Virudunagar is a small town located at a distance of 45 Kms South-West of Madurai. This place was once referred to as 'Virudupatti'. In the beginning of 20th century A.D., Virudupatti was one among the six important places of Ramanathapuram District. Due to the rapid growth in the field of Trade and Education, it was renamed as 'Virudunagar' on 29th October 1923. The term 'virudu' means 'Award' in Tamil. Now this town comes under Kamarajar district.
Majority of the Virudunagarians belong to the 'Nadar' community. The people of this community migrated to improve their business status and settled in Virudunagar during 19th century A.D. Virudunagar exports all kinds of oil to Dubai and Srilanka and also exports Cotton, chilli, spices, cardomom to USA and Singapore. Virudunagar is a famous business centre without markets. The Business people of Virudunagar play an important role in price fixation of consumer products. Hence there is a popular saying, "virudunagar produces nothing but controls everything".
Virudunagar has got a rich cultural background. Temples in Virudunagar are very ancient. The four hundred year old Mariamman Temple and the pool inside the temple are very famous. This temple is said to have been built in the middle of 18th century A.D. Scenes from the great epic Ramayana are depicted on the tower of the temple. Kousika Mahanadi river flows in Virudunagar. This river originates from the Western Ghats. Saint Kousikar is said to have fetched water from this river for his Yaga. Hence,it was given the name' Kousika Mahanadi'. This small town has produced several notable personalities like Shri.K.Kamaraj.
