Agastheeswaram | |
Nickname: | Agasteeshwaram |
Settlement Type: | Taluk |
Pushpin Map: | India Tamil Nadu |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Tamil Nadu, India |
Coordinates: | 8.1°N 77.5208°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | India |
Subdivision Type1: | State |
Subdivision Name1: | Tamil Nadu |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Kanniyakumari |
Unit Pref: | Metric |
Population Total: | 8978 |
Population As Of: | 2001 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Demographics Type1: | Languages |
Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
Demographics1 Info1: | Tamil |
Demographics1 Title2: | Spoken |
Demographics1 Info2: | Tamil |
Timezone1: | IST |
Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
Postal Code Type: | PIN |
Postal Code: | 629 701 |
Agastheeswaram is a panchayat town in Kanniyakumari district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Agasteeswaram is named after Sage Agastya who had visited this place to teach Ramayana. Most of the people from this village are well educated when compared with other districts in Tamil Nadu. Vivekanandha college is located in Agasteeswararam.Along with the talukas of Thovalay, Kalculam, Eraneel and Velavancode, Agasteeswaram was a part of the southern division (aka Padmanabhapuram division) of the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore[1] until its union with Cochin in 1949 and continued to be a part of the state of Travancore- Cochin until November 1, 1956.
Below are the words extracted from the Travancore state manual about the Agastisvaram Nadan rich chieftain who enjoyed special benefits from the Trovancore Rajah, that family belonged to the sub-caste Nadan an endogamous group among the Nadars.
The Travancore state manual says "This is also the headquarters of the Shanar tribe, where their Nadan or chieftain resides, who was formerly allowed the privileges of having a fort, of riding in a palanquin and of retaining a hundred armed attendants."
Ref: The Travancore state manual, Volume 2 Page 57
One of the principal devil temples in Travancore is that represented in the annexed engraving situated at Agastispuram, near cape comorin ; which is also the headquarters of the Shanar tribe where their Nadan, or Chieftain, resides, who was formerly allowed the privileges of having a fort, riding in a palankeen, and retaining 100 armed attendants, which he is too reduced to support now .Ref: 1871 Samuel mateer-The Land of Charity- page 219
Kottaram is one of the Panchayat town in the Agastheeswaram Taluk. It is situated 6 km from Kanyakumari. People of different religions like Hindus, Christians and Muslims live here. CSI, Catholic, AG, IPC and many other independent Christian churches can be found here.
India census,[2] Agastheeswaram had a population of 8978. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Agastheeswaram has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 50% of the males and 50% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.