// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Tirupattur say to its twin city? "Pattur" me together.

This article is about the town and district headquarters in Tamil Nadu. For other uses, see Tirupattur (disambiguation).

Tirupattur திருப்பத்தூர்
Town
View towards Tirupattur from Yelagiri
Tirupattur Location in Tamil Nadu Tirupattur Location in India
Coordinates: 12.49266°N 78.56808°E / 12.49266; 78.56808
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Tirupathur
Taluk	Tirupattur
Municipality constituted	1886
Second-grade municipality	10 February 1970
First-grade municipality	1 April 1977
Selection-grade municipality	2 December 2008
Wards	36
Government
• Type	Selection-grade municipality
• Body	Tirupattur Municipality
• Chairperson	V. Sangeetha
• Vice-Chairperson	A. R. Shafiullha
• Municipal Commissioner	S. Santhi
Area
• Total	9.79 km2 (3.78 sq mi)
Elevation	384 m (1,260 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	83,612
• Density	8,540/km2 (22,100/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
PIN	635601, 635602
Telephone code	04179
Vehicle registration	TN-83MA
Lok Sabha constituency	Tiruvannamalai
Assembly constituency	Tiruppattur (No. 50)
Website	tirupathur.nic.in

Tirupattur (also spelt Tirupathur) is a municipality and the administrative headquarters of Tirupathur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated in the interior of northern Tamil Nadu near the Eastern Ghats, the town lies between the Yelagiri and Javadi Hills. Tirupattur had a population of 83,612 at the 2011 census.

Tirupattur is traditionally known as the Sandalwood City because of the occurrence of Indian sandalwood in the surrounding Javadi Hills and the town's historical association with the storage and trade of sandalwood. The settlement has a long recorded history and was known by several earlier names, including Brahmapuram, Thiruperur and Thiruvanapuram; the district administration associates the present name with the Vijayanagara period. Tirupattur Municipality was constituted in 1886, and the town became the headquarters of the newly formed Tirupathur district when it was separated from Vellore district in 2019.

History

Tirupattur has a documented history extending from the medieval period to its development as an administrative centre under British rule and, subsequently, as a municipal and district headquarters. Inscriptions associated with the region record several historical names for the settlement, while nineteenth-century accounts document its position on an established inland route between Vaniyambadi and the interior of the Salem region. During the colonial period, the town acquired administrative importance and was later constituted as a municipality in 1886. Since 2019 it has served as the headquarters of Tirupathur district.

Early and medieval history

Tirupattur has a long history reflected in inscriptions and in the several names by which the settlement was known during the medieval period. Historical names associated with the town include Sri Madhava Chaturvedi Mangalam, Veera Narayana Chaturvedi Mangalam, Tiruperur, Brahmapuram, Brahmeeswaram and Tiruvanapuram. Some of these names have been associated with periods of Chola, Hoysala and Vijayanagara rule, although the precise inscriptional evidence and chronological attribution require additional reliable sources.

The Tirupattur district administration specifically records the earlier names Brahmapuram, Tiruperur and Tiruvanapuram, and states that an historical account attributes the development of the present name Tirupattur to the Vijayanagara period in the 14th century.

A local explanation preserved by the district administration associates the present name with ten shrines situated around the settlements of Aathiyur and Kotiyur. The same administrative account records earlier forms including Brahmapuram, Thiruporur and Thiruvanapuram, and states that the name Tirupathur was in use during the Vijayanagara period.

Historical names associated with Tirupattur

Historical name	Period or association	Remarks
Sri Madhava Chaturvedi Mangalam	Medieval period	Recorded as an earlier name of the settlement.
Veera Narayana Chaturvedi Mangalam	Medieval period	Recorded among the historical names associated with the settlement.
Tiruperur	Medieval period	Earlier name associated with Tirupattur.
Brahmapuram	Medieval period	Recorded among the earlier names of the settlement.
Brahmeeswaram	Medieval period	Recorded among the earlier names of the settlement.
Thiruvanapuram	Vijayanagara period	Recorded among the historical names preceding the modern form Tirupattur.

Colonial and military period

By the late eighteenth century, Tirupattur had acquired administrative importance under the East India Company. Following the establishment of Company authority in the region, Alexander Read, the first Collector associated with the district administration, established his headquarters at Tirupattur in 1792. The town consequently served as an early administrative centre of the territory that was later organised as Salem district.

Military memoirs from the beginning of the nineteenth century contain two references to places rendered as Trippatore and Tripatoor. In 1801, during operations connected with the Polygar Wars, Colonel James Welsh recorded an old fortified position called the Fort of Trippatore. On 27 August a detachment under Major Sheppard reached the place after a fourteen-mile march while assisting a force commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Innes. On the following day the detachment was ordered to return rapidly and secure the fort before opposing forces could occupy it, after which troops were encamped within and around the position.

The identification of this 1801 Trippatore with the present town is not established by Welsh's account itself. The episode occurred during operations centred on the Sherewele jungle and associated supply routes, and the spelling alone is insufficient to establish geographical identity.

A more securely identifiable reference occurs in Welsh's account of a journey undertaken in February 1824. After leaving Vellore for Travancore, the recorded itinerary passed through Vaniyambadi and then Tripatoor, before continuing towards Muttoor and Dharmapuri. This geographical sequence corresponds with Tirupattur's position on the inland route south-west of Vaniyambadi.

Tripatoor was reached after a fifteen-mile stage. A travelling bungalow was recorded at the settlement, together with a stone-built pond containing an island and surrounded by peepul trees. The road was reported to have been reasonably passable on foot but comparatively poor for wheeled carriage. The description provides an early nineteenth-century record of the town as a recognised stopping point on the route between Vaniyambadi and the Salem interior.

Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century records of Tirupattur

Date	Recorded name	Context	Historical record	Identification
27–28 August 1801	Trippatore	Poligar War	An old fort was occupied during military operations connected with the movement and protection of supplies.	Identification with present-day Tirupattur remains uncertain.
6 February 1824	Tripatoor	Vellore–Travancore route	The settlement was recorded as a stopping place between Vaniyambadi and Muttoor. A bungalow and a stone-built pond containing an island were also noted.	The recorded itinerary is consistent with present-day Tirupattur.
1908	Tiruppattur	Imperial Gazetteer of India	The town was recorded as an administrative station on the south-western route from Madras.	Present-day Tirupattur.

Modern administrative history

The town continued to develop as a local administrative centre during the later colonial period. A municipality was constituted in 1886 as a third-grade municipality. It was upgraded to second grade in 1970 under Government Order No. 194 and to first grade with effect from 1 April 1977 under Government Order No. 654.

A further reclassification was made in December 2008, when Tirupattur was upgraded to a selection-grade municipality under Government Order No. 283 of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.

Administratively, Tirupattur subsequently formed part of Vellore district. In 2019 the former district was divided to create the new districts of Tirupathur and Ranipet, while a reduced Vellore district was retained. The creation of Tirupathur district was formally provided for in Government Order (Ms) No. 430 of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, dated 12 November 2019, with Tirupattur designated as the district headquarters. The new district administration was formally inaugurated later that month.

Administrative development of Tirupattur

Year	Administrative development	Status or significance
1792	Early district headquarters	Alexander Read established his headquarters at Tirupattur during the early organisation of East India Company administration.
1886	Municipality constituted	Tirupattur was constituted as a third-grade municipality.
1970	Municipal reclassification	Upgraded to second-grade municipality under Government Order No. 194.
1 April 1977	Municipal reclassification	Upgraded to first-grade municipality under Government Order No. 654.
2008	Municipal reclassification	Upgraded to selection-grade municipality.
12 November 2019	Tirupathur district created	Tirupattur became the headquarters of the newly created Tirupathur district.

Geography

Tirupattur lies in the interior of northern Tamil Nadu, between the hill systems of the Eastern Ghats. The Yelagiri Hills rise to the north-east of the town, while the Javadi Hills lie to the east and south-east. The surrounding uplands form a prominent part of the physical landscape of Tirupattur district.

The town occupies comparatively level terrain at an average elevation of about 384 m (1,260 ft) above mean sea level, with the land generally sloping from north to south. Red soils predominate, accounting for about 90 per cent of the municipal area, while black soils account for the remaining 10 per cent.

Tirupattur is traditionally known as the Sandalwood City or Sandalwood Town, reflecting the occurrence of Indian sandalwood in the neighbouring hill forests, particularly the Javadi Hills, and the town's historical role in the storage and trade of sandalwood. Tirupattur has also been one of Tamil Nadu's designated sandalwood depot centres, together with Salem and Sathyamangalam.

Climate

Tirupathur is known for recording the coolest temperature in the Tamil Nadu plains during winter. The seasonal climate conditions are moderate and the weather is uniformly salubrious. The town experiences sweltering summers and warm winters. The town gets the majority of its rainfall during the south west monsoon period. September and October are the wettest months with around 400 mm (16 in) of rain. The town also experiences fairly frequent thunderstorms in late April and May, which gives necessary relief from the heat, along with a dip in night temperatures. The warmest nights are in May, when the town has an average minimum temperature of 23.4 °C (74.1 °F). The coldest nights are in January, when the average minimum temperatures drop to 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). May is the hottest month with an average maximum of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). The highest ever temperature recorded in the town is 46.3 °C (115.3 °F) on 7 May 1976. The lowest ever recorded temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) on 15 December 1974. The highest 24‑hour precipitation is 167.3 mm (6.59 in) received on 4 November 1966. The average annual rainfall being received in the town is 877 mm (34.5 in). The climate is classified as tropical. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. This climate is considered to be a tropical savanna climate (Aw according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification).

Climate data for Tirupathur (1991–2020, extremes 1958–2012)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	35.6 (96.1)	39.4 (102.9)	41.2 (106.2)	45.8 (114.4)	46.3 (115.3)	41.8 (107.2)	39.6 (103.3)	39.3 (102.7)	40.0 (104.0)	37.1 (98.8)	36.3 (97.3)	35.0 (95.0)	46.3 (115.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.3 (86.5)	33.3 (91.9)	36.6 (97.9)	37.3 (99.1)	37.5 (99.5)	35.3 (95.5)	34.1 (93.4)	33.1 (91.6)	32.8 (91.0)	30.9 (87.6)	29.3 (84.7)	28.6 (83.5)	33.2 (91.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	17.3 (63.1)	18.6 (65.5)	20.9 (69.6)	24.1 (75.4)	25.1 (77.2)	24.6 (76.3)	24.1 (75.4)	23.4 (74.1)	23.0 (73.4)	22.0 (71.6)	20.4 (68.7)	18.0 (64.4)	21.8 (71.2)
Record low °C (°F)	10.3 (50.5)	10.5 (50.9)	12.8 (55.0)	16.6 (61.9)	18.3 (64.9)	19.1 (66.4)	18.4 (65.1)	17.0 (62.6)	14.6 (58.3)	15.5 (59.9)	12.0 (53.6)	10.2 (50.4)	10.2 (50.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0.3 (0.01)	2.7 (0.11)	7.3 (0.29)	40.9 (1.61)	85.9 (3.38)	65.8 (2.59)	72.7 (2.86)	136.5 (5.37)	146.5 (5.77)	157.1 (6.19)	96.6 (3.80)	34.8 (1.37)	847.1 (33.35)
Average rainy days	0.0	0.2	0.7	3.0	5.6	3.9	4.2	6.0	7.8	9.7	5.7	2.2	49
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST)	60	51	43	53	55	57	61	64	66	76	74	70	61
Source: India Meteorological Department

Demographics

Religious census

Religion			Percent(%)
Hindu			81.93%
Muslim			16.39%
Christian			1.52%
Sikh			0.01%
Buddhist			0.01%
Jain			0.47%
Other			0.26%
No religion			0.0%

According to 2011 census, Tirupathur had a population of 83,612 with a sex-ratio of 1,010 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 7,255 were under the age of six, constituting 3,717 males and 3,538 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 18.33% and 0.43% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 76.22%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 14,084 households. There were a total of 22,895 workers, comprising 240 cultivators, 161 main agricultural laborers, 1,145 in household industries, 18,782 other workers, 2,567 marginal workers, 38 marginal cultivators, 27 marginal agricultural laborers, 246 marginal workers in household industries and 2,256 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Tirupathur (M) had 81.93% Hindus, 16.39% Muslims, 1.52% Christians, 0.03% Sikhs, 0.02% Buddhists, 0.11% Jains, 0.00% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

Politics

Tirupattur forms part of the Tirupattur Assembly constituency (constituency no. 50) of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. In the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, N. Thirupathi of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) was elected from the constituency, succeeding A. Nallathambi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), who had represented it following the 2016 and 2021 elections.

For elections to the Lok Sabha, Tirupattur is part of the Tiruvannamalai Lok Sabha constituency. The constituency is represented in the 18th Lok Sabha by C. N. Annadurai of the DMK.

Tirupattur formerly gave its name to a separate Tirupattur Lok Sabha constituency, which existed from the 1970s until the parliamentary constituencies were reorganised following the 2008 delimitation. The Tirupattur Assembly constituency was subsequently included in the newly constituted Tiruvannamalai Lok Sabha constituency.

Notable people associated with Tirupattur

• T. V. Viswanatha Aiyar (1902–1981), lawyer and educational philanthropist, born in Tirupattur; a leading tax-law advocate of the Madras High Court and associated with several educational and cultural institutions in Chennai.
• A. Varadarajan (1920–2009), judge of the Supreme Court of India, who attended the Municipal High School at Tirupattur.
• Anna Rajam Malhotra (1927–2018), India's first woman Indian Administrative Service officer; began her field career as Sub-Collector of Tirupattur.
• Sugetha Chandhrasekar (born 1991), American international cricketer, born in Tirupattur; represented the United States women's national cricket team in Twenty20 International cricket.

Nearby places of interest

Yelagiri

Yelagiri Hills in the Eastern Ghats

Yelagiri is a hill station in the Eastern Ghats, north-east of Tirupattur. The hill settlement is reached by a ghat road with fourteen hairpin bends and comprises a group of villages spread across the uplands. Among its principal recreational sites are Punganur Lake, parks and forested areas.

Jalagamparai Falls

Jalagamparai Falls

Jalagamparai Falls is a seasonal waterfall on the eastern side of the Yelagiri Hills. It is formed by the Attaru, which drains the Yelagiri uplands before descending over the rocky escarpment. The flow varies considerably with rainfall and may diminish during the summer months. The falls and Yelagiri form part of an ecotourism circuit administered by the Tirupattur Forest Division.

Vainu Bappu Observatory

The 2.34-metre Vainu Bappu Telescope at Kavalur

The Vainu Bappu Observatory is situated near Kavalur in the Javadi Hills, south-east of Tirupattur. Established during the 1960s, it is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and is one of India's principal optical astronomical observatories.

The observatory houses the 2.3-metre Vainu Bappu Telescope, the 1.3-metre J. C. Bhattacharyya Telescope and a 1-metre Carl Zeiss telescope.

The observatory has been associated with several notable astronomical observations. On 17 February 1988, astronomers using its 45-cm Schmidt telescope discovered an asteroid that was subsequently designated 4130 Ramanujan, after mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The discovery was the first asteroid discovered from an Indian observatory during the twentieth century.

Transport

Road

Tirupattur lies on National Highway 179A (NH 179A), which connects Salem with Vaniyambadi via Harur, Uthangarai and Tirupattur, terminating at NH 48 near Vaniyambadi. The route was formerly part of State Highway 18 and was designated NH 179A in 2017.

Roads from Tirupattur also provide connections towards Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Jolarpettai, Vaniyambadi and neighbouring towns. Government and private bus services operate from Tirupattur to major destinations within Tamil Nadu and to Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka.

Rail

Tirupattur railway station (station code TPT) is administered by the Salem railway division of Southern Railway. It is classified by Southern Railway as an NSG–5 station and lies on the Jolarpettai–Salem railway corridor.

Jolarpettai Junction, approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north-east of Tirupattur, is the nearest major railway junction. It lies at the intersection of the Chennai–Bengaluru route and the railway line towards Salem, Erode and Coimbatore, providing wider long-distance rail connections.

Air

The nearest operational domestic airport is Salem Airport, about 105 km (65 mi) from Tirupattur. For a wider range of domestic and international services, the principal airports are Kempegowda International Airport at Bengaluru and Chennai International Airport, both accessible by road and rail.

External links

• Tirupathur official website