Tirunelveli, also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
The downtown is located on the west bank of the Thamirabarani River. Its twin Palayamkottai is on the east bank. Palayamkottai is called as the Oxford of the south India. It is a hub of many schools, colleges and many important government offices.
ETYMOLOGY:
Tirunelveli is one of the temple towns in the state which is named after the forests dominated by a particular variety of plants. The region is believed to have been covered with Venu forest and hence called Venuvanam.
Tirunelveli was known in Sambandar's seventh-century Saiva canonical work Tevaram as Thirunelveli.
Swami Nellaiappar temple inscriptions say that Shiva (as Vrihivriteswara) descended in the form of a hedge and roof to save the paddy crop of a devotee. The deity is believed to appeared under the bamboo(Venuvanam) in the temple.
- The early Pandyas named the city Thenpandya Seemai,
- The Cholas as Mudikonda Cholamandalam and
- The Nayaks Tirunelveli Seemai
- It was known as Tinnelvelly by the British, and Tirunelveli after independence.
HISTORY:
Tirunelveli is an ancient city, and is more than 2,000 years old. Tirunelveli is believed to be an ancient settlement of great importance. It has been ruled at different times by the Early Pandyas, the Cheras, the Medieval Cholas and Later Cholas, the later Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire and the British.veerapandiya kattabomman.
Tirunelveli has a number of historical monuments, the Swami Nellaiappar Temple being the most prominent. Tirunelveli is famous for a sweet called, 'Iritu kadai halwa'.
