Kumbakonam, one of the
special grade Municipal Towns of Tamil Nadu, is the second bigger
town in Thanjavur District. It is situated 10o 57"
north latitude and 79o 28' Longitude. It is located
about 313 Kilometres away from madras on the south, about 90Kms. from Tiruchy
on the east and about 40kms from Thanjavur on the North East.
The town is bounded by two rivers
- " River Cauvery" on the north and "River Arasalar" on the south. It has
a gentle slope towards south from North.
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The Climate throughout
the year is moderate. The variation between maximum and
minimum temperature is not much. Though summer is hot, occasional
rainfalls and water stagnation in the wet fields due to irrigating channels
of Cauvery give much relief from sweltering heat.
The Year can be broadly divided
into the following three seasons.
Winter : December to Ferbruary
Summer : March to May
Monsoon : June to November
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Kumbakonam is at present
a Selection Grade Municipality, and it is the taluk Headquarters
of Kumbakonam Taluk. It is stated by Mr. Wilks that the town was
once the Capital of the Cholas and Dr. Burnell also confirmed it.
The British Govt. also recognised the importance and stationed a
New Zilla Judge here from 1806 till 1863.
The town is identified by many temples
sprinkled all over the town, most of them are very ancient temples.
One of many temples, most striking
is the Lord Sarangapany, a Vaishanavite temple. This was probably
built up by the Nayak Kings during 15th Century A.D. It consists
of the twelve storied and 147 feet height.
The Ramasamy temple which depicts
the paintings of Ramayanam is another important Vaishanavite temple.
Kumbeswara temple is an important
Saivaite temple situated almost in the central part of the town.
The important festival of the town
is the Mahamaham festival. It takes place once in 12 years during
the Tamil Month of Masi(February/March) and lakhs of pilgrin from various
parts of India visit Kumbakonam and take a holy bath in the sacred
Mahamaham tank which is situated in the heart of the town
The temple at Thirunageswarar( Oppliyappan
Sannadhi), the Lord siva temple which is 8 kms east of Kumbakonam
.
Sri Thirupureeswarar temple at Pateeswaram
which is 5kms southeast of Kumbakonam, was constructed by Govinda Dikshithar,
a Minister of Naik King. Acchathappa during 16th Century.
Another famous temple is Swamimalai
which is one among the six abodes of Lord Muruga. swamimalai is situated
8 kms west of Kumbakonam. Many Nayanmars have sung in praise of this
temple.
The Govt. Arts College at Kumbakonam
which exits now is one of the very old colleges in the Tamil Nadu State
and it gained a title once as " The Cambridge of South India".
The famous Mathematician Ramanujam
studied in the Institution in this town.
The Porter Hall was built int he
memory of a former principal of the college in 1885.
In 1853, a handsome Protestant Church
was erected in the town.
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The town which was orginally
a religious town become an industrial center during last quarter of the
19th Century and early period of 20th century. Predominance was gained
for Silk Industries and Metal manufacturing.
The Major Suppliers of Silk Sarees
to the Indian Silk Saree Market is Kumbakonam Silk Industry.
All the South Indian Brass Pooja
articles and utensils are manufactured in Kumbakonam and these articles
are manufactured nowhere in South India other than Kumbakonam. KuthuVilakku
and Statues are the famous articles. Stainless Steel utensils
are manufactured.
Betelnuts, Suparis are manufactured
in Kumbakonam.
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