Chamarajanagara is a city and headquarter of eponymous Chamarajanagar district in the Karnataka state of India. It is named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile Raja of Mysore, Chamarajanagara was previously known as 'Arikottara'.

History

While the area was previously known as 'Sri Arikottara', the area was later named after Chamaraja Wodeyar, the Wodeyar of Mysore who was born here. The Vijaya Parsvanath Basadi, a holy jain shrine was constructed by Punisadandanayaka, the commander of the Hoysala king Gangaraja in the year 1117 AD.

Geography and climate

Chamarajnagar is located at 11.92°N, 76.95°W. It has an average elevation of 720 m. It was ranked among the top 10 Indian cities with the cleanest air and best AQI in 2024.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, Chamrajanagar had a population of 69875. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Chamrajanagar has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 65% and female literacy of 54%. 12% of the population is under six years of age.

Transport

National Highway 150A (India) originating from Jevargi, terminates at Chamarajanagara. Another national highway NH-948 connecting Bangalore to Coimbatore passes through the town. State Highway 80 (Karnataka) and State Highway 81 (Karnataka) are the other two major highways connecting the town. The RTO Code of Chamarajanagar is KA10 Chamarajanagar railway station is the southernmost rail point in Karnataka. There is a direct train to Tirupati which starts at three in the afternoon and a direct train to Bangalore in the morning. The nearest airport is Mysore airport and the nearest international airports are in Coimbatore International Airport and Kempegowda International Airport.

Religion

Maaravva or Maaramma is the most widely worshiped deity in the town, more than ten temples of Maaravva can be found in the town. Chamarajeshwara Temple and Haralu Kote Anjaneya Temple are the biggest and the oldest temples respectively. Apart from these, the town has many temples. As far as other religious beliefs are concerned, the town has 2 Jain Basadis, and 2 Buddha Viharas.

Bandit Veerappan

Since a lot of the southern area of the district is dense forest, it had provided a good refuge to the notorious bandit Veerappan, responsible for the death of over a hundred policemen. He was shot dead in an encounter with the specially formed Special Task Force (STF) on 18 October 2004 in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. He had been on the run for over two decades. The presence of illegal quarrying for black stone imposes a great threat to the forests in the region.

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