History of Cuddalore Town

Cuddalore is nearly 180 km south of Chennai. It is a minor port on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It District is one among the important tourist places in Tamil Nadu with historical monuments, edifices, sacred and ancient temples.  The famous ancient temple of Chidambaram is renowned for its sculptures of dances in various natya poses.  There are two large divisions in the town of Cuddalore, they are old Town, and the New Town (Thirupadirippuliyur).  The Gedilam River flows through the town and separates the Old Town from Thirupadiripuliyr. The Old Town has been a seaport since ancient has been a seaport since ancient times,  Cuddalore treaded with the Roman Empire approximately 2000 years ago.  Cuddalore was the first town in Southern India which came under direct European control.  It played a vital part in battles during the colonial period. The Dutch were the first to conquer it, followed by Portugal, France and later Britain.  Fort St. David, the fort built by the British near the sea was once a strategic point of vital importance.  One could now the ruins of this fort on the shore.  There is a palm fringed backwater in the old town which is now a fishing village and the port is located here.  It was once a dominant Jain Centre and in the new town called Thiruppathiri-puliyur, there once flourished Jain Centre.  Loka Vibaga, a famous Jain treatise was written here.  The famous Pataleeswara temple dedicated to Lord Siva Has an imposing tower and beautiful sculptures of the Pallava and later Chola periods.  It was there that the famous saint Appar was proselytized from Jainism to Saivism.  Legend has it that he was tied to a huge boulder and hurled into the sea and by singing hymns on Siva, escaped unscathed. Later, the Pallava king Mahendravarman who embraced Jainism was reconverted to Saivism by Appar. The river Gedilam passes through Cuddalore.  Cuddalore also has some very well respected schools, the most popular among them being St. Joesphs Higher Secondary School, Manjakkuppam which is one of the oldest schools, with all facilities. St. Mary’s and St. David Schools are also other good schools.  All these schools were founded by Europeans in the 17th century and the oldest surviving schools in India.  Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city’s population. The Neyveli lignite Corporation, a public sector company operation out of Neyveli, is located near Cuddalore. Of the thermal electricity generated in Tamil Nadu, a large percentage – more than 2500 megawatts –comes from the power plants in Neyveli.