has a very long history. Sangam poets have described it in various songs. In history also it has been the battleground of various Tamil Kings like Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallavas because of strategic location. The district has a very rich and varied cultural heritage.

Karuvoor Thevar was born in Karur district and he was one among the nine devotees who sung the divine Music Thiruvichaippa, which is the ninth Thirumurai. He is the single largest composer among the nine authors of Thiruvichaippa. He lived during the reign of the great Raja Raja Chola-I. In addition to the famous Siva temple, there is also a Vishnu temple at Thiruvithuvakkodu. This is actually a suburb of Karur, sung by famous Kulasekara Alwar. During 7-8th century AD he was the ruler of Kongu nadu. The same temple is presumably mentioned in epic Silappadikaram as Adaha maadam Ranganathar whose blessings Cheran Senguttuvan sought before his north Indian expedition.

Karur is one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu and has played a very significant role in the history and culture of the Tamils. Around 2000 years back there has been a flourishing trading centre even in the early Sangam days. Epigraphical, numismatic, archaeological and literary evidences have proved beyond doubt that Karur was the capital of early Chera kings of Sangam age. It was called Karuvoor or Vanji during Sangam days. There has been a plethora of rare findings during the archaeological excavations undertaken in Karur. These include mat-designed pottery, bricks, mud-toys, Roman coins, Chera Coins, Pallava Coins, Roman Amphorae, Rasset coated ware, rare rings etc.

Karur was built on the banks of river Amaravathi that was called Aanporunai during the Sangam days. The names of the early Chera kings, who ruled from Karur, have been found in the rock inscriptions in Aru Nattar Malai close to Karur.

The Tamil epic Silapathikaram mentions that the famous Chera King Cheran Senguttuvan ruled from Karur. In 150 Greek scholars Ptolemy mentioned "Korevora" or Karur as a very famous inland trading center in Tamil Nadu. After the early Cheras, Karur was conquered and ruled by Pandyas. After that it was ruled by Pallavas and later Cholas. Under this rular Karur was for a long time. Later the Naickers followed by Tipu Sultan also ruled Karur. In 1783 the British conquered Karur after destroying the Karur Fort during their war against Tipu Sultan. There is a memorial at Rayanur near Karur for the warriors who lost their lives in the fight against the British in the Anglo-Mysore wars. After that Karur became part of British India and was first part of Coimbatore District and later Tiruchirappalli District as well.

Karur is also a part of Kongunadu. To know the history one has to go back to the 8th century. The name Kongunadu originated from the term "Kongu", meaning nectar or honey. Kongu came to be called as Kongunadu with the growth of civilization. The ancient Kongunadu country was made up of various districts and taluks which are presently known as Palani, Dharapuram, Karur, Nammakkal, Thiruchengodu, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Satyamangalam, Nilgiris, Avinashi, Coimbatore, Pollachi and Udumalpet. Kongunadu was blessed with tremendous wealth. There is a pleasant climate and distinct features present in the district. Kongunadu was ruled over by the Chera, Chola, Pandya, Hoysala, Muslim rulers and finally the British. During everyone`s rule the district tried to learn something and thus enrich its own culture and cultural heritage. From time immemorial it stands as a landmark for the next generation. People from all over the country visit the place and tries to get some information about its history and culture as well.

Area and Location

The district is situated between 11.00¢ to 12.00¢ as North Latitude and between 77.28¢ to 78.50¢ as East Longitude. The total area of the district can be mentioned as 2,895.57 sq. km. the district is populated as this can be noted as 9,35,538. out of which 4,65,538 are males whereas 4,70,148 are females. The density of the district is 323 sq. km. The total number of literates of the district is 5,66,728.

There are four principal languages that are used in the district and those can be mentioned as Tamil, Telegu, English and Urdu.

The maximum temperature is recorded as 36.3° while minimum is recorded as 17.5°. The normal rainfall is recorded as North East monsoon 365.4 mm and South West monsoon is 249.7-mm. Whereas the actual rainfall is recorded as North east monsoon 714.2 mm South West monsoon is 164.3 mm.

Agriculture

Total cultivated area of the district is 1,14,557 Hec. Where net area that sown is 1,11,719 Hec. A total of 2838 Hec area is sown more than once. Paddy, Jowar, Cumbu and Banana are regarded as important food crops. While non-important food crops can be regarded as sugarcane and groundnut.

The total use of chemical fertilizers and the total use of Bio-fertilizers were 20422 tonnes and 13000 pockets respectively.

The district is made fertile by the perennial flows of Cauvery on the northern side and also Amaravathy, Nanganjiyar and Noyyal Rivers. Its economy is mainly agrarian. Utilization of land area in Karur district is up to 44.59%. 4.76% of the land area remains as other uncultivated land. Out of total area 2.74 % is forest area in Karur district.

Black soil is the predominant soil type in this district accounting for 35.51% followed by lateritic Soil of 23.85%. Rest 20.31% is comprised of sandy, coastal and alluvium soil for 20.31%. There are 20477 wells that are used of irrigation purpose.

Minerals

Some of the important minerals that are found in the district can be mentioned as sand, limestone, quartz and felsper, granites, rough stones and magnesites. There are two important rivers preent in the district and these are Cauvery and Amaravathi.

Forest

Total of 6,187 Hec area is under forest area. Where there are two revenue divisions, four revenue taluks, 19 revenue firkas and 203 revenue villages.

Important places

Some of the important pilgrim centers can be mentioned as Kadambar Koil that is present at Kulithalai. Iyer Malai is present at Kulithalai,Kalyana venkataramanasami Temple is present at Thanthonimalai, Mariamman Temple is present at Karur,Vennaimalai is present at Karur,Pasupatheswarar temple is also present at Karur while Venjamangudalur temple is present at Venjamangudalur.

These are well visited by the tourists and whoever visit the district definitely visit these temples.

Connectivity

Roadways and railways are in proper condition in this district. Karur is well connected with rest of India through all modern means of transportation. There are 2 National highways NH-7 and NH-67 pass through Karur.

Station Code of Karur district is KRR and this is very well connected with the Indian Railways network as well. Trains between Bangalore-Madurai, Kanyakumari-Kashmir, Mangalore-Tiruchirappalli, and Mysore-Thanjavur ply through Karur City. A broad gauge link is being prepared from Salem to Karur.

Karur is connected through road to Madurai, Erode, Coimbatore, Trichirappalli, Tirupur, Salem, Chennai, Cochin, Guruvayur, Bangalore, Trivandrum from Muthu Kumarasamy Bus stand.

There is no airport present in Karur as such and the nearest airport is in Trichy that is located at the distance of 78 km and Coimbatore lacated at the distance of 120 km from the district. The nearest major seaport is at Thoothukudi i.e. placed at 344 km far and Chennai i.e. placed at the distance of 332 km from the district as well.

River basin and other catchments areas:
The main sources of irrigation of the district happen to be canals, tanks, wells and other sources. There are nearly 29.71% of the total cropped areas that are irrigated by these sources.

There are many industries present in the district and these are paper, Cement, Textile, Sugar, and bus building body.

Places of interest

There are some important temples present in the district. These have gained enough popularity among the visitors. People from different parts of the world come and visit the temples. They also offer puja at these temples with full devotion.

Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple: The Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple is situated at Thanthoni. This is placed at the distance of about five km from Karur. This is regarded as one of the most popular temples in the district. The shrine of the Lord is situated on a raised portion of a hillock. The temple is also known as Then or south Tirupathi.

Pasupathieswarer Temple: Karur town is one of the seven sacred sthalams or places of Sivalayams and is well known for famous Pasupathieswarer Temple. The group of sculptures representing Pasupathiswaralingam is as high as five feet. The milk flowing from the cow always baths this and Rangamatha are noted for sculptural beauty.

Other temples: The temple in Pugalur is situated north west of Karur district. This temple is dedicated to Lord Subramania on a small hill at Velayuthanpalayam near Cauvery. This is famous for excellent sculpture.

Sri Mariamman Temple is another one, which is very famous. This temple is situated in the heart of the city. It is celebrated periodically during the month of May by all groups of people, irrespective of caste and creed. One action that is very famous is regarded as taking the `Kumbum` from the temple to the Amaravathi River.