Sholavandan

Sholavandan is a panchayat town in Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the left bank of the Vaigai River, sixteen miles north west of Madurai. During the Sangam period, the town belonged to Pandya Kingdom. There is a popular local myth, that a war between Chola and the Pandya kingdoms, resulted in the name. The invading Chola king, apparently got a sense of reverence and awe, seeing the intensive agriculture and scenic beauty of the village. He abandoned the war. The town was then named as Cholanuvandan [Cholan+Uvandan]. Uvandan means getting awed, in Tamil. The geology of the land is speculated to be hard rock, represented by the Charnockites and mixed Gneisses. The fertile soil around the village could be due to this land being a part of an alluvial plain. The hills have some tracts as reserved forests, which is classified as a dry deciduous forest. The name of a forest range under Madurai division.