Kottar, Tamil Nadu, India
Kottar
Kottar is a locality and a bazaar area of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu state, in the southernmost part of Peninsular India; though a part of Nagercoil today, it is the original town around which the city of Nagercoil grew. It was an ancient trade center of both Pandyans and Cheras at various times. The name Kottar was derived from the Tamil word kottam+aaru (river). The trade centre was established on the banks of the Pahrali River.St. Francis Xavier, the revered Roman Catholic saint and missionary, lived for a time at Kottar, in the 16th century. He built a small church himself at Kottar, which today forms part of the St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar. Called 'Savariyar Kovil' by the local people, the Cathedral is visited by tens of thousands of devotees every year.
In the modern day, Kottar is one of the main bazaar areas of Kanyakumari District. The main railway station of Nagercoil, the Nagercoil Junction is at Kottar. The only Government Ayurveda Medical College in Tamilnadu state is also at Kottar.