Sankarankovil

Sankarankovil is a Town in the Tenkasi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was formerly known as Sankaranayinarkoil. Sankarankovil is the home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple .

Sankarankovil is home to the Sankara Narayanar Temple, which was built by Ugra Pandiyan in 900 BC. Houses the deity by the name Sankara Narayanan, which is half Shiva and the other half Vishnu. According to folklore, the devotees of Hari (Vishnu) and Shiva once quarreled with each other to determine which god was more powerful, until Shiva appeared as Sankaranarayanar to show his devotees that Hari and Shiva were one and the same. Thus, it is held sacred by Saivites and those Hindus who believe that Shiva and Vishnu are a single deity. Srivaishnavites of Tamil Nadu who worship Vishnu only do not accept this and hence reject the temple. The deities of the temple are Sankareswarar, Gomathi Amman and Sankaranarayanar. Sankarankovil is also said to be home to the deity named Avudai Ambal. In older times, the city was called as Sankaranayinarkoil. It is also noted for the "Adi Thabasu" festival. There is a belief that the sand from the temple, known as puttrumann (puttru meaning ant hill, mann meaning sand) is capable of curing all diseases. Devotees believe that Sankarankovil's Nagachunai (sacred tank) was dug by serpent kings named Paduman and Sangam, and has a miraculous power to heal those who bath there. Once, a deva called Manikkeerivan was cursed by the goddess Parvathi and, as a result, had to come to earth and work as a gardener in a beautiful garden. One day while he was clearing a snake pit, the snake's tail was also cut. He found a lingam next to the snake. He went and informed his king, Ugra Pandiyan. The king considered it to be the god's wish to stay there and constructed the temple and a city around it.

According to 2011 census, Sankarankoil had a population of 70, 574 with a sex ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 5,660 were under the age of six, constituting 2,867 males and 2,793 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 22.47% and .3% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 74.9%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. Hindus are the majority in the town with 90% of the population, followed by Islam (5%), and Christianity (5%).

Sankarankovil Assembly constituency is part of Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency. E. Raja from DMK is the MLA.

Apart from agribusiness, the town is known for its textiles. Nearly 4000 powerlooms are directly involved in producing various kinds of textile products such as terry towels, cotton saris, lungis, handkerchiefs, etc. The produced products are marketed all over India directly.

The nearest international airport is Madurai which is away from Sankarankovil. It is linked with Chennai, Sri Lanka, Singapore and other major cities of India. The other nearest international airport is located in Trivandrum. It is away from Sankarankovil. Tuticorin (IATA: TCR, ICAO: VOTK) is a domestic airport located from Sankarankovil and SpiceJet serves Tuticorin with two flights from Chennai.

Sankarankovil has two bus stands. The main bus stand is near the Sankarankovil Municipality office, and is also called the Anna Bus Stand. The new bus stand is nearby to the Sankarankovil Taluk office, and is also called the Thanthai Periyar New Bus Stand. Sankarankovil is situated at the intersection of State Highways 41 and 76. Also it is situated near National Highways 07 and 208. The main bus routes are to cities / towns like Tirunelveli,Virudhunagar, Madurai, Tuticorin, Nagercoil, Tenkasi, Rajapalayam, Srivilliputhur, Sivakasi, Surandai, Kalugumalai, Thiruvenkatam, Valliyur, Courtallam, Shencottah, Theni,kumili,Papanasan, Ambasamudram, Kanyakumari, Tiruchendur, Rameshwaram, Tirumangalam, Aruppukottai, Kovilpatti, Sivagiri, Kayathar, Sattur, Nanguneri, Ettaiyapuram, Karivalamvandha Nallur and so on. Sankarankovil has state transport (SETC) bus routes to Ooty, Munnar, Madurai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Palakkad, Calicut, Dindigul, Hosur and so on.

There are three daily passenger trains Madurai to Shencottah through Sankarankovil. Also there are three daily passenger trains Shencottah to Madurai through Sankarankovil. Also there is daily two express trains. One is Chennai to Shencottah through Sankarankovil Also there is Shencottah to Chennai through Sankarankovil.

Sankarankovil includes many localities, including Karivalamvandha Nallur, Gomathi Nagar, Gomathiyapuram Nagar, Ramasamiapuram, Sangupuram Nagar, Lakshmiyapuram Nagar, Vadukkupudhur, Therkku Sankarankovil, NGO Colony, Ezhil Nagar, and Mullai Nagar.

Sankarankovil RTO was opened by chief minister Ms. J. Jayalalitha via video conference.