Dindigul Knowledge Guide

History

The history of Dindigul is centered around the fort over the small rock hill and fort. Dindigul region was the border of the three prominent kingdoms of South India, the Pandyas, Cheras and Cholas. The Chera king Dharmabalan is believed to have built the temples of Abirami and Padmagirinathar. The ancient Tamil book, Silappathikaram records the city as the northern border of the Pandya kingdom whose capital was Madurai. Historian Strabo mentions about the city in his 20 A.D. work and Pillni, the great historian of the time described the Pandya king in his works.During the first century A.D., the Chola king Karikal Cholan captured the Pandya kingdom and Dindigul came under the Chola rule. During the sixth century, the Pallavas took over most provinces of Southern India. Dindigul was under the rule of Pallavas until Cholas regained the state in the 8th century. In the 14th century, South India was invaded by the Delhi Sultanate. Dindigul was safe in the hands of VijayaNagara . The commander of the Vijaya Nagar army Kampanna Udayar played an important role in the war in capturing Madurai which was under Madurai sultanate. In 1559 Nayaks became powerful and their territory bordered with Dindigul in the north. After the death of king Viswanatha Nayak in 1563, Muthukrisna Nayakka became the king of a kingdom in 1602 A.D who built the strong hill fort in 1605 A.D. He also built a fort at the bottom of the hill. Muthuveerappa Nayak and Thirumalai Nayak followed Muthukrishna Nayak. Dindigul came to prominence once again during Nayaks rule of Madurai under Thirumalai Nayak. After his immediate unsuccessful successors, Rani Mangammal became the ruler of the region who ruled efficiently. In 1736 Chanda Sahib, the lieutenant of Mughal Empire seized power from Vangaru Nayak. In 1742, the Mysore army under the leadership of Venkatarayer conquered Dindigul. He governed Dindigul as a representative of Maharaja of Mysore. There were Eighteen Palayams (a small region consists of few villages) during his reign and all these palayams were under Dindigul Semai with Dindiguls capital. These palayams wanted to be independent and refused to pay taxes to venkatarayer. In 1748, Venkatappa was made governor of the region in place of Venkatarayer, who also failed. In 1755, Mysore Maharaja sent Haider Ali to Dindigul to handle the situation. Later Haider Ali became the Maharaja of Mysore and in 1777, he appointed Purshana Mirsaheb as governor of Dindigul. He strengthened the fort. His wife Ameer-um-Nisha-Begam died during her delivery and her tomb is now called Begambur. In 1783 British Army, led by Captain Long invaded Dindigul. In 1784, after an agreement between the Mysore province and British army, Dindigul was restored by Mysore province. In 1788, Tipu Sultan, the Son of Haider Ali, was crowned as King of Dindigul. In 1790, James Stewart of the British army gained control over Dindigul by invading it in the second war of Mysore. In a pact made on 1792, Tipu ceded Dindigul to the English. Dindigul is the first region to come under English rule in the Madurai District. In 1798, the British army strengthened the hill fort with cannons and built sentinel rooms in every corner.The British army, under Statten stayed at Dindigul fort from 1798 to 1859. After that Madurai was made headquarters of the British army and Dindigul was attached to it as a taluk. Dindigul was under the rule of the British Until India got our Independence on 15 August 1947.

Transportation

The Dindigul city corporation maintains 131.733 km (81.855 mi) of roads. The town has 21.66 km (13.46 mi) concrete roads, 98.311 km (61.088 mi) bituminous roads, 9.352 km (5.811 mi) earthen roads and 2.41 km (1.50 mi) cut stone pavements. There are three national highways, NH 44 (largest highway in India) connecting Dindigul to Madurai and NH 45A connecting Chennai to Kanyakumari, and NH 83 Coimbatore to Nagapattinam via Oddanchatram, Palani, Dindigul, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvarur via the city. Natham road and Bathalagundu road are the two state highways that pass via the city. Being the district headquarters, lot of district roads also connect Dindigul to other parts of the district.Dindigul is served by town bus service, which provides connectivity within the town and the suburbs. Minibus service operated by private companies cater to the local transport needs. There are 150 town buses operated daily across 128 different routes. The Kamarajar bus stand is an A-grade bus stand covering an area of 5.37 acres (21,700 m2) as of 2007 and is located in the heart of the town. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates daily services connecting various cities to Dindigul. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long distance buses like Chennai, Bengaluru and Tirupati. There is significant truck transport with around 400–450 trucks entering the town for loading and unloading activities daily. Three wheelers, called autos and Call Taxi are also a common public transport system.Dindigul Junction railway station was established in 1875 when rail line for Trichy to Tuticorin was constructed. Dindigul railway junction is located in the rail head from Chennai to Madurai and Karur to Madurai. It is also connecting Dindigul to Palani. All south bound trains plying south to Madurai from Chennai pass via Dindigul. There are also passenger trains running either side from Madurai to Tiruchirapalli and Palani. The nearest local and international airport is Madurai Airport located 70 kilometres (43 mi) away.

Culture

Dindigul is the 18th Shakthi Peetam known as "Sri Abhiraamaa Peetam".Numerous temples, mosques and churches are found in Dindigul. The Kalahastheeswara-Gnanambika temple was built during the 14th century. The Seenivasaperumal temple built in the bottom of the hill was eroded by time. By the 16th century Pandyan acquired the whole chera kingdom with the support of Vijayanagar king Sachudevarayer. Sachudevarayer, on his visit in 1538 A.D. ordered for the repair works of the temple of Abirami Amman and Padmagirinathar. This is inferred from the script written over stone in the Fort temple. Muthukrisna Nayak became the king of Pandaya kingdom in 1602 A.D. He built the strong hill fort in 1605 to secure Dindigul from invasion. He also built a fort at the bottom of the hill, which was later called Pettaiwall .Thirumalai Nayak redressed the Hill fort and he built the front hall of the Kalahastheeswaraswamy temple. Soundararaja Perumal temple in Thadikombu was erected during his reign. During his Nayak's stay in Dindigul, he fell into sickness and believed to have prayed Rangaperumal to relieve his sickness. Rani Mangammal built the six hundred steps for the hill fort. during the months of January and February, a festival honoring Mariamman is celebrated in this temple. It has a sri abirami amman temple, which is reconstructed. Arulmigu Abirami Amman temple is a holy place situated in Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, India. This is one of the important ‘Shivasthalam’ were you can find Padmagiriswarar – Abirami Amman and Kalahastheeswarar – Gnanambigai Sannathi's. The rock hill is called Padmachala, Padmagiri,Lotus Hill.Begumbur Periya Pallivasal, Dindigul, Thowheeth Masjid, Ahle Hadees Pallivasal, Bajar Masjid, Mohammadiyapuram Pallivasal, Mandi Pallivasal, Madinah Pallivasal, Ring Road Pallivasal and Makkah Pallivasal are some of the Islamic institutions in Dindigul.St. Joseph's Church at the heart of the town is known for its vast space, architecture and the glass works and special artistic work all over the church. The church was built between 1866 and 1872. It is the headquarters of Dindigul diocese of Roman Catholic Churches in DindigulDindigul Biryani is a common and popular dish, and Dindigul is sometimes called Biryani City.