Namakkal is bounded on the North by Salem district, East by Attur taluk, South by Karur district and West by Erode. The population of Namakkal district, according to the 1991 census, is about 1.683 million. Namakkal belongs to the district of Salem and its scenic beauty is due to its situation being bounded by hilly (Kollimalai) ranges and rocks with undulatory plains. Cauvery is the main river, west and south-west, of this district.

The sthala purana of the place is that in the fourth incarnation (Avathara) of Mahavishnu, Narasimha (a manly form with the head of a lion), after killing the demon Hiranyakasipu, was still ferociously angry. In response to the prayers of Prahlada, the son of Hiranyakasipu and a great devotee of Mahavishnu, Lord Narasimha blessed him and disappered in the form of a Saligramam and was worshipped in this form by Prhalada. When Mahavishnu took the incarnation of the Prince of Ayodhya, Lord Rama, Hanuman brought Sanjivini from the Himalayas. After restoring Lakshmana back to life with the herbs, replaced the herbs in the Himalayas and on his return he brought the Saligramam. As it was day break, Hanuman placed the Saligramam near the Ka malalayam tank at Namakkal to do his Sandhayvandanam. Mahalakshmi was doing penance to Lord Mahavishnu in the Kamalalayam. When Hanuman tried to lift the Saligramam he could not move it. Hanuman prayed and the Saligramam grew into the rock. A voice asked him to go to Sri Lanka to complete his services to Lord Rama and return in Kaliyuga to worship Lord Narasimha. Thus, it is believed that Hanuman, brought Lord Narasimha to Namakkal and united him with his consort Mahalakshmi. Hence the lord of this temple is called Lakshmi Narasimha. Mythologically the fame of Mahalakshmi began to spread far and wide due to the boons sne received from Lord Narasimha. An 18 feet high idol of Sri Anjaneya with folded hands is worshipping Sri Lakshmi Narasimha in the Narasimhamurthy rock Temple, on the western side of the hillock. Surprisingly, there is no structure such as a roof and a gopuram on top of the Anjaneya idol!

The Namakkal Fort on top of the rock is said to have been built during the Madurai Nayak regime. On the eastern side of this rock is the cave temple of Sri Ranganatha lying on the serpent Karakotaka. Both these cave temples, according to the Archaeological survey, were built by the Adhiyaman rulers, who ruled over Kongu during the 7th century A.D. These temples are administered and very well maintained by the H.R. and C.E. Department of the State Government and they are protected monuments of the Archaeological Department of the Government of India.

Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on December 22, 1887, at Erode, which is the home of his mother Komalathhammal. At the instance of his mother, Ramnujan went to Namakkal from Madras with his benefactor Sri. S. Narayana Iyer (Manager, Port Thust, Madras), prior to his departure to Cambridge in Jan. 1914. Ramanujan prayed to Namagiri Thayar by sitting in the center of a four pillared mandapam facing the goddess, in the Narasimhaswamy Temple. It is said that they stayed in the precincts of the temple for three days, and Ramanujan got the permission of the goddess to go to England, in a dream when he was asleep. He woke Narayana Iyer and told him that his mission of getting the permission of the goddess to go to England was accomplished.

The hillock appears bigger than the Rock of Rockfort in Tiruchi and at the top of the rock the beautiful looking ramparts of the fort provide an excellent silhoutte to the cave temples at the foot of the hillock on the eastern and western sides. A mosque is also at the top of the hillock. There was no time to go to the top of the hillock, approachable by steps. After taking several pictures we left by about 7.30 pm and reached Salem Railway Station, a 52 Kms distance in about an hour and a half. Luckily for us the Wait listed tickets were confirmed due to the efforts of the Railway officer Mr. Sri Ram, lAS, who had sent a message to the concerned authorities to release the railway quota for us. After Dinner we took the Yercad Express and reached Madras the next morning by 5 am. with all the photos and video clippings to remind us of the scenic Namakkal Fort and the temples of Namakkal.