sattanathar temple ,sirkali

Sirkazhi ([ˈsiːɾkaːɻiː]), also spelled as Sirkali and Siyali, is a selection grade municipal town in Mayiladuthurai district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 13 km (8.1 mi) from the coast of the Bay of Bengal, and 250 km (160 mi) from the state capital Chennai. Sirkazhi was a part of Thanjavur district until 1991 and has later been part of Nagapattinam district. The town covers an area of 13.21 km² (5.10 sq mi) and in 2011 had a population of 34,927. It is administered by a second grade municipality. Sirkazhi is part of the Cauvery delta region and agriculture is the major occupation. Roads are the main means of transportation; the town has 51.47 km (31.98 mi) of district roads, including a national highway.

The town is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled by the Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Marathas and the British. The Tamil trinity of Carnatic music; Arunachala Kavirayar (1711–78), Muthu Thandavar (1525–1600) and Marimutthu Pillai (1712–87), originated from Sirkazhi. The Saiva saint Tirugnanasambandar, foremost of the Saiva Nayanars, was born here in the seventh century. Thirumangai Alvar Kaliyan (Thirumangai) was born in Thirukuraiyalur near Sirkazhi. The history of the town is centred on the Sattainathar Temple, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The history of the town is also associated with Rajarajeshwari – Angalaparameshwari Temple, which is dedicated to the goddess Adi shakti, who is believed to be most powerful form, located in the south of Kalumalaiyar river. When the goddess takes on the forceful form, she is known as "Shri Kali" or "Pechi amma" or " Angali" which forms the basis for the town's name as "Sirkali".

Etymology and origin click here

A temple relief depicting Appar bearing Sambandar's palanquin

In ancient times, this town had twelve different names, including Brahmapuram, Venupuram, Thonipuram, Kazhumalam, Pugali, Sirkazhiswaram Shri Kali and Kazheesirama Vinnagaram.^[1][2][3] According to Hindu legend, during one of the biggest deluges that submerged the planet earth, Hindu god Shiva is said to have carried the 64 arts on a raft (called Thoni in Tamil). The presiding deity in the temple, Shiva, is thus called "Thoniappar" (the one who carried the raft) and the region is called "Thonipuram".^[4][5][6][3] The Hindu god Brahma is believed to have worshiped Shiva here, giving the name "Bhrahmapureeswarar" (the one worshipped by Brahma) and so the region is also referred as "Brahmapureeswaram".^[7][3]

Shiva is believed to have quelled the arrogance of Hindu god Brahma, after showing his dominance over the three worlds and hence got the name "Sattainathar" here. The town is thus called "Sattainathapuram", which in modern times, is a suburb within Sirkazhi. The town was known as "Kalumalam" during the early Chola period.^[8] Thirugnanasambandar, the seventh century Saiva nayanar, as an infant is believed to have been fed with the milk of wisdom by the divine mother Parvati on the banks of the temple tank. The child Sambandar started singing the anthology of Tevaram hymns from then on, commencing with "Todudaiya Seviyan". Sambandar refers the town as "Kazhi" in his verses.^[4][5][6][3] It was called Shiyali during British rule, and after Independence, it was renamed "Sirkazhi".^[2

History

  

The earliest mention of Sirkazhi is found in the history of the Chola king Kocengannan from the Sangam Age (3rd century BCE to 4th century CE), who is believed to have won a bloody battle here.^[9] During the 7th–8th century, there were widespread disputes between the Hindu sects of Saivism and Vaishnavism. Tirugnanasambandar and Thirumangai Alvar, belonging to Saivism and Vaishnavism, respectively, and both natives of Sirkazhi, had disputes over their religious compositions and theologies during the period.^[10] The Chola Kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 to 1280, and were temple patrons. There are 41 inscriptions from the Chola kings in the temple that record various gifts like land, sheep, cow and oil to the temple.^[7]

The region fell under the control of Pandyas in 1532 and later became part of the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom.^[11] The region was conquered in 1674 by Ekoji I (1675–84), the Maratha enemy of the Nawab of Bijapur and half-brother of Shivaji (1674–80).^[12] The town and the region became part of the British East India Company during the mid-18th century. Tanjore district was constituted in 1799 when the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II (1798–1832) ceded most of his kingdom to the British East India Company in return for his restitution on the throne.^[13] After India's independence, Sirkazhi continued to be a part of Thanjavur district until 1991, when it became part of Nagapattinam district until March 2020.^[14] Currently Sirkazhi is part of the newly created Mayiladuthurai district.

Geography

Sirkazhi is located at 11.23°N 79.73°E, on the eastern flank of the Kumbakonam-Shiyali ridge, which runs along the Kollidam River.^[15] Sirkazhi has an average elevation of 5.18 m (17.0 ft) above sea level and is located at 13 km (8.1 mi) west of Bay of Bengal.^[16] It is located 95 km (59 mi) north-east of Thanjavur, 24 km (15 mi) north of Mayiladuthurai and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Chidambaram.^[16]

The town experiences long summers and short winters,^[16]and receives an average yearly rainfall of 1,250 mm (49 in), mainly from the north-east monsoon between October and December.^[16] Its close proximity to the sea means that Sirkazhi receives more rainfall than neighbouring towns.^[17] Sirkazhi is part of the Cauvery delta region and has irrigation channels, called the Kollidam channels, which carry water from the rivers and provide a rich deposit of fertile silt before reaching the sea.^[17] The soil is black and contains fertile alluvial sediment.^[16] The area's main crop is rice; other crops grown in the area are coconut, tamarind and neem.^[16] The landscape mostly consists of plain lands with fields and small portions of scrub jungle.^[18] Antelope, spotted deer, wild hog, jackal and fox are present in the jungles and outlying areas of the town.^[18] Crow and ordinary game birds are found in large numbers in the town.^[17]

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea, megathrust earthquake that occurred on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, triggering a series of devastating tsunamis along coastal fringes of the Indian Ocean.^[19] Nagapattinam district was the most affected part of Tamil Nadu, accounting for 6,064 off the 8,009 casualties in the state.^[20] Sirkazhi remained mostly unaffected by the tsunami, but the groundwater quality deteriorated where aquifers were close to the water bodies.^[21] There was heavy salt water intrusion inland.^[21]