Kumbakonam City
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Kumbakonam City
(Sanskrit, Kumbha, water-pot,' and ghona, ' nose ' ; Old Tamil, kudandai ). — Head-quarters of the taluk of the same name in Tanjore District, Madras, situated in 10° 58' N. and 79° 22' E., on the banks of the Cauvery, with a station on the main line of the South Indian Railway, 194 miles from Madras. The population in 1871 was 44,444; in 1881, 50,098; in 1891, 54,307; and in 1901, 59,673. It has thus been steadily increasing in size, and is now the sixth largest city in the Presidency. The total in 1901 included 2,183 Musalmans, 1,272 Christians, and 87 Jains, the remainder being Hindus.
Kumbakonam is one of the oldest places in Southern India. It has been identified with the Malaikurram which became the capital of the Chola dynasty about the seventh century. It has always remain- ed a stronghold of Brahmanism and Brahmanical culture. A math (religious house), founded by the great Sankaracharya, contains a valu- able library of Sanskrit manuscripts. Many of its shrines bear old inscriptions. The Nageswara temple is so constructed that on three days in the year the sun's rays penetrate through the openings in the gopuratn (tower) and fall on the idol, which i.s interpreted as an act of worship by the sun. The Sarangapani temple has a gopuram richly ornamented with figures, a well-painted ceiling, and two large and elaborate festival cars of carved wood. One of the shrines in the city is dedicated to Brahma, a deity who has very few temples in his honour. The Mahamagham festival once in twelve years attracts an immense concourse of visitors from all parts of India. It is the popular belief that on this occasion the Mahamagham tank receives a direct supply of water from the Ganges by underground ways. The last festival of this kind took place in 1897.
In 1854 a provincial English school was started in Kumbakonam by Government. It was made a second-grade college in 1864, advanced classes being added three years later, and it was affiliated to the Madras University in 1877, the high school classes being abolished in 1881. The college has long maintained a high reputation for efficiency, but there is a growing tendency on the part of students to prefer the colleges at Madras. The average attendance in 1904 was 175. There are two English high schools, a Sanskrit high school, and a Vedic school maintained by private agency, besides a technical institute.
The chief manufactures are brass, bronze, copper, and lead vessels, silk and cotton cloths, sugar, indigo, and pottery. The metal-work is the best known of these. The silk industry, though said to be declining, is still considerable, employing as many as 2,000 looms. Cotton-weaving has fallen into insignificance of late years. The pro- ductions of the city are exported to other Districts by rail, and the place is also a centre for the collection and export of the locally grown rice, ground-nuts, and oilseeds.
A District Court was held at Kumbakonam from 1806 to 1863, and a Sub-Judge and a divisional officer are now stationed there. It is also the head-quarters of a Roman Catholic bishop of the French Mission.
Kumbakonam was made a municipality in 1866. The receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 85,000 and Rs. 92,000 respectively. The expenditure includes part of a loan and grant from Government, amounting to about a lakh, which was utilized in constructing drains in some of the streets. A further sum of Rs. 25,000 has recently been allotted for the same purpose. A scheme for supplying the city with water at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,05,000 has been approved by the Sanitary Board, b,ut has been found to be beyond the resources of the municipality. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 91,400, including house and land taxes (Rs. 36,000), tolls (Rs. 16,700), animal and vehicle tax (Rs. 7,800), and scavenging and other fees (Rs. 7,000) ; while the chief items of expenditure were con- servancy (Rs. 28,000), hospitals and dispensaries (Rs. 8,000), roads and buildings (Rs. 15,000), and education (Rs. 8,000), out of a total of Rs. 81,500. The municipal hospital contains 72 beds.
