Kanniyakumari, town in southern India, in Tamil Nadu state. Kanniyakumari lies on Cape Cormorin, the southernmost tip of India. Set in an agricultural region, the town is a tourist destination and an important center of Hindu pilgrimage. The Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean meet at Cape Cormorin. Each brings sand of a different color; local beaches are red, black, and gold. Kanniyakumari is named after the Hindu goddess Kanya Kumari, the guardian deity of the shoreline. According to legend, the god Shiva came to the town to marry the goddess but was tricked by the king of demons, Banasura, into leaving before the wedding; the goddess later killed Banasura on the town site. The town has a temple dedicated to Kanya Kumari who is revered as an incarnation of the goddess Parvati, consort of Shiva. It also has a memorial to the 20th-century Indian nationalist leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, who visited the town regularly. Gandhi's ashes were scattered into the ocean from Kanniyakumari. Another center of pilgrimage is the Vivekananda Rock Memorial (founded in 1970), honoring the eminent 19th-century Hindu philosopher, Vivekananda. Population (1991) 17,225.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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