Sholavandan
|
Sholavandan சோழவந்தான் |
|
|---|---|
| city | |
 Sholavandan
|
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| Coordinates: 10°01′00″N 77°58′00″E / 10.0167°N 77.9667°ECoordinates: 10°01′00″N 77°58′00″E / 10.0167°N 77.9667°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District | Madurai |
| Government | |
| • Chairperson of Town Panchayat | |
| Elevation | 164 m (538 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 21,661 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 625214 |
| Telephone code | 04543 |
| Vehicle registration | TN-59 |
Sholavandan is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the left bank of the Vaigai River, sixteen miles north west of Madurai. It is one of 12 "town- panchayats" of Madurai district.
The town has been variously referred to as "Sholavandan", "Solaikuruchi" and "Senagapuri". During the Sangam period, the town belonged to Pandya Kingdom. There is a popular local myth, that a war between Chola and the Pandya kingdoms, resulted in the name. The invading Chola king, apparently got a sense of reverence and awe, seeing the intensive agriculture and scenic beauty of the village, irrigated by the Vaigai river; which reminded him of the Cauvery Delta region. He abandoned the war. The town was then named as Cholavandan [Cholan+Uvandan]. Uvandan means getting awed, in Tamil. Legend has it that the invading king found the village and its flourishing agriculture cultivation, even more agriculturally prosperous then the historically famous Tanjore villages: and called this town as "Chinna Tanjai"(Tamil: சின்ன தஞ்சை).
Sholavandan lies on the left bank of the river Vaigai. The river turns from its easterly direction, to bend and travel in a north–south direction at Sholavandan - before turning south east and flowing towards Madurai city. Sholavandan can be stated to be lying in some sort of a valley - between the Nagamalai hills and the Sirumalai. Both these hills can be perhaps described as spurs of the Western Ghats. Sholavandan is also the name of a forest range under Madurai division. The hills have some tracts as reserved forests, which is classified as a dry deciduous forest. The geology of the land around Sholavandan is speculated to be hard rock, represented by the Charnockites and mixed Gneisses. Sholavandan being on the banks of the river Vaigai would presumably have Alluvial soil. The fertile soil around Sholavandan could be due to this land being a part of an alluvial plain.
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Wikipedia