Roughly speaking, Pudukkottai may be considered as divided into the
following blocks:
The town proper, a densely populated block, consists of wide straight
streets running east to west and north to south, and intersecting one
another at right angles. In the centre are now the ruins of the 'fort' with
thick and high ramparts (only part of the western wall remains.). Within it
at the centre stood what was called the 'old palace' containing a shrine to
Dakshina-moorthi (தக்ஷிணாமூர்த்தி), a Durbar Hall that was used on state
occasions by the former Rajas of Pudukkottai, and the palace stable. State
functions and ceremonies, including the Dassara, were conducted here.
Pallavan-kulam
|
Santha-natha swami temple
|
Abutting on the inner fort on its eastern side are situated the temple
of Santha-natha-swami (சாந்தநாத சுவாமி), and the picturesque Sivaganga tank
(சிவகங்கை குளம்), popularly known as Pallavan-kulam (பல்லவன் குளம்), with
its central mandapam, flights of steps and substantial parapets.
Outside these run the four main streets, called Raja Veedhi-s (இராஜவீதி)
in Tamil. Thus there are four main streets (Raja Veedhi-s); East Main Street
(Keezha Raja Veedhi), West Main Street (Mela Raja Veedhi), North Main Street
(Vadakku Raja Veedhi) and South Main Street (Therku Raja Veedhi). Beyond
these the naming of the street is regular, like East Second Street, East
Third Street, etc. South Main Street is the bazaar street, and is the
commercial centre of the town.
Originally the North Main Street housed the families of the priests
appointed for service at the Dakshina-moorthi (தக்ஷிணாமுர்த்தி) temple within the palace. They
were Andhra-s who wielded much spiritual influence in the palace. The Sirkile, the name by which the Diwan was originally called, and the other
principal officers lived in the North and East Main Streets, and for a long
time the courts were held in the East Main Street near the Ariyanachchi
Amman Koil. Many of the officers were then Marathas and there are still some
Maratha families in these two streets.
The temple, where the queen performed 'sathi'
|
Karaitope (காரைத்தோப்பு), an old suburb to the south of the town,
contains the Malai Idu (மாலையீடு), or site on which in 1807 the widowed queen of Raja
Vijaya Raghunatha (ராஜா விஜய
ரகுநாத தொண்டைமான்) performed the sati (சதி). A temple has been built on the site.
SUBURBS
 The
British Guest House
|
Pichchathanpatti (பிச்சத்தான்பட்டி) was a suburb, south of the town
where the Railway Station is located now. It is chiefly important for an old
bungalow for long used as a presidency by the political agents of the
British government during their visits to the capital. It is more than a
century old and is mentioned in Hamilton's Gazetteer (1820), which says,
"About a mile and a half to the south-west of the capital, Tondaiman has an
excellent house built and furnished after the English fashion - where every
respectable European traveller is sure of meeting with a hospitable
reception”.
Machuvadi (மச்சுவாடி), Rama-chandra-puram (இராமச்சந்திரபுரம்), Ganesh Nagar, Gandhi Nagar,
Marthanda-puram (மார்தாண்டபுரம்), Santha-natha-puram (சாந்தநாதபுரம்) and Lakshmi-puram
in the south, and Rajagopala-puram near the railway station were residential
suburbs.
Sandhaippettai, to the west of the town proper, was and is, as its name
implies, the market place. The market, which was formerly held on the
roadside, has been shifted to an open space to the south of the road where
permanent sheds have been erected for the sale of commodities. The market,
which is held every Friday, is the largest in the district. Also there is an
‘farmer’s market’ (உழவர் சந்தை) where the farmers sell their produce without
the middlemen, in the west fourth street.
 Amman-kasu
(அம்மன் காசு)
|
To the west of the town lies Thirugokarnam (திருக்கோகர்ணம்) at the foot of a rock. Here is
the famous temple of Gokarnesvara
(கோகர்ணேஸ்வரர்) and Brahadambal (பிரகதம்பாள்). The Goddess was the
tutelary deity of the former Rajas of Pudukkottai, who consequently styled
themselves ‘Sri Brahdamba-dasa’ or the 'servants of Sri Brahadambal'. They
were ceremonially installed on the gadi and anointed at this shrine. It is
in the name of this deity that the coin called the Amman-kasu was struck.
Thiruvappur is another suburb. This suburb was once a centre of silk
weaving and was mostly inhabited by the silk-weaving Sourashtrian community
called Patnool (பட்டுநூல்). According to the Statistical Account of Pudukkottai (1813)
there were 30 looms in the place in 1813, and according to Pharaoh's
Gazetteer, it was an emporium with an 'extensive weekly market', and
'numerous bazaars in which cloths of various qualities and the best in the
province' were sold. The weekly market referred to here, was subsequently
transferred to Sandhaippettai. The dyers of the place prepared pink dhotis
(saya veshti, சாய வேஷ்டி), which had a wide reputation, but at present their craft is
moribund. Near is the Kavinattuk-kanmai (கவிநாட்டுக் கண்மாய்), the largest tank, in the district.
Koilpatti is to the north to Thirugokarnam. Originally a straggling
hamlet, it was laid out afresh by Sashiah-sastri (சேஷையா சாஸ்திரி). According to a legend, the
men of this village formerly lived at Ettarai-kombu (எட்டரைக் கொம்பு), which they deserted in
a body because the local Palaya-karar (பாளையக்காரர்) attempted to outrage one of their
girls. The girl committed suicide, becoming after death a goddess worshipped
in temple built for her at Koilpatti. There is also another temple in the
place called Malukkan-koil (மளுக்கன் கோயில்), at which a Malukkan or Muslim is worshipped in
compliance with his dying request. The Manual (1944) states: "His
antecedents were by no means such as to render him worthy of canonisation,
for he had been in the habit of secretly riding down nightly from
Tiruchirappalli (திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி) to meet his concubine at Thiruvappur. One day he was slain
(it is said) at the foot of an icchi (இச்சி, Ficus tsiela or F. Indica) tree by the
God Malai-k-Karuppar (மலைக் கருப்பர்), whose repeated warnings to discontinue these
clandestine meetings he had disregarded".
Pudukkottai town proper is connected with all the suburbs by good roads.
|
