Tiruvallur

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Tiruvallur | type = city | latd = 13.15| longd =79.91
state_name = Tamil Nadu
district = Tiruvallur
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population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 45,517| population_density =
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Tiruvallur is a temple town and a municipality in Tiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvallur district. It is well known because of the Veera Raghavar temple which is one of the 108 sacred shrines of Vaishnavites. There is a pond nearby this temple, where the tank festival is held. There is a Siva temple near this shrine which is also quite popular among the locals. There is also a 40 feet tall Viswaroopa panchamukha Hanuman temple, where the murti is made of a single green granite stone.

Etymology

The word "Tiruvallur" is supposedly derived from the Tamil sentence "tiru evvull?" meaning, "Tiru" - god (a common prefix in South India for temple towns), "evvull" - where do I sleep. So, Tiruvallur means, a place/town where, the god, Veera Raghavar asked a saint for a place to sleep for a night.

Presiding Deity

Lord Vishnu as Veera Raghavar is the presiding deity of the Veera Raghavar temple. Vaidya Veera Raghavar, "vaidya" meaning a doctor of medicine, is a god known for his curing abilities. In this temple people donate symbols (thin small metal sheets with a specific human organ engraved on them) of humans organs as a request to god to cure the illness or problems with those organs. The local folklore claims that the temple is around 5000 years old.Fact|date=March 2007 This is one of the temples in India where Lord Vishnu can be seen in lying down position compared to other temples where the idol is in standing position.

History

In the far past, this region was under a chain of regimes commencing from the Pallavas during the 7th century ending with the Nawab of Arcot during the early part of 19th century when it came under the British rule. In 1687, the Golkonda rulers were defeated and the region came under the Moghul emperors of Delhi. The towns and villages of this region were the scene of Carnatic wars. Battles are said to have been fought in this region during the struggle for supremacy between the English and French. The town of Pulicat was the earliest Dutch possession in India founded in 1609 which was ceded to the British in 1825. With this, the region came under the British rule which ended on the 15th August, 1947 with India becoming independent.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, [GR|India] Tiruvallur had a population of 45,517. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Tiruvallur has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 69%. In Tiruvallur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy

The town recently attained district headquarters status. Tiruvallur houses many Industries including few Fortune 100 companies.

Politics

Tiruvallur assembly constituency is part of Sriperumbudur (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web
url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf
title = List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies
accessdate = 2008-10-08
work = Tamil Nadu
publisher = Election Commission of India ]

References