Template:Wp-Kanyakumari district

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Kanyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu.^[1] It is also the richest district in Tamil Nadu in terms of per capita income, and also tops the state in Human Development Index (HDI), literacy, and education. The district's headquarters is Nagercoil.

Kanyakumari district has a varied topography with the sea on three sides and the mountains of the Western Ghats bordering the northern side. Except for a small stretch of land to the east of Kanyakumari town, almost the entire district is sandwiched between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea – the only district in Tamilnadu state facing the Arabian Sea.

Geologically, the landmass of the district is much younger when compared to the rest of the state – faulted as late as 2.5 million years during the Miocene, after which numerous transgression, as well as regression of sea, had shaped the western coast of the district.

Historically, Nanjinad and Edai Nadu, which comprise the present-day Kanyakumari district, were ruled by various Tamil and Malayalam dynasties: the Cheras, the Ay/Venad/Travancore dynasty, the Pandyans, the Chozhans and the Nayaks. A few artifacts have been unearthed by archeological excavations. It was part of the princely state of Travancore during the colonial times prior to India's independence; four of the eight tehsils of Thiruvananthapuram district were separated from the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom to form the new district of Kanyakumari, and they were made the part of Madras Presidency under recommendations from the States Reorganisation Commission in 1956. The Presidency was later renamed Tamil Nadu and Kanyakumari, today, is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state.

The district is the birthplace of Ayyavazhi. Many historical assumptions persist in the district and state, which associate sages such as Agastya, Vyasa, Tolkappiyar, Avvaiyar and Thiruvalluvar with the district.