Tamilnadu Tourism: Devikapuram, Thiruvannamalai

Devikapuram, Thiruvannamalai

Devikapuram, also called as Devigai, is a town panchayat in Thiruvannamalai district, located in Tamilnadu, India. The features of this village are temples, and weaving silk Sarees (Arni & Kanchipuram Silk). Devikapuram is Known for “City of Goddess”, “The Birth Place of the King Krishnadevaraya”, “Production of Silk Sarees” and also famous for ancient temples and monuments.

Devikapuram is situated in the Arni Taluk of the Thiruvannamalai District of Tamilnadu. In the past, this place was mapped as, “Murugamangalam Paru in Melkundra Nadu - a sub division of Jayankonda Cholamandalam – The kingdom of the Chola Emperors. In the Sangam age, the Jayankonda Cholamandalam was called as Thondai Mandalam or Thondai Nadu.

Location

Devikapuram is situated in Polur – Cheyyar State Highway (No: 115). From Polur, It is located at a distance of 14 Kms to East from Polur. It is located at a distance of 12 Kms to West from Chetput. It is located at a distance of 21 Kms to South from Arani. This village is very well connected to all major surrounding cities – Chennai, Kanchipuram, Vellore etc. Devikapuram is also connected by Rail route – Polur, the nearest railway station. Geographically, Devikapuram is situated in 12’30 N and 79’15 E.

The town is known for its temples and Silk Sarees. Devikapuram is situated in the Arani Taluk adjacent to the road connecting Polur and Chetput. The town is located on the eastern side of Polur, on the western side of Vandavasi, on the southern side of Arani and on the north eastern side of Thiruvannamalai.

Legends

Once, Parvathi Devi came to Devikapuram during the pralaya period. She saw a small hill was coming down with a golden shine floating in the pralaya floods which stayed here as Golden hill. Parvathi Devi then stayed here and worshipped Lord Shiva at the hill with the Kasi Viswanathar lingam on a Shivarathri day and Shiva appeared to her as a Swayambu lingam. Devi stayed at the Periyanayagi Amman temple exclusively.

History

The temples in Devikapuram were constructed by the Chola King Thondaiman Chakravarthy while the more ancient Kanakagiriswarar Temple on the hill is said to date back to the Pallava period. The current structure dates back to the Vijayanagar period as testified by the inscriptions seen in the Periyanayaki Temple.

Administration

Devikapuram is a large village panchayat, administered by the Village President. The panchayat comes under the West Arni block of the Thiruvannamalai district, Tamilnadu. Having a population of 15000, Devikapuram is divided into 12 wards and 22 streets. In the revenue part, The Village Administrative Officer (VAO), appointed by the Tamilnadu Government administers Devikapuram, which comes under Vinnamangalam Firka in Arni Taluk.

Education

Devikapuram is emerging as an educational hub of this region. It has a Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Govt. Girls High School and 3 Primary Schools (Balwadis) and two private schools – the Cluny Matriculation School and the Vinayaka Matriculation School. Devikapuram is now surrounded by engineering colleges - the Annamalaiyar Engineering College at Modaiyur, Oxford Engineering College at Venmani and Government Engineering College at Tathchur. So, the students from in and around Devikapuram have more opportunity to pursue their higher studies.

Society

Devikapuram, being a larger village with people from different religions and communities are living peacefully without any religious bias. This communal integration can be known during the car festival popularly known as the “Ther Thiruvizha” or the “Panguni Uthira Thiruvizha”, a15 day mega festival of the village. The festival’s each day events are sponsored by each community living in the village and the nearby villages.

Economy

Devikapuram is part Thiruvannamalai district, Arni taluk, located in Polur-to-Chetput Road (SH-115). It is part of Thondai Mandalam. It is a quiet & calm village without any industry. People lead a pleasant life by doing agriculture and weaving.

Agriculture and weaving of Silk Sarees (Handloom) are the main occupations of the people of Devikapuram. There are hundreds of acres of dry and wet lands available in the village for irrigation. Paddy, Sugarcane, Groundnut and Cereals are the major agricultural crops. Agriculture is the livelihood for major portion of the people in the village.

Silk Sarees production is another important occupation of the people. The weaving of silk Sarees (handlooms) dates back to the 15th century, according to the evidences in the inscriptions available in the premises of Sri Periyanayagi Amman Temple. The weaving of silk Sarees are grouped into 3 kinds of looms (patterns) namely 1) Dabi 2) Jakkard and 3) Korvai.

The woven silk Sarees are exported to major & leading cloth stores like Kumaran Silks, Pothys, Nalli Silks and The Chennai Silks etc. through which these Sarees are bought by Indian and NRI customers across the globe. The Sarees are famously identified and named as Arni Silk and Kancheepuram Silk, once they are available in the market. Devikapuram is a wonderful, peaceful, spiritual and natural village.

Places of Interest

Devikapuram is an important pilgrimage center visited by devotees from different places. Some of the significant Places of Interest located in this village are listed below;

Periyanayagi Amman Temple: