| Namakkal dt. is boundedon the north by Salem district, on the east by
Attur taluk of Salem district,Perambalur and Tiruchirapalli districts,
on the
south by Karur districtand on the west by Erode district. The administrative
headquarters of thisdistrict is located at Namakkal town.
Tamil is the main languagespoken in this district. Religion-wise breakup
of population of the districtaccording to 1991 census is indicated
below,
Hindus 1647646
Christians 10245
Muslims 24892
Sikhs 10
Buddhists 7
Other religions and persuasions 9
Religion not stated 306
| Geography and Physical Features |
The district is extensivelycovered with hilly ranges and rocks with undulatory
plains.The Kollimalairange with peaks 1219 metres runs along the east
of Nammakkal and Rasipuramtaluks. The parent district Salem has fairly
extensive forest area of considerablevalue. The main products from the
forest are sandalwood, bamboo, timber/(silveroak and similar varieties)
and firewood. The main source of revenue fromthe forests is from the
Sandalwood trees which occur naturally in abundancein the plateau and
hilly ranges.
| Rivers, Canals and Waterways |
Cauvery is the main riverof this district as well
which forms its natural boundaries on west andsouth-west directions. The
Vasishta Nadhi and Sweda
Nadhi which flow acrossAttur taluk of Salem and Cuddalore district, drain
the area between theKalrayan hills, and the Panchaimalai and Kollimalai
ranges. Sirabanga Nadhiand Tirumanimittar are the other important rivers
in the district.
The Namakkal Fort issaid to have been built
during the Madurai Nayak regime and is famous forthe Sri Narasimhamurthy
temple. The
mythology
of this temple is that afterdestroying Hiranya Kasipu, the demon ruler,
Sri Narasimhaswamy (in theform of man & lion) was in a ferocious
mood. After he cooled down,he was brought to this place by Sri Anjaneya,
so as to stay with his consordMahalakshmi who was doing penance there.
A colossal idol of Sri Anjaneya,18 feet in height has been installed
here facing east with folded handsworshipping Sri Lakshmi Narasimha.
Another place of attract is the Ardhanareeswarartemple of Tiruchengodu.
The temple is at the top of a hillock at a heightof 900' above MSL and
can be reached by a flight of steps. The mythologicalhistory behind the
temple is the Lord Siva gave this consort Uma His lefthalf so as to be
inseparable. The deity is known by the name Ardhanari(half female). Kolli
hills in Namakkal taluk is being developed into adistrict excursion centre. |