- published: 09 Nov 2015
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Tirunelveli District (Tamil: திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம்) is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Tirunelveli is the district headquarters. A unique feature of this district is that it encompasses all five geographical traditions of Tamil Literature; kurinji (mountains), mullai (forest), marudham (paddy fields), neithal (coastal) and palai (desert). Tirunelveli District was formed on September 1, 1790 by the East India Company (on behalf of the British government), and comprised the present Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts and parts of Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts. It is the second-largest district (as of October 2008), after Villupuram district.
The founding date of Tirunelveli District is commemorated as Tirunelveli Day. The British East India Company named it Tinnevelly district; its headquarters was first located in Palayamkottai (an adjacent city), where it had its military headquarters during its operations against the Palayakars. There are three reasons attributed for naming the district Tirunelveli. The primary reason is after the largest city of the district; another reason is that it was called Tirunelveli Seemai under the Nayaks and Nawabs. Finally, it served as the southern capital during the Pandyan Empire. Both Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai grew as twin cities in the district.
Tirunelveli ( pronunciation (help·info)), also known as Nellai, and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu. It is situated 700 kilometres (435 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai.
Tirunelveli is an ancient city and is home to many temples and shrines, including the largest Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu, the Nellaiappar Temple. It is located on the western side of the perennial Thamirabarani river, whereas its twin municipal city Palayamkottai, is located on the eastern side.
The history of Tirunelveli was researched by Robert Caldwell, one of the Christian missionaries who visited the area in the nineteenth century for the purpose of both promoting their religious beliefs and educating the people.
Tirunelveli had been under the prominence of the Pandya kings, serving as their secondary capital while Madurai remained its primary capital. It was an important city of the Chola kingdom (c.900–1200) and of the Vijayanagar empire. The city was the chief commercial town in the period of Arcot Nawabs and Nayaks. They were among the various ruling dynasties of Tamil Nadu. In fact, they called the city "Nellai Cheemai", with cheemai meaning a developed foreign town. It was the Nayaks who, in 1781, granted its revenues and local administration to the British. In 1801, it was annexed by the British, who governed it until India achieved independence in 1947.